Support and Challenge: conflicting or complementary aspects of mentoring novice teachers?

Abstract

Whilst the funding for the transition from old to new partnership arrangements for the training of novice teachers has ended, many of those who now have responsibility within teacher education are still in transition themselves. The traditional roles of supervisory teacher and subject tutor are still being redefined and worked out, particularly as teachers, or mentors, in schools take on more responsibility in this area. Evidence from a current mentor partnership scheme suggests that one of the more problematic aspects of the redefinition for mentors is that of reconciling the roles of supporter and assessor that mentoring involves. This paper looks at recent experiences of work with mentors and students in relation to Daloz's model of mentoring. It claims that support and challenge are necessary elements in supporting novice teachers in their professional development, and that for challenge and support to be most effective they should be seen as dual roles for any one person who is involved in helping novice teachers and also that their potential contribution to the development of novice teachers is diminished if they are not related to goals or vision. Daloz's model is outlined and contrasted with the practice of mentoring in order to identify differences. A discussion on possible reasons for the observed mismatch follows, reflecting the need for a greater understanding both of challenge and of its role in furthering the development of novice teachers. Finally, some suggestions are offered for what challenge might look like in practice.