The Mentoring Process of First Year Teachers - A System Analysis and Predictions for Tomorrow's Society
Mentoring has been identified as a key support for beginning teachers across the globe (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Ryan, 2002). Mentoring programs provide opportunities for beginning teachers to receive guidance and support from more experienced educators as they navigate the challenges of their first years in the classroom. There is a growing body of research on mentoring programs around the world that have demonstrated positive outcomes for beginning teachers (Ding, Ross, & McChesney, 2010). Mentoring programs have been found to be particularly beneficial in contexts where there is little support for beginning teachers, such as Romania (Dumitrescu & Florian, 2011). This article analyzes educational systems in 16 European countries from the perspective of mentoring first-year teachers and builds a common vision regarding this European trend. The added value of this system analysis resides in the pan-European analysis of trends in the field of educational policies.
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