This is the fifth in a suite of five projects that aims to establish an evidence-base for the continual review and enhancement of pre-service teacher education and early career teacher professional learning and development within Singapore. Some findings emergent from these projects, especially the recently completed OER 14/13 LEL project, suggested that a supportive and sharing school culture, structured mentoring, and beginning teachers’ (BTs) attitude to learning account for their varying degrees of professional growth. During visits to schools participating in the Instructional Mentoring Programme (IMP), officers from Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST) also sensed that there existed school variations in the implementation of BT mentoring. Therefore, we collaborated with officers from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and AST to research support for and mentoring of BTs in Singapore.
Principal Investigator
Prof. LOW Ee Ling
Co-Principal Investigators
Assoc. Prof. NG Pak Tee, Prof. GOODWIN A. Lin, Prof. LIU Woon Chia, Dr. GOH Sao-Ee
Collaborators
Prof. YEUNG Alexander Seeshing, Mrs. CHUA-LIM Yen Ching, Miss SYED MAHMOOD Sarifah Noor Aini, Mr. PANDIAN Jeyarajadas
Research Assistants/Associates:
Mr. CAI Li, Mr. HUI Chenri, Mr. CHEONG Beng Cheong
Objectives
- To describe and measure patterns of mentoring practices in Singapore schools
- To explain the factors that contribute to the success of those practices
- To measure the impact of mentoring on BTs’ instructional practices
- To identify opportunities for the enhancement of mentoring practices
Findings
- Structured mentoring programmes are important for BT mentoring
- Support and trust of school leaders (SLs) are critical for successful implementation of mentoring programmes
- Established trust between the mentor and mentee is important
- Sufficient timetabled time is needed for regular meet-ups and discussions
- IMP mentoring approach and tools can also be used for the mentoring of experienced teachers
- Subject-based mentor–mentee matching and cross-disciplinary matching have strengths and weaknesses
Insights and Implications on Programmes and Policies:
- System-level mentoring programmes (e.g., IMP) for mentors can lift the professional practice of the teaching fraternity for quality teaching and learning
- Structured mentoring programmes with trust and support from SLs, protected time, targeted focus, etc., can ensure successful implementation
- Development of guidelines about how to assess the impact of the programme and the mentors and BTs’ growth Extend mentoring programmes beyond the mentoring of BTs to experienced teachers
Citation
Low, E. L., Cai, L., & Hui, C. (2019). Supporting factors to effective beginning teacher mentoring: An exploratory study of beginning teacher mentoring practices in Singapore.