Dual sources of mentoring for religious educators: The Christian tradition and educational literature

The current educational literature shows how necessary mentors are for the personal and professional development of teachers. Nowhere is this more clear than with lay religious educators who have been asked to educate others in the faith, without the benefit of adequate induction support. This is puzzling given that the Christian tradition has myriad examples of mentoring of clergy and religious, in forms such as spiritual direction and novitiate.;The purpose of this study is to provide two sources of mentoring for lay religious educators: insights from the tradition and the education literature. These insights are highlighted to build a viable model of mentoring suited to the needs of religious schools. The study examines examples from the spiritual tradition, asking "if" and "how" they have relevance for today. It also examines the educational literature on mentoring asking how it can inform the tradition and be informed by it.;This interdisciplinary study employs strategies from the fields of church history and education. It combines insights from historical analysis with insights from the educational literature to provide a sound structure for a model for religious education mentoring.;The mentoring relationships examined are the spiritual direction relationships of the desert monastics, the mentoring among the medieval mystics at Helfta, Germany and the mentoring among Teresa of Avila and her male cohorts, John of the Cross and Gratian. The roles and characteristics of the relationships in each example are then juxtaposed with those in the educational literature, in order to point out similarities and differences.;The conclusions drawn are that both sources are necessary for religious educators' mentoring. The tradition provides rich description of mentoring, highlighting its complexity, and showing that a Christian form of mentoring has a unique source (the Christian tradition) and means of sustenance (spiritual growth). The educational literature provides functional details that help with setting up a program. The model suggested is characterized by its stress on process, connection to the religious tradition, and promotion of ongoing spiritual support for mentor and protege.