Transformational mentorship: Parallel processes in teacher development

Four research questions guided this exploratory investigation of mentoring relationships: (1) Which personal attributes of both mentors and mentees are related to the experienced outcomes? (2) Which professional attributes of both mentors and mentees are related to the experienced outcomes? (3) What roles do parallel processes play in explaining the experienced outcomes? (4) What are the personal, attitudinal, and behavioral attributes of the participants that facilitate learning and transference of new teaching strategies?;The major conclusions were: (1) Participants were motivated by both personal growth and professional interests. (2) Similarities in styles within the pairs contributed to both satisfaction from the relationship and transference. (3) Participation in the program was only marginally related to general work related attitudes. (4) Task-orientation in mentors and mentees was conducive to both satisfaction and transference. (5) The quality of the core relationships tend to spill-over to within class and between class relationships through parallel processes. (6) Most participants perceived effective mentorship in transformational terms: sharing a vision, energizing, inspiring and changing based on reciprocity.;The emergent model of transformational mentorship indicates that task-focused mentoring facilitates transference of teaching skills by producing psychological success, self worth, and commitment within both the mentor and the mentee. These effects, in turn, transcend the core relationship through parallel processes; they may be positive in nature enhancing transference, or negative--hindering it. When positive, transformational mentorship becomes transformational teaching as the changes in both persons spill-over to their respective students. Since such direct and vicarious effects are major outcomes of teacher development, they must be carefully considered when planning mentoring programs, especially for experienced teachers.;Data were collected from 19 mentors and 20 mentees participating in a planned mentoring-program sponsored by the Cleveland City School District and the Cleveland State University. Mentors were Major Work teachers of gifted students, and mentees were teachers of regular classes. The principal purpose of the program was to train the mentees in special teaching strategies. Questionnaires containing measures of mentoring behavior, learning and teaching styles, self esteem, life and work satisfaction, were filled by all participants at the beginning and end of the one-year program. Face to face in-depth interviews were conducted after the program with each teacher separately. The semi-structured interviews probed aspects of expected and experienced outcomes and benefits from the program, parallel effects, mentoring interactions, and mentoring attributes. Data analysis consisted of both nonparametric statistical tests and content analysis of the transcribed interviews.