Mentoring in its modern approach
in education is used as a professional development strategy of the staff
members in educational organizations. There are different models through which
mentoring is applied by educators according to the situation in their setting. Literally
mentoring is meant by practice carried out by a person who acts as a father
figure. It is the process during which an experienced person teaches, guides,
coaches, facilitates, reflects and provides feedback to a less experience
colleague. Mentoring is a relationship build on mutual trust to increase the
professional knowledge, develop professional skills and attitudes among the
newly inducted staff members in educational organizations.
The process of mentoring practice starts from
the identification of issues, problems or challenges in a less experienced
person to enable him/her to get survival skills in certain organization. Initially,
it observed that mentor is having with more experience orients the mentee by
imparting knowledge about the professional practices. Then the mentor and
mentee carry out the practice as pair after the mentee having received an
appropriate level of knowledge and understanding. Gradually, the mentee
develops the confidence and get experience under the guidance of mentor. A time
comes when the mentor observes that his/her mentee has got to the position to
survive him/herself in the organization, lets the mentee to keep professional
practices independently to enrich his/her professional experience. This is the
stage where mentoring exercise ends. Broadening Horizons