THE ROLE OF MENTORSHIP IN TEACHING PRACTICE FOR DIPLOMA IN PRIMARY EDUCATION PROGRAMME

This study examines the concerns of student-teachers at Serowe College of Education in Botswana on the role of the mentor teacher during Teaching Practice (TP) for professional development. The study adopted a qualitative methodological approach where only online interviews were used in order to observe Covid- 19 protocols for the protection of both the student -teachers and the researcher. The study sampled four (4) third year student-teachers just about to complete their course to share their experiences during TP. The findings reveal that the current arrangement where student-teachers are assigned to any class teacher in a practicing school does not benefit most of them in terms of professional development. This study also identified various factors that may contribute to the improvement of mentor-mentee relationships such as communication between mentor teachers and the higher institutions of learning (Colleges of Educations) through workshops as well as developing a mentor guide booklet to help mentor teachers to fully understand their roles and responsibilities. Furthermore, it would be necessary to assign mentor teachers to mentees based on the areas of specialisation of the student-teachers and also motivate the mentor teacher with some incentives to ensure quality in the education system that is competitive globally. Article visualizations