Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2005

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Gregory Ulm

Second Advisor

Robert Boyd

Third Advisor

Elizabeth Whitaker

Abstract

The efficacy of mentoring for educational leaders is of growing concern in the field of principal preparation. The purpose of this qualitative study was to define and describe the skills of an educational mentor. The participants in this study were five mentors and five proteges who had completed the Indiana mentor/protege pilot project, "Mentoring and CoachingDeveloping Educational Leaders." This pilot was launched in October, 2002 and was developed by The Indiana Professional Standards Board in conjunction with the Indiana University Consortium and The National Association of Secondary School Principals. Subjects were tape recorded by the researcher in face-to-face interviews. Coding categories were used to organize the data and results were examined for emerging skill strands. During the literature review, four possible skill strands were defined. They included coaching or leadership support, time or availability, communication and interpersonal strength. After the interviews were conducted and coded three of the four above named skill strands were corroborated. The skill strand of interpersonal strength could not be confinned as an independent skill strand. Rather, the researcher was able to show that this strand is actually an overarching concept under which the other skill strands can be defined. In addition, four new skill strands emerged and were confinned. They included commitment to task, promoting divergent thinking, relationship building and reflection. The confinned skill strands were defined as follows: Coaching or leadership support- the mentor demonstrates skills essential for the position and the protege is able to depend upon the fact that the mentor is able to make good, positive decisions in difficult situations. Time or availability- the mentor demonstrates that he has time for the protege. Communication - the mentor demonstrates the ability to provide communication with the protege and demonstrates the ability to communicate positive responses to the protege's work. Commitment to task- the mentor demonstrates that they believe it is important to sustain the relationship and the work with the protege. Promoting divergent thinking- the mentor demonstrates support of the protege's ability to problem-solve and develop new and/or multiple solutions. Relationship Building - the mentor demonstrates that they are committed to purposefully building a relationship with the mentor and that this relationship is impmiant to the success of the protege. Reflection - the mentor sets up situations in which the protege is encouraged to reflect on their administrative experiences. This reflection includes dialogue with the mentor about the reflection. This dialogue may be verbal or in writing through email or logs.

Download

Share

COinS