An investigation into the mentoring of beginning professors in a private Philippine University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the level of need and perceptions of beginning professors to mentoring as a means for providing support and professional development at Clifford University, a private, religious institution in the Philippines.

A mixed method design incorporating quantitative and qualitative research approaches was utilized for gathering data from participants. The study surveyed 81 beginning teachers as the unit of analysis. Two research instruments were used, questionnaire and interviews, which measured the needs of the beginning professors and sought their perceptions about using mentoring to meet these needs. Seven research questions were posed and answered throuqh the use of the Statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software for descriptive statistics and t tests, while thematic content analysis was employed to analyze the interview responses.

The data analysis revealed that the beginning professors had important needs that should be addressed for effective functioning in their chosen career. The top ranking needs as analyzed from the responses of the beginning professors were using a variety of teaching strategies and methods, planning for instruction, motivating students, obtaining instructional resources and materials, and diagnosing students, needs.

The findings revealed that mentoring has a positive impact on intellectual growth, research, professional career development, academic guidance, skill development, personal communication, and emotional development of the beginning professors.

The significance that beginning teachers placed upon the support provided by their more experienced colleagues suggests that the design of effective school based induction or orientation programs should include mentoring.

Recommendations by the researcher, resulting from the analysis of data include the following: that administrators (a) conduct a periodic assessment of the needs of the begrinning professors in order to provide the necessary support and guidance that the new professors may need in the early years, (b) allocate appropriate resources as start-up funds for beginning' professors, and (c) notify and encourage the veteran professors to see it as their responsibility to support and mentor the beginning professors in their entry years into the profession. The researcher proposes the concucting of pilot mentoring proqrams to determine their impact on beginning professors, professional practice and retention.