One of the strategies, which can be used to advance the quality of teacher preparation, is mentoring. Although it is often difficult to effectively enact the process of mentoring teacher trainees during practicum, due to the dispersed locations of teacher trainees in practicum schools countrywide, the authors suggest that utilization of mobile technologies has potential to leverage the process. Following this proposition, a mobile application development tool was used to develop a mentoring app named Makmentor " ppp. This tool was deployed to provide mentorship to different groups of Makerere University teacher-trainees during practicum. The process of deploying the app was informed by Design-Based Thinking and Koole (2009) Framework for Rational Analysis of Mobile Education – (FRAME). The main potential of Makmentor App was in its ability to bridge the communication gap by facilitating synchronous and asynchronous communication between and among teacher trainees and mentors as well as provision of critical subject-related content that could be accessed by teacher trainees anywhere anytime on a mobile phone.

The present study draws from a 2011 BTP project that explored whether the teaching practice of using cluster monitors can improve teaching skills. In this article, the authors utilized school effectiveness ?knowledge base? to assess relevant approaches of improving teaching effectiveness in beginning teachers. The intent was to determine whether Block Teaching Practice (BTP) field experiences that included cluster monitors would deliver opportunities to novice teachers to improve their teaching effectiveness. First, this study critically examined the different viewpoints?clinical experiences, effective teaching, and ?monitors as mentors? of teaching practice. Second, the authors analyzed the dynamic features of teacher education and the field experiences of teaching practice based on observations of novice teachers in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Third, this article presents findings based on reports gathered from BTP monitors to clarify what constituted a learner-centered BTP experience that would bolsters effective teaching. Attention to relevant policies and homegrown master teachers emerged as possible indications for developing excellence in teaching effectiveness and quality of teaching practice. In addition, the study conceded that there seems to be more flexibility for action the closer one gets to the classroom level, thus making teaching effectiveness difficult for those aspiring to become effective teachers.

This presentation is based on a larger study whose purpose was to explore the various opportunities and challenges influencing integration of ICT in teaching and learning Mathematics in secondary schools in Nairobi County. The study, adopted a descriptive survey design. Three instruments questionnaires', a structured interview schedule and an observation checklist were used to collect data. The study was carried out in twelve public secondary schools in Nairobi County. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Findings from the study indicated that, teachers face major challenges such as developing their own technological skills and knowledge as well as self-training in the use ICTs in their teaching. This lack of capacity building support was found by the study to contribute to teacher lax in integrating technology in their teaching in spite of the enthusiasm. This study recommends that new frontiers on technology integration be made accessible to both teachers and students for learning purpose to increase access to information and that, capacity building in technology integration be increased for teachers and awareness be built among pre-service teachers trainees integrating ICT in teaching and learning Mathematics.

Against an international policy backdrop that favours school-led initial teacher education, this paper presents the results of a study seeking to explore the role of the teacher mentor in the English context. Using an online survey (n = 64) and semi-structured interviews (n = 7), the study examined how mentors conceptualised their roles and related skills, and if perceptions varied depending on whether they supported mentees on school-led or university-led routes, and, or, other contextual variables. In light of preliminary findings from the survey, suggesting that views could be affected by the particular workplace in which mentors were located, the second (interview) phase of the research was theoretically framed by a situational and sociocultural theory of mentoring. Whilst overall the findings revealed that perceptions and reported practices continued to be influenced by structural factors identified in existent studies, they also suggested the emergence and impact of new cultural and situational dynamics, at school level. The authors consider the reasons for situational variations in these dynamics and the implications for future mentor development.

The aim of teacher education (TE) is to produce quality teachers who can facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes by the students. TE embraces a wider perspective of continued learning within the teaching process and the teacher is an essential facilitator in the implementation process of the curriculum. In education therefore, the importance of the teacher takes second place only after that of the learners so that the quality of the teacher is of great concern to the education system. Like any other professional domain, teaching is based on a wide base of specialized knowledge and it is important to note that the generation, dissemination and application of new knowledge is critical in economic growth. The Kenya vision 2030 envisages a knowledge based economy which has the capacity to compete in the global market. An expert understanding of the subject knowledge and effective teaching may be less direct where second language instruction is concerned. Therefore to foster understanding among their students, language teachers and language teacher educators need to know among other things ways of representing the knowledge and skills so that the students are more likely to grasp it. This paper aims at illustrating what language teacher educators need to know about English language and pedagogical issues in order to inspire their students to learn the language, to be effective teachers, improve the quality of teaching and develop professionally. In order to contextualize these ideas, this paper bases its major arguments on language education theories from linguistics, curriculum studies, philosophy, sociology and psychology.

This study adopts a qualitative case-study method to examine the mentoring of teacher trainees in Ghana. Interviews with the trainee teachers and head teachers provide data on the process, the participants’ experiences and perceived benefits and challenges of the program. Recommendations for improvement are provided.

This paper continues an analysis of data collected as part of an ongoing PhD in Education. Building on an original conceptual framework of the mentoring process, interview and survey data from Teach First mentors, trainees and university tutors are examined to explore how those participating in the mentoring process perceive Teach First – an innovative teacher training route with significant influence in the current educational landscape. The findings showed noticeable variations in perceptions of Teach First between and within these groups. In particular mentors were ambivalent to Teach First and give the impression that the distinctiveness of Teach First is attenuated as the trainee enters the school. Varying perceptions suggest different forms of identity construction amongst those engaged in the mentoring process which, in turn, influence the nature of that process. The implication is that, after ten years, Teach First is moving from innovative niche to the mainstream.

Experienced teachers in schools are often left out of discussions regarding mentors. Having established themselves within the profession, and having proved themselves capable of managing classrooms, developing curriculum and building up positive relationships with their students, it can all too easily be assumed that these teachers do not need a helping hand and an open ear to help them through times of transition and change. Perhaps teachers change roles within the course of their career, perhaps their line managers and members of leadership change, or perhaps they decide to improve their practice and contribute to the field of educational research by embarking on further education awards alongside their teaching roles. Such experiences are not without their ups and downs; they can certainly be unsettling, disorientating and lead to a feeling of having lost one’s voice. This is where a mentor is sorely needed. This contribution to the collection ‘Mentors Matter’ proposes that in order for teachers for be able to weather the storm of change, instability and in some cases a personal transformation as a result of academic engagement and inquiry, access to a ‘caring’ mentor should be normal practice. This will be discussed in light of empirical research conducted by the author as part of her doctoral inquiry, and a revisited framework for a Pedagogy of CARE will be introduced. The author believes that certain principles and attributes belong to such a framework that foregrounds voice and an act of ‘care’.