Educative mentoring: a way forward

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 240-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Langdon ◽  
Lorrae Ward
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Induction ◽  
New Teachers ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Practice Change ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
New Teacher Induction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transmission Of Knowledge ◽  
Mentoring Practices ◽  
Mentoring New Teachers

Purpose – In recent years mentoring has been promoted as an essential, yet complex, new teacher induction dynamic. Mentors generally develop their knowledge of this role in isolation and in situ, and despite extensive research in the field few studies investigate how mentors learn. Therefore it is important to continue to examine the complex aspects of learning to mentor. The purpose of this paper is to focus on understanding the knowledge, attitudes and skills required by mentors to simultaneously focus on their own learning, new teachers’ learning and student learning. Design/methodology/approach – In this New Zealand study the authors examined a pilot programme aimed at shifting mentoring practices to an educative model. Through a two-year professional development intervention, 22 participant mentors inquired into, analysed and documented their practice. Data were gathered through learning conversations, action research documentation and reflections. They were analysed using qualitative methodology. Findings – Evident was a shift in mentoring practice from a focus on the transmission of knowledge-for-practice to inquiry into knowledge-of-practice. Change was observed after sustained and serious engagement with evidence about mentoring practices. However the shifts did not come easy, nor were they assured. Research limitations/implications – This study is not without limitations. Transferability is potentially problematic. The pilot study was well resourced, therefore expecting the implementation and outcomes to transfer to other contexts without similar resourcing maybe unrealistic. Practical implications – The findings contributed to the development of a mentoring curriculum and national guidelines for mentoring new teachers. Originality/value – While the findings emerged from a situated context, the theoretical and practice issues reported are matters for international attention, particularly the matter of transitioning from a well-practiced, efficient teacher mentor to an adaptive educative mentor.

Administrative context and novice teacher-mentor interactions

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Pogodzinski
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Induction ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Novice Teacher ◽  
New Teacher ◽  
School Level ◽  
Teacher Mentoring ◽  
New Teacher Induction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teacher Mentor

Purpose – Mentoring can improve novice teacher effectiveness and reduce teacher attrition, yet the depth and breadth of mentoring can vary greatly within and between schools. The purpose of this paper is to identify the extent to which a school’s administrative context is associated with the focus and frequency of novice teacher-mentor interactions. Design/methodology/approach – By estimating logistic regression models, the author identified the association between novices’ perceptions of their working conditions and the content and frequency of interactions with their formally assigned mentors. Findings – When novice teachers perceived positive administrator-teacher relations in their schools and reported that administrative duties did not interfere with their core work as teachers, they were more likely to frequently interact with their mentors around issues of curriculum. Research limitations/implications – Studies of new teacher induction need to more fully account for elements of school-level organizational context which influence novice teacher-mentor interactions, specifically related to administrative decision making and climate. Future research should seek to identify the extent to which formal policy related to new teacher induction is supported by broader elements of the organizational context. Practical implications – In addition to implementing sound formal policies related to teacher mentoring, school administrators should seek to foster a school climate that promotes administrator-teacher and teacher-teacher collaboration to promote improved teacher mentoring. Originality/value – This study builds upon previous research by drawing attention to the association between broad measures of school-level administrative context related to the quality of working conditions and teacher mentoring.

scholarly journals Realising potential and recognising paradox: The national induction and mentoring project

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Langdon ◽  
Peter Lind ◽  
Cynthia Shaw ◽  
Erin Pilcher
Keyword(s):  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Teacher Induction ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Beginning Teacher ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Beginning Teacher Induction ◽  
Mentoring Practices ◽  
Service Leadership ◽  
Transformative Approach

Although comprehensive policy and resourcing of beginning teacher induction and mentoring can improve teacher retention and quality, there is growing recognition that combining on-site leadership and policy is integral to providing effective learning for teachers. This has led to an increased interest in melding policy and resources with school and service leadership to promote consistency of beginning teachers’ induction and mentoring experiences. This article describes and provides insights into a project involving four pilots which are trialling the draft national guidelines for effective induction programmes and mentor teacher development. An external evaluation across the four pilots has revealed that national guidelines can be a positive lever for effecting change in induction and mentoring practices. Implementing such change nationally will require leaders to take seriously an educative, transformative approach to learning for both beginning teachers and their mentors.

