Trainers' perceptions on pedagogical mentoring

Abstract

Pedagogical mentoring is a teacher training procedure addressed to improve the teaching and learning processes by analyzing and reflecting on the teaching practice. This paper aims to analyze the perceptions on the teaching mentoring practices of the mentors from Dominican Republic: mentors, principals, and supervisors. 340 mentors were included who answered a self-administered questionnaire, validated using four complementary modalities. It was found that mentors have a constructivist conception in the dimensions analyzed: pedagogical practices, planning, characteristics and purpose of the mentoring. Results showed mentors have some contradictions and conceptual limitations regarding their intervention in pedagogical practices and the teachers’ participation of teachers in the mentoring process, which suggest insufficient training in learning, teaching, teacher training, and mentoring. As the pedagogical conceptions influence what mentors do and how they do it, it is critical to intervene on their pedagogical beliefs to change the inappropriate mentoring teaching practices, improve the mentors’ training on mentoring, and, consequently, education. It is suggested to continue developing training programs for mentors, with an emphasis on pedagogical mentoring.