Mentoring: The principal learner

The Harvard Graduate School of Education utilizes the knowledge and skills of school principals to help teach aspiring principals about the principalship. This thesis focuses on mentor principals and what experiences influence their learning as they work with student interns.;The mentor principal and student intern embark together on a journey of learning. The learning moments for the mentor principal occur when she begins to see her practice with new eyes--the eyes of her intern. The mentor's principalship can be transformed with her new outlook and new perspectives.;This thesis researches the kind of learning mentor principals experience when they mentor an aspiring principal. The data were collected using two methods. A questionnaire was distributed to over two-hundred Principals' Center Summer Institute principals. This study explores the responses found in ninety-one of these questionnaires. Interviews were also conducted with six local principals. These principals were asked to share their learning experiences while in a mentoring relationship.;The result is that principals do learn from their mentoring experiences. The learning experiences are categorized into nine different learning behaviors. The learning behaviors are: mirrored reflection; problem solving reflection; practical learner; instructional leader; structural change agent; validation learning; communicator learner; planner learner; and model learner.;This study also found that a number of conditions can enable mentors to be learners. I call these conditions "The Twelve Dimensions". Each dimension helps the mentor principal gauge her preparedness for the mentoring experience. The dimensions provide a common language for educators as they structure the mentor/intern partnership.