Challenges and opportunitiesReflections on a collaborative Comenius 2.1 Action project

Induction Mentors Needs – a needs analysis approach: The English Perspective and a comparison of findings from twelve European Countries

www.tissnte.euJones, M (2009) Supporting the Supporters of Novice Teachers: an analysis of mentors’ needs from twelve European countries presented from an English perspective, Research in Comparative and International Education, 4 (1), pp.4-21

Preparatory Visit – Riga, Latvia, February 2006Agree themes, objectives, activities, intended

outcomes and participants

Project aims:• to map current provision for mentor support

across the twelve countries • to identify mentors’ needs in relation to the

skills, knowledge and understanding required to fulfil their role effectively

• to inform the development of training materials for the delivery of a five day training course by seeking answers to the following questions:

Schedule of project team meetings

• January 2007, Leuven• May 2007, Budapest• January 2008, Innsbruck• March 2008, Porto

One week training course: October 2008, Budapest

First project team meetingFormulating research questions

Developing research strategy and tools

1. What frameworks and induction-mentor support systems are currently available in the twelve European countries?

2. What are mentors’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities?

3. In relation to which aspects of the mentoring role do they feel confident?

4. Which aspects of mentoring have they identified as areas for further development?

5. What training mode and resources would they find most helpful?

Diverse sampling frame in terms of each country’s political landscapes

• England - statutory induction framework since 1999, revised in 2003

• Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia - fundamental reforms, pervading all aspects of political, economic, social and cultural life

• Greece and Portugal - democratic societies for past 30 years, however, still bear the legacy of the authoritarian regimes of the past

• Belgium - a special case; Flemish and French speaking communities, distinct cultural heritage and identities, separate education systems

Teacher Induction frameworks across 12 European member statesDiverse national education systems and professional traditions with different needs and priorities for development• Wallonia, Slovakia and Latvia - currently no framework for

induction and professional standards • Portugal, Hungary and Ireland - in the process of

implementing an induction framework• Greece acknowledges the notion of induction, but its

application in practice is inconsistent• England (TTA, 1999) and Flanders (since 2006) - only two

national contexts represented on the TISSNTE Team where a regulatory framework including professional standards has been implemented

Development of the research tool (survey questionnaire)

Linguistic and conceptual challenges

1. Collective production of a draft questionnaire by the TISSNTE team in English

2. Translation of the draft questionnaire into the national languages

3. Piloting of the questionnaires4. Revision of draft questionnaire taking into account

feedback from the pilot5. Production of final version in English6. Final version translated into the national languages7. Distribution of questionnaire in the 12 countries by post,

email and via professional meetings8. Collation of data, including translation of qualitative

comments

Composition of the survey sample

Sample N=282

9

29

8

32

13

20

42 4346

17 17

6

Austri

a

Belgium

Bulgar

ia

Englan

d

Greec

e

Hungar

y

Irelan

d

Latvi

a

Lithu

ania

Portu

gal

Slovakia

Turke

y

Maintaining a collaborative, democratic culture

• English – danger of becoming exclusive means of communication, although Russian and German also used as lingua franca

• Developing a shared understanding of principles underpinning the research process

• Balance of control / division of labour• Establish communicative space where every

partner’s voice is heard• Providing common ground for collaboration between

practitioners (teacher educators) and academic researchers

Administrative and bureaucratic burden

• Compliance with institutional administrative procedures

• Meeting EC requirements (e.g. submission of progress reports, completion of timesheets, submission of staffing and travel/subsistence expenses claim forms, external monitoring and evaluation)

• Accommodating varying working cultures and institutional procedures

Logistical issues

• Pressure to host project team meetings in low cost countries (can involve long journeys)

• Pressure to use economy travel (not always best use of time)

• Email not always effectively used by all participants

Rewards• Research and publication opportunities

• Dissemination at international conferences

• Invitations to deliver workshop/seminar and keynote lectures

• Networking opportunities

• Travel, professional and cultural exchange