| dc.description.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. | en_US |
