TY - JOUR
T1 - Reframing Peer Mentoring as a Route for Developing an Educational Community of Practice
AU - Nicholson, Laura
AU - Rodriguez-Cuadrado, Sara
AU - Woolhouse, Clare
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - The benefits of peer mentoring in school settings are well-documented, however, the focus has been on the perceptions of teachers, as opposed to teaching assistants (TAs), who report distinct beliefs about their professional development. A mixed methodology was used in which 304 primary school TAs completed questionnaires regarding their views of their professional development while undertaking training on a mathematics intervention for underachieving pupils. Open-ended questions elicited the perceived benefits of the peer mentoring aspect of the training. We utilized Lave and Wenger’s (1991) community of practice framework to inform the qualitative analysis and the principles of grounded theory to arrive at three themes representing the perceived benefits: an opportunity to discuss and share experiences; increased confidence; and a safe space to test teaching plans and resources. Findings were used to reframe the benefits of peer mentoring for TAs undertaking intervention training, which can inform further research and future training programs.
AB - The benefits of peer mentoring in school settings are well-documented, however, the focus has been on the perceptions of teachers, as opposed to teaching assistants (TAs), who report distinct beliefs about their professional development. A mixed methodology was used in which 304 primary school TAs completed questionnaires regarding their views of their professional development while undertaking training on a mathematics intervention for underachieving pupils. Open-ended questions elicited the perceived benefits of the peer mentoring aspect of the training. We utilized Lave and Wenger’s (1991) community of practice framework to inform the qualitative analysis and the principles of grounded theory to arrive at three themes representing the perceived benefits: an opportunity to discuss and share experiences; increased confidence; and a safe space to test teaching plans and resources. Findings were used to reframe the benefits of peer mentoring for TAs undertaking intervention training, which can inform further research and future training programs.
KW - Peer mentoring
KW - teaching
assistants
KW - communities of
practice
KW - intervention
training
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85054567316&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85054567316&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/reframing-peer-mentoring-route-developing-educational-community-practice
U2 - 10.1080/13611267.2018.1530163
DO - 10.1080/13611267.2018.1530163
M3 - Article (journal)
SN - 1361-1267
VL - 26
SP - 420
EP - 440
JO - Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning
JF - Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning
IS - 4
ER -