scholarly journals Exploring the dynamics of food routines: a practice-based study to understand households’ daily life

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (12) ◽  
pp. 2544-2556
Author(s):  
Margot Dyen ◽  
Lucie Sirieix ◽  
Sandrine Costa ◽  
Laurence Depezay ◽  
Eloïse Castagna
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Practice Change ◽  
Global Dynamics ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Daily Consumption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Practices

Purpose This paper aims to explore consumers’ experienced life and studies how practices interconnect and are organized on a daily basis. The objective is to contribute to a better understanding of how (or whether) it is possible to interfere with daily practices, as public policies pretend to do, to address several societal challenges (food waste, healthy eating, greenhouse gas reduction, social equity, etc.). Design/methodology/approach Using the concepts of routine, ritual and practice to understand the dynamics of daily life from a practice theories perspective, this study is based on a qualitative methodology combining a projective method of collage coupled with semi-structured interviews with 23 participants and, participant observation of shopping, cooking and mealtimes at home with 11 of the 23 participants. Findings Results show that the degree of systematization of practices defines different types of routine according to various systematization factors (time, commitment, social relations, material), suggesting a distinction between systematized, hybrid and partially systematized routines. Beyond the question of the degree of systematization of practices composing routines, results show that some practices are embedded in daily routines due to their ritualization. Research limitations/implications This work takes part of the debates on how to study households’ daily life, and challenges the understanding of daily life activity more globally than just by the prism of isolated actions. For that, this study uses the concepts of routines and rituals. They are relevant to describe and to capture the tangle of practices composing food activities. The study shows that the material dimensions, the pressure of time, the commitments and the social relations condition the global arrangement of the food practices in a variable way. Practical implications Such results offer new perspectives for intervening on households’ daily consumption by understanding the global dynamics of food routines. Originality/value This work contributes to a better understanding of consumers’ food practices and routines and to a practice-change perspective considering constrained and routinely constructed lives.

Mentoring for family-teacher relationships: a new teacher’s journey

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 332-349
Author(s):  
Mary Knight-McKenna ◽  
Judy Esposito ◽  
Lindsay Michelle Clement
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Induction ◽  
New Teacher ◽  
First Year ◽  
Induction Programs ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
New Teacher Induction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teacher Relationships ◽  
University Professor ◽  
Weekly Journal

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to chronicle the efforts of a new White teacher in her first two years of teaching in an elementary school with a largely Hispanic population as she forged connections with her students’ families while drawing on continued, constructivist mentoring from her university professor. The case points to the need for new teacher mentoring programs to include some emphasis on family-teacher relationships. Design/methodology/approach The new teacher kept a weekly journal of her interactions with families over a two-year period. Notes were taken during and after mentoring sessions. Data analysis was conducted using the case analysis format designed by Miles et al. (2014). Findings The goal of fostering constructive family-teacher relationships was not fully realized for this teacher in her first year. Through reflections, readings, and discussions in mentoring sessions, she gradually learned to respect the wisdom and expertise of families. Research limitations/implications As with all case studies, the results are not generalizable in a traditional sense (Hodkinson and Hodkinson, 2001); however, a larger issue can be addressed in a case (Stake, 1995). In this case, the larger issue is that White teachers working in high-poverty schools are likely to encounter differences between their cultural backgrounds and those of their students’ families. New teachers must determine how to respond in this situation, and mentoring offers support in helping them to act. Practical implications Action steps and guidelines developed by the teacher are included, along with a list of selected articles to spur discussions in constructivist mentoring sessions. Originality/value Coordinators of new teacher induction programs are encouraged to include a component in their curriculum for best practices in developing relationships with families.

