Exploring the perceptions held by primary teacher trainees regarding the value of peer mentoring

This small scale study investigated how much value undergraduate primary trainee teachers perceive there to be within a programme of peer mentoring. As this was a small scale study gathering qualitative data, the findings do not represent a general consensus and may be situational to this setting. The literature suggests that there are a wide range of benefits to using peer mentoring, such as a reduction in withdrawal rates, more successful transition into higher education and higher academic outcomes; but it is important to note that the majority of this research has been undertaken within a business setting. However, those studies undertaken within the higher education context, seem to support the findings of the earlier literature. Questionnaires and interviews were used to gather data from a sample of year 1 and year 3 undergraduates. The following themes emerged from the data: transition to university remains a concern; students can identify possible benefits and pitfalls of peer mentoring, but lacked clarify about the best way to instigate a programme; male trainees respond to this concept differently from their female peers. Due to the nature of the research, subsequent studies should be done to explore the possible implications of these themes further