An international comparative study of practicum mentors: Learning about ourselves by learning about others

Abstract

[EN] Teachers who mentor student teachers on practicum play a critical role in teacher education. However, it is widely reported that these teachers are poorly prepared and lack sufficient knowledge for mentoring. And what is known about mentoring is largely drawn from idiosyncratic single-context studies. In an attempt to extend the scope of this knowledge, this study draws on the Mentoring Profile Inventory (www.mentoringprofile.com) to chart how mentors conceive of their work within and across six international contexts. The outcome is a comparative analysis that highlights what is ‘particular’ versus what is ‘general’ across contexts that has not been previously reported.