Supervisors info:
Παπακωνσταντίνου Γεώργιος, Καθηγητής ΕΚΠΑ, Τμήμα: Παιδαγωγικό Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης, Σχολή: Φιλοσοφική
Πασιάς Γεώργιος, Καθηγητής ΕΚΠΑ, Τμήμα: Παιδαγωγικό Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης, Σχολή: Φιλοσοφική
Summary:
In the present study, the views of primary education teachers, who serve in various schools in islands and mainland Greece, both in pre-school and elementary education, are investigated, regarding the role that the implementation of the Mentor institution could play in the initial preparation and support of the newly-appointed teachers as well as the professional development of the teachers themselves. The Law No. 3848/2010, according to which the Ministry of Education introduced the institution of the Mentor, which in the end, was never to be implemented until recently, acted as a spur for the current research. However, under the Law 4823/2021 the institution of “Mentor” came to the foreground again as an institution to be implement in the current school year under the Ministerial Decree 102919/ΓΔ4/2022, “Teacher consultant – Mentor in Primary and Secondary Education”. In addition, the impetus for the writing of the current study was given due to the mass appointments carried out in recent years in the Greek education system which resulted in the schools being staffed with new entrants, who, entering a school unit for the first time, faced problems such as their integration both professionally and socially in the new educational community. It is an undeniable fact that that the problems and needs of new entrants are diverse and until today there has been no well-structured preparation and support framework for them. At the same time, the professional and social conditions are constantly changing, with the rapid changes on a scientific, technological and socio-economic level. Therefore, the professional development of teachers, which is a key factor for the quality of the educational system and through which the teacher can develop at a pedagogical and teaching level, being updated on the modern practices and methods, is considered of utmost importance. In this research, the role that the teacher can play as a consultant assuming the role of Mentor, within the support and professional development of teachers, is timely examined when the institution is expected to be implemented in the Greek school. The findings of the research demonstrated that teachers show suspicion and insecurity regarding the person who will assume the role of Mentor as well as the process in general. More specifically, they do not seem not to consider the process merit-based and do not trust the abilities, skills and qualifications of the potential mentor, who according to a large part of the respondents, may evaluate them. However, they seem to think that the Mentor can help them in several issues related to their needs and concerns in their workplace. Finally, a large percentage of the sample teacher population seems to consider professional development important and necessary, but links it to a moderate degree with the mentor's contribution towards this direction.
Keywords:
Mentor, support, professional development, new entrant-teacher
