Clarifying pre-service teacher perceptions of mentor teachers’ developing use of mentoring skills

The aim of this study is to clarify how pre-service teachers perceive mentor teachers’ use of mentoring skills. Sixty stimulated-recall interviews were conducted, each in connection with a previously recorded mentoring dialogue. A quantitative analysis showed that six types of mentoring skills appeared to be perceived by pre-service teachers as offering emotional support and five others as offering task assistance. After mentor teachers were trained in mentoring skills, shifts in their frequencies of use of distinct skills, as observed by independent raters, corresponded to a considerable extent with shifts in frequencies of pre-service teacher perceptions of mentor teachers’ mentoring behaviour.

► We identificate Pre-service teachers perceived two clear sets of observable mentoring skills. ► Six types of skills appeared to be perceived as offering emotional support. ► Five types of mentoring skills appeared to be perceived as offering task assistance. ► After mentor teachers were trained, shifts in use of mentoring skills occurred. ► After training, pre-service teachers recognise shifts in use of mentoring skills.