This study confirms the role of genuine conversation as the enabler in good mentoring of pre-service teachers. The practicum plays an essential role in moving the pre-service teacher beyond learning about teaching to the practice of teaching. Yet the benefit of the practicum is often constrained by relational tensions, disappointment and…

This case study examines a Chinese and Korean-Chinese pre-service teachers' perceptions of their mentor teachers' role in supporting inclusive practicum experiences in USA elementary school contexts. The findings demonstrate that a mentor teacher's open conversations and willingness to host those students bring positive influence on their learning…

The Adaptive Mentorship (AM) model (formerly called Contextual Supervision) is described and implications are raised for its wider implementation. The researchers derived the AM model from earlier contingency leadership approaches, and during the last two decades, have further refined it. They argue for the transferability of AM, because it may be…

Psychology internship and fellowship years are exciting yet challenging times of professional development, as geropsychologists-in-training transition to independent practice and work to consolidate their identities as professional geropsychologists. Geropsychology supervisors help interns and fellows to develop and refine attitude, knowledge, and…

This paper presents the findings of a mixed methods study regarding students' perceptions of mentoring in a cooperative education (co-op) program. Specifically, content analysis of student interviews suggested a lack of understanding of the mentoring process as characterized by unexamined assumptions and inadequate preparation for the co-op…

This paper reports on research that suggests a new view of assessment of the practicum in teacher education. By transcending the stereotypes of "failing" student teachers who do not achieve traditional benchmarks, this new lens highlights the complexity, diversity and inequality of experiences through listening to the voices of the…

Universities strive to graduate well-rounded individuals with opportunities to gain knowledge in the classroom and experience in the "real world". Therefore, many colleges focus their attention to offering discrete field experiences. However, few universities offer metadiscrete field experiences, with students majoring in exercise science or…

One of the perennial challenges for academics working in the area of professional experiences (practicum) is how to negotiate the constantly moving and contradictory boundaries around their work. A number of questions arise. Firstly, how do they cope with the "shifting, changing landscape" (Clandinin, 2008) of the university and at the…

The academic success of the speech communications internship experience depends on the coordinated effort of all three of the key players in the internship--the intern, the site supervisor and the academic coordinator/director. For this relationship to be most effective, for the development of open channels and shared expectations, the…