“Most of them are junk food but we did put fruit on there and we have water”

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Waddingham ◽  
Stella Stevens ◽  
Kate Macintyre ◽  
Kelly Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Canteen

Purpose – The Australian Dietary Guidelines support good health and disease prevention. Children with healthy eating habits established early in life have been shown to continue these habits into adulthood compared with those children who have poor eating habits in their younger years. The nutritional intake of many Australian children is not in accordance with the national guidelines. The reasons children make the food choices they do are unclear from the literature. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study used participatory action research methods to explore why primary school-aged children make the food choices that they do. A non-government primary school requested assistance in encouraging their children to make healthier choices from the school canteen menu. The authors gathered opinions from the children in two different ways; a group discussion during class and a “discovery day” that involved four class grades. The authors identified children’s food preferences and food availability in canteens. The authors explored how the children perceived healthy foods, the importance of a healthy food environment and what criteria children use to decide what foods to buy. Findings – Children’s food preferences were mostly for unhealthy foods, and these were readily available in the canteen. The perception about what foods were healthy was limited. Despite being asked to develop a “healthy” menu, the majority of choices made by the children were not healthy. Children described unhealthy choices as preferable because of taste of the food, if it was sugary, if it was quick to eat, available and cheap, the relationship of food and weather, the connection to health conditions and peer dominance. Practical implications – This study suggests that children make their food choices based on simple concepts. The challenge lies around producing healthy options in collaboration with the school community that match the children’s food choice criteria. Originality/value – This paper provides a modern and inspiring whole school approach based on equity and empowerment of the children. Discovering why children make food choices from the children’s perspective will help to present healthy options that will be more appealing for children. The methodology used to uncover why children make their food choices has also provided valuable insight into a study design that could be used to address other childhood research questions. The methodology offers an educative experience while gathering rich information directly from the children. This information can be used by the school to support children to have more control over their health and to develop behaviours to increase their health for the rest of their lives.

Learning during developing and implementing new bank offerings

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Stevens ◽  
Sergios Dimitriadis
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Informal Development

PurposeKnowledge of the management issues for developing new bank offerings efficiently is limited. Furthermore, recent research suggests that organisational learning can contribute greatly to the success of innovation projects. The aims of this paper are to provide a detailed description of the development process of a new financial product and to identify learning actions that may contribute to its effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachReports findings from a qualitative, longitudinal case study of a well‐known French bank.FindingsThe results revealed an informal development process consisting of a sequence of issues to solve and decisions to make.Research limitations/implicationsThough observations fit with the theoretical model, the findings cannot be generalized due to the use of a qualitative methodology. Thus, selecting a development project that brings variance to the scope and degree of innovativeness could enrich the observed learning mechanisms. Second, as services are very heterogeneous, further research should be done on the development processes of different new services, for example standardised versus customised. Third, mechanisms of adoption or avoidance of learning procedures remain to be explored extensively. Understanding the reasons of choice and adoption of learning strategies according to the environment and nature of the project could lead to further managerial recommendations.Practical implicationsImplications for banks to encourage learning during innovation are discussed and several opportunities for further research are suggested.Originality/valueAn informal development process is revealed, consisting of a sequence of issues to solve and decisions to make. Multiple learning actions and strategies are identified that enhance process effectiveness and efficiency.

Accelerating the implementation of SDG 4: stakeholder perceptions towards initiation of sustainable community engagement projects by higher education institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lombuso Precious Shabalala ◽  
Sisa Ngcwangu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Stakeholder Perceptions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Community

Purpose This paper aims to present the results of an investigation on how a reciprocal relationship between the University of Mpumalanga (UMP) in South Africa and the surrounding communities can be used to accelerate the implementation of sustainable development goal 4 (SDG 4). The aim of this paper is to establish stakeholder perceptions on the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the development and implementation of sustainable community engagement (CE) projects geared towards the acceleration of SDG 4. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative methodology was adopted. This consisted of a presentation at UMP, an educational tour of the campus and discussion sessions with 3 education officials and 19 high schools representatives from Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Content and narrative analysis were used to analyse the data obtained during the discussions. Findings The key findings indicate that a reciprocal relationship between HEIs and their surrounding communities can be used to accelerate the implementation of SDG 4 by positioning HEIs to take the lead with initiatives and implementation of CE projects. Research limitations/implications For HEIs to be in a better position to take a leading role in CE, they must guide without imposing, else it may lead to stakeholders losing interest. Practical implications The importance of a mutual working relationship between HEIs and communities becomes paramount, as it may lead to the realisation and acceleration of SDG 4 through CE. It is suggested that HEIs prioritise CE and also involve communities from the conceptualisation of any project. Originality/value The paper raises awareness and demonstrates the importance and possibilities of using CE towards the acceleration of the implementation of SDG 4 by HEIs.

