Rethinking Mentoring: Comparing Policy and Practice in Special and General Education

<p>Although teacher mentoring is now mandated in most states, high quality research in mentoring remains scarce (Rockoff, 2008). There is a great need to understand how such policies are implemented (Smith, 2007), particularly in teaching areas with high shortages. The purpose of this...

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Main Author: Leah Wasburn-Moses
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Arizona State University 2010-12-01
Series:Education Policy Analysis Archives
Online Access:http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/716
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author Leah Wasburn-Moses
author_facet Leah Wasburn-Moses
author_sort Leah Wasburn-Moses
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description <p>Although teacher mentoring is now mandated in most states, high quality research in mentoring remains scarce (Rockoff, 2008). There is a great need to understand how such policies are implemented (Smith, 2007), particularly in teaching areas with high shortages. The purpose of this study is to compare state and district mentoring policies with the mentoring experiences of practicing special and general education teachers. Survey data were collected from 232 teachers in one state and compared with policy information from the Teacher Rules, Roles, and Rights (TR<sup>3</sup>) database. Results indicated uneven implementation of policy, in that some stated policy was not adhered to consistently, and consistency in practices was seen in the absence of other policy. Further, special education teachers reported much less mentoring than general education teachers. A new model is proposed to encourage implementation of research-validated practices in teacher mentoring.</p>
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spelling doaj.art-e9d737188d5349cb93f4fbb171c111942022-12-22T03:29:36ZengArizona State UniversityEducation Policy Analysis Archives1068-23412010-12-011832Rethinking Mentoring: Comparing Policy and Practice in Special and General EducationLeah Wasburn-Moses<p>Although teacher mentoring is now mandated in most states, high quality research in mentoring remains scarce (Rockoff, 2008). There is a great need to understand how such policies are implemented (Smith, 2007), particularly in teaching areas with high shortages. The purpose of this study is to compare state and district mentoring policies with the mentoring experiences of practicing special and general education teachers. Survey data were collected from 232 teachers in one state and compared with policy information from the Teacher Rules, Roles, and Rights (TR<sup>3</sup>) database. Results indicated uneven implementation of policy, in that some stated policy was not adhered to consistently, and consistency in practices was seen in the absence of other policy. Further, special education teachers reported much less mentoring than general education teachers. A new model is proposed to encourage implementation of research-validated practices in teacher mentoring.</p>http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/716
spellingShingle Leah Wasburn-Moses
Rethinking Mentoring: Comparing Policy and Practice in Special and General Education
Education Policy Analysis Archives
title Rethinking Mentoring: Comparing Policy and Practice in Special and General Education
title_full Rethinking Mentoring: Comparing Policy and Practice in Special and General Education
title_fullStr Rethinking Mentoring: Comparing Policy and Practice in Special and General Education
title_full_unstemmed Rethinking Mentoring: Comparing Policy and Practice in Special and General Education
title_short Rethinking Mentoring: Comparing Policy and Practice in Special and General Education
title_sort rethinking mentoring comparing policy and practice in special and general education
url http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/716
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