A Follow-Up Study of an Early Childhood Mentoring Program: Sustaining Impactful Change for Mentors and Mentees
Government funded mentoring programs are one strategy to address the supply crisis of early childhood teachers (ECTs) in Australia. There is little or no published research on the long-term impacts of these programs. This paper presents the findings of an evaluation survey completed 18 months after...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-10-01
|
| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/10/1131 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850205878094921728 |
|---|---|
| author | Rebecca Andrews Fay Hadley Iain Hay |
| author_facet | Rebecca Andrews Fay Hadley Iain Hay |
| author_sort | Rebecca Andrews |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Government funded mentoring programs are one strategy to address the supply crisis of early childhood teachers (ECTs) in Australia. There is little or no published research on the long-term impacts of these programs. This paper presents the findings of an evaluation survey completed 18 months after the mentoring program finished, covering the perspectives of experienced ECTs (mentors) and beginning ECTs (mentees). The participants (N = 39) reported personal and professional growth over the period of the program. Subsequently, their enriched knowledge, skills and understanding of mentoring impacted their own, other individuals and wider practices within their workplaces. Enablers to participation were a supportive director and the scheduling of the program out of hours. The predominant challenge for ongoing enactment of learnings was time constraints due to daily demands of early childhood workplaces. Recommendations for sustainability of effective mentoring practices are proffered and warrant the attention of governments, employers and the sector. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0d91fb11800e44b6962cccc97323d032 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-0d91fb11800e44b6962cccc97323d0322025-08-20T02:11:00ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022024-10-011410113110.3390/educsci14101131A Follow-Up Study of an Early Childhood Mentoring Program: Sustaining Impactful Change for Mentors and MenteesRebecca Andrews0Fay Hadley1Iain Hay2Macquarie School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, AustraliaMacquarie School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, AustraliaFaculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney, NSW 2060, AustraliaGovernment funded mentoring programs are one strategy to address the supply crisis of early childhood teachers (ECTs) in Australia. There is little or no published research on the long-term impacts of these programs. This paper presents the findings of an evaluation survey completed 18 months after the mentoring program finished, covering the perspectives of experienced ECTs (mentors) and beginning ECTs (mentees). The participants (N = 39) reported personal and professional growth over the period of the program. Subsequently, their enriched knowledge, skills and understanding of mentoring impacted their own, other individuals and wider practices within their workplaces. Enablers to participation were a supportive director and the scheduling of the program out of hours. The predominant challenge for ongoing enactment of learnings was time constraints due to daily demands of early childhood workplaces. Recommendations for sustainability of effective mentoring practices are proffered and warrant the attention of governments, employers and the sector.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/10/1131mentoringearly childhoodworkforce developmentearly childhood teachers |
| spellingShingle | Rebecca Andrews Fay Hadley Iain Hay A Follow-Up Study of an Early Childhood Mentoring Program: Sustaining Impactful Change for Mentors and Mentees Education Sciences mentoring early childhood workforce development early childhood teachers |
| title | A Follow-Up Study of an Early Childhood Mentoring Program: Sustaining Impactful Change for Mentors and Mentees |
| title_full | A Follow-Up Study of an Early Childhood Mentoring Program: Sustaining Impactful Change for Mentors and Mentees |
| title_fullStr | A Follow-Up Study of an Early Childhood Mentoring Program: Sustaining Impactful Change for Mentors and Mentees |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Follow-Up Study of an Early Childhood Mentoring Program: Sustaining Impactful Change for Mentors and Mentees |
| title_short | A Follow-Up Study of an Early Childhood Mentoring Program: Sustaining Impactful Change for Mentors and Mentees |
| title_sort | follow up study of an early childhood mentoring program sustaining impactful change for mentors and mentees |
| topic | mentoring early childhood workforce development early childhood teachers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/10/1131 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rebeccaandrews afollowupstudyofanearlychildhoodmentoringprogramsustainingimpactfulchangeformentorsandmentees AT fayhadley afollowupstudyofanearlychildhoodmentoringprogramsustainingimpactfulchangeformentorsandmentees AT iainhay afollowupstudyofanearlychildhoodmentoringprogramsustainingimpactfulchangeformentorsandmentees AT rebeccaandrews followupstudyofanearlychildhoodmentoringprogramsustainingimpactfulchangeformentorsandmentees AT fayhadley followupstudyofanearlychildhoodmentoringprogramsustainingimpactfulchangeformentorsandmentees AT iainhay followupstudyofanearlychildhoodmentoringprogramsustainingimpactfulchangeformentorsandmentees |