Mentoring Skills and Practices of Master Teachers in Zone 2, Schools Division of Zambales

Catherine M. Bantilo; Leila L. Ravana

doi:10.11594/assrj.01.02.03

Authors

Catherine M. Bantilo Schools Division of Zambales
Leila L. Ravana President Ramon Magsaysay State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11594/assrj.01.02.03

Keywords:

Instructional leadership, mentoring interventions, mentoring practices, mentoring skills

Abstract

T

he study investigated the mentoring skills and practices exhibited by master teachers as predicting factors of professional mentoring effectiveness in public secondary schools. The objectives of the study were to know the demographic profile of teachers, identify the level of mentoring skills and practices exhibited by master teacher-mentors, determine if there are significant differences in perceptions when grouped according to teacher characteristics, and find out the relationship between mentoring skills and practices. However, little is known about how the mentoring competencies of master teachers function as an integrated mechanism for professional development within particular school contexts (Mulholland et al., 2019). Results showed that the teacher respondents consisted mostly of mid-adults, Master’s unit earners, and Teacher III rank. It was observed that the profile of master teachers as a mentor showed strong presence across an array of mentoring dimensions (core competencies, communication competences, interpersonal competencies, critical competencies and technical competence) while all categories in mentoring practices (deep feedback provision, personal attributes for being a mentor, alignment within the system, modelling etc and pedagogical knowledge support) were strongly manifested. When grouped by age and years in service across several mentoring dimensions, significant differences were observed, while educational attainment and rank had little impact. A very high positive and significant correlation was established for mentoring skills with the mentoring practices, suggesting each other as mutually interconnected and reinforcing in nature. The study concludes that building capacity among master teachers through successful mentorship is a multifaceted pedagogical competence, which brings together relational, pedagogic, technical, and organizational leadership skills. These results highlight the importance of experiential maturity in the perception and effectiveness of mentorship. Conclusion: A proposed mentoring enhancement framework includes (1) differentiated professional development, (2) research-informed coaching strategies, and technology-supported mentoring systems to bolster instructional capacity. Schools should put into place institutional mentoring capacity-building programs and encourage collaborative professional learning communities while scaling evidence-based mentoring interventions to help teachers grow, develop their practice, and sustain instructional quality. Further training on additional contextual, psychological, and instructional variables could explore what roles each variable plays in successful mentoring of employees in education systems of today.

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