Mentoring and professional development: research findings from the perspective of mentor kindergarten teachers and mentee kindergarten teachers

Cilj ovog diplomskog rada bio je istražiti kako odgajatelji mentori te odgajatelji pripravnici vide bitne aspekte mentorskoga procesa tijekom pripravničkoga staža u ustanovama za rani i predškolski odgoj i obrazovanje kako bi pridonijeli boljem razumijevanju ove tematike kao iznimno važne faze njihovog profesionalnoga razvoja. Istraživanje je provedeno na prigodnom uzorku od dvanaest odgajateljica mentorica i šesnaest odgajatelja pripravnika iz ustanova ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja koje su bile studentice diplomskog studija ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja u akademskoj godini 2017/2018. Za potrebe ovoga istraživanja pripremljen je protokol sastavljen od otvorenih pitanja na koja su sudionici istraživanja odgovarali pisanim putem. Rezultati provedene kvalitativne analize pokazuju kako odgajateljice mentorice i odgajatelji pripravnici imaju slična, ali i različita gledišta na aspekte mentorskog procesa. Pokazalo se kako je mentorstvo vrlo zahtjevan odnos između odgajatelja mentora i odgajatelja pripravnika te podrazumijeva profesionalnu i osobnu uključenost kako bi se ostvarile temeljne profesionalne zadaće koje će osposobiti odgajatelja pripravnika za budući posao. Rezultati ukazuju na nužnost unaprjeđenja mentorstva i pripravništva u ustanovama ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja.The aim of this graduate thesis was to investigate how mentor kindergarten teachers and mentee kindergarten teachers see important aspects of the mentoring process during internships in institutions of early childhood and preschool education to contribute to a better understanding of this topic as an extremely important stage in their professional development. The research was conducted on a suitable sample of twelve mentor kindergarten teachers and sixteen mentee kindergarten teachers from institutions of early childhood and preschool education, who were students of graduate study of early childhood and preschool education in the academic year 2017/2018. For the purpose of this research, a protocol was prepared consisting of open questions to which the research participants responded in writing. The results of the qualitative analysis show how that mentor kindergarten teachers and mentee kindergarten teachers have similar, but different views on aspects of the mentoring process. Mentoring was a highly demanding relationship between mentor kindergarten teacher and mentee kindergarten teacher and implied professional and personal involvement in order to achieve the basic professional tasks that would enable mentee kindergarten teacher to work for the future job. The results indicate the necessity of improving mentoring and internships in institutions of early childhood and preschool education