THE IMPACT OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENT MENTORING FOR TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM IN ENGLISH PRESERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Mentoring in pre-service education is a key success factor, because not only can it transform the pre-service teacher as the mentee, but also develop the mentor teacher professionally. This preliminary study to find the impact of individual student mentoring was inspired by the awareness of its potential multidimensional impact for teacher professionalism. Two research questions guided this study. The first question is to find out the impact of this individual student mentoring from the student mentee’s point of view in terms of four dimensions, namely: psychological or emotional support, support for setting goals and choosing a career, academic support, and a role model. The second research question explores how this kind of mentoring developed the mentor teacher professionally. Data were collected from the students in the form of questionnaire and written reflection, and from the mentor teacher in the form of written reflection. Data were analyzed separately to attend to each research question. The findings show that the pre-service students experienced the four dimensions in their individual mentoring, while the mentor teacher developed herself professionally in three areas, which were interactional skills, self-awareness, and attitude. The implication of the findings is discussed at the end.