Browsing by Subject "ryhmämuotoinen vertaismentorointi"

Aims. The purpose of this research study was to examine the different kind of learning experiences mentors experience during a mentorship and how these experiences influence the mentor's way of working as a kindergarten teacher and as a member of the working community. Previous research has shown that during a mentorship both the mentee and the mentor learn. However, the contents of the mentors learning are yet to be discovered in greater detail. There is hardly any research on how being a mentor influences on one's work. While there is some research done on mentoring teachers, research concerning the mentorship of kindergarten teachers is very limited. This research study was done as part of the University of Helsinki project Koulutuksesta valmistuminen ja työssä pysyminen lastentarhanopettajan työuralla. Methods. This study is a qualitative case study with a phenomenological approach. The data was collected in two different stages. The first half of the data was collected by the University of Helsinki project and the second by a semi-structured theme interview on four mentors. The collected data dealt with the learning experiences of the mentors. The collected data was analysed by using a theory-driven thematic analysis. Results and conclusions. The mentors felt they had learnt four different things: interaction and communication skills, management, new ways of operating and more professional confidence. The mentors felt that their new skills influenced their work as kindergarten teachers. Improved interaction and communication skills allowed them to take others into consideration more. Advanced professional confidence appeared as better knowledge of the contents of one's work and improved capability to address different issues. Mentors cut back on their high goals and shared work more in their teams. Mentors learned some new ways of working but these did not influence their work as kindergarten teachers that much. This research gives some new empirical knowledge about phenomena that has been studied little before in Finland. The study also demonstrates important themes for further studies and development.