The role of boundary management in open innovation: towards a 3D perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 57-84
Author(s):  
Rosita Capurro ◽  
Raffaele Fiorentino ◽  
Stefano Garzella ◽  
Rosa Lombardi
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Firm Boundaries ◽  
Boundary Management ◽  
Innovation Implementation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
The One

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to investigate the role of boundary management when firms should implement open innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe relevant literature on strategic management, firm boundaries and open innovation fields is revised and critically assessed. An interpretive-qualitative methodology is applied to analyse empirical data obtained from a questionnaire and subsequent interviews of a sample of Italian listed firms. By critically integrating literature review and empirical analysis, a framework is provided with the objective of supporting open innovation implementation.FindingsThe study shows that on the one hand, open innovation and many modern paths of growth are connected to a firm's boundaries and that on the other hand, boundary management plays a key role in the implementation of open innovation.Practical implicationsThe paper has implications for practitioners by driving them to shift the focus of open innovation implementation towards the management of boundaries, in which boundary capabilities and activities play a key role.Originality/valueThis paper sheds light on the advantages and risks that can jeopardize a successful opening up innovation processes without the effective management of boundary studies. Thus, the authors identify and propose causes for reflection and tools maximizing potentiality and reducing risks in the implementation of such processes.

Battling COVID-19 with human resource management bundling

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arosha S. Adikaram ◽  
N.P.G.S.I. Naotunna ◽  
H.P.R. Priyankara
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource Management ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Employee Motivation ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hrm Practices

PurposeThis paper aims to present an empirically driven crisis management framework of complementary human resource management (HRM) bundles that can be utilized in simultaneously managing the health crisis, financial crisis and disruptions to business operations through lockdown and other government restrictions propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe framework is developed employing qualitative methodology, drawing from the successful HRM practices adopted by 26 Sri Lankan companies in battling the many crises of COVID-19 and using the soft HRM approach as the theoretical basis.FindingsThe findings report a framework that consists of three key HRM bundles (health and safety bundle, cost-saving bundle and employee motivation and engagement bundle) entailing an array of inter-related, internally consistent, complementary and mutually reinforcing HRM practices and HRM activities. These HRM bundles and the HRM practices as well as the HRM activities therein, indicate how a softer approach to managing employees can be used during a crisis.Practical implicationsThe framework will inform the HRPs of the HRM bundles, HRM practices and HRM activities that can be used to manage the multiple crises created by COVID-19 and other similar pandemics.Originality/valueThe study contributes to and expands the knowledge of HRM in crisis management generally and HRM in a global pandemic more specifically.

Tolerance zones: a pragmatic approach to respond to problems related to open alcohol and drug scenes in Bremen/Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna Prepeliczay ◽  
Henning Schmidt-Semisch
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Related Disorder ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Tolerance Zones ◽  
Drug And Alcohol ◽  
The City

Purpose This study aims to describe and analyse an approach in the city of Bremen (Germany) to establish streetwork-supported tolerance zones for local open drug and alcohol scenes to reduce related disorder and nuisance in public spaces. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative methodology included systematic participant observations at public sites of drug and alcohol use, and problem-centred interviews with different groups of respondents (residents, passers-by, trades people, drug users, experts from addiction help and police). Findings In residential districts, tolerance zones were well accepted by their target group and found to reduce perceived disorder and nuisance in public space. However, their success depends on the social and spatial conditions of the chosen location, its surrounding urban infrastructure, cooperation among local actors and characteristics of drug using groups. Originality/value Usually, policing of open drug scenes focuses on repression and law enforcement. The example of Bremen suggests that streetwork-supported tolerance zones dedicated to the drug scene can substantially reduce disorder and nuisance in public space.

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