University-School mentoring partnerships in teacher education: The case of the Maputo Municipality Schools
Abstract
The paper discusses findings of a study which aims to enhance the support provided by schools to teacher trainees during their school-based component of initial teacher education. The study is part of a wider project with the main propose of strengthening school-University partnerships during the initial teacher education. The project is a collaboration of four Universities in four countries, Mozambique, Malawi, Northern Ireland and Uganda, to share best practices and provide support for University tutors and teachers in schools through the provision of workshops in each country. The first of these workshops was held in at the Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, in October 2010. Six pilot schools were chosen to participate in the mentorship training workshops designed to develop teachers mentoring skills. At the outset teachers indicated their willingness to reflect on and analyze their own practices and to identify areas for improvement. In so doing they were in a better position to assist student teachers in a more structured and systematic way. Through the training program, the concepts of mentoring, teachers as reflective practitioners, the processes of classroom observation, analysis and post lesson feedback discussion were examined using pre-recorded lessons provided by some of the teachers. Findings confirmed the importance of good mentoring and effective partnerships and also highlighted the benefits to be accrued not only by teacher trainees but also by University tutors, mentors, all teachers and pupils. Currently, there is a lack of integration between the University and schools in their provision of support to teacher trainees. Greater cooperative planning can help ensure that teacher trainees have the best possible opportunities to learn from more experienced teachers in schools.
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