Mentoring Special Educators The Roles of National Board Certified Teachers

• Published in: Remedial and special education Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 59 - 66
• Main Authors: Wasburn, Mara H., Wasburn-Moses, Leah, Davis, Darrel R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2012; SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Beginning Teachers; Classroom Observation Techniques; Classroom Techniques; Colleagues; Experienced Teachers; Feedback (Response); Incidence; Inservice Teacher Education; Mentoring; Mentoring programs; Mentors; Novices; Special Education; Special Education Teachers; Studies; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Certification; Teacher Role; Teacher Surveys; Teachers; staff development; teacher preparation; in-service; special education
• ISSN: 0741-9325; 1538-4756
• DOI: 10.1177/0741932510364549

Although mentoring programs for novice special education teachers have been highly touted, there is scant research describing either novice needs or mentor roles. This study is based on a sample of 66 randomly selected national board certified teachers (NBCTs) in special education in an effort to determine the nature and extent of their involvement in mentoring junior colleagues, both formally and informally. A previously published instrument was modified to determine the frequency of their engagement in various mentoring roles. Results indicated that formal mentoring involved more of the 19 identified mentor activities than did informal mentoring. Implications include a need for mentor training for NBCTs and for further exploration of mentoring roles in the professional literature.