Head to head: a systematic review of the research evidence on mentoring new head teachers

Abstract

This article reports findings arising from a systematic review of literature relating to mentoring new head teachers. The review found that all major studies of formal mentoring programmes for new heads reported that such programmes have been effective, and that the mentoring of new heads can result in a range of perceived benefits for both mentees and mentors. However, the nature of the research evidence presented to support such findings is inconclusive and there are notable gaps in the evidence base. With a view to advancing academic knowledge in the field, the authors highlight those areas where further research is most needed.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the NCSL for supporting this review and particularly to the project lead, Fred Pattison, who provided an effective steer for the project. Thanks also to Dick Weindling (Create Consultants), who provided consultancy support in conducting the review and made valuable comments on the first draft of this article, and to Angi Malderez (University of Leeds), Alison Kington and Louise Tracey (University of Nottingham), who also made helpful comments on the first draft. Last but by no means least, we would like to thank all those at NFER who contributed to the study, especially Pauline Benefield, who conducted the searches, and Pat Ashby and Wendy Keys, who reviewed many of the individual books, articles and papers which are cited in this paper.

Notes

We use the term ‘mentee’ to denote those individuals ‘being mentored’ or having a mentor. We prefer this term to ‘protégé’, which possesses connotations of elitism (Coombe & Retallick, 1996) and which we feel is particularly inappropriate for head teacher mentoring. Some writers prefer to use the term ‘mentoree’ (see Carter, 1999, p. 3).

New heads were defined as head teachers of primary, secondary and special schools in the period between appointment and the end of their second year in post.

The databases searched were: the Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA); The Australian Education Index (AEI); The British Education Index (BEI); The British Official Publications Current Awareness Service (BOPCAS); The Canadian Business and Current Affairs (CBCA); Current Educational Research in the UK (CERUK); The Social, Psychological, Educational and Criminological Trials Register (C2-SPECTR); COPAC; The Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC); PSYCINFO; and The System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE).

In this study, new heads were defined as being in post for up to three years.