CHANGES IN INITIAL TEACHER-TRAINING STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING OVER TIME

This article looks at mentoring in the Open University's Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course: a distance learning, competenc e-based course of part-time Initial Teacher Training (ITT) for primary and secondary students. It emphasises the importance of school-based mentoring, and looks at changing student perceptions of mentoring over the duration of the course. Questionnaires and interviews are used to explore a range of issues about mentoring in ITT. The findings sugges t that students become more discerning about, and more critical of, th eir mentors as the course proceeds. Some attempt is made to suggest ho w these attitudes can be improved. The mentors' perceptions are compar ed with those of the students.