Changes in Initial Teacher Training Students’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of School‐based Mentoring over Time

Summary

This article looks at mentoring in the Open University's Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course: a distance learning, competence‐based course of part‐time Initial Teacher Training (ITT) for primary and secondary students. It emphasises the importance of school‐based mentoring, and looks at changing student perceptions of mentoring over the duration of the course. Questionnaires and interviews are used to explore a range of issues about mentoring in ITT. The findings suggest that students become more discerning about, and more critical of, their mentors as the course proceeds. Some attempt is made to suggest how these attitudes can be improved. The mentors’ perceptions are compared with those of the students.