FULL REFERENCE: Murphy, Caterina, & Butcher, Jenny (2015). “It made me argue more confidently and I can stand by my words”: Beginning teachers’ perspectives about mentoring, goal setting, and leadership during teacher registration. NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 18, 1 – 19.
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ABSTRACT: Mentoring and leadership are complex issues for early childhood education concerning growing as a teacher-leader professional. The period of provisional teacher registration is an important time for ongoing professional learning. This qualitative report focuses on the perspectives of five beginning teachers concerning their mentoring relationships and experiences during their journey of gaining full teacher registration. It reports on phase three of a larger multiyear study interested in teaching practice experiences (2008-2013). The research themes for phase three of the research were the effectiveness of mentoring relationships and goal-setting and teacher awareness of the Registered Teacher Criteria (RTC) (New Zealand Teachers Council, 2010) in everyday practice. One focus group interview was conducted. The results illuminate how beginning teachers use the RTC to support the attainment of registration and develop as teacher-leaders. Key themes of how their mentoring experiences as student teachers still affect their confidence as beginning teacher-leaders, their leadership aspirations and their ongoing journey of goal setting as professionals, were evident.
Key words: Beginning teachers; mentoring; registered teacher criteria; goal setting; leadership; appraisal.
INTRODUCTION
Beginning early childhood teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand are required to complete a minimum of two years provisional registration, guided by fully registered mentoring teachers during their programme of induction and mentoring (New Zealand Teachers Council (NZTC), 2010; 2011). This paper, (phase three of a multiyear qualitative study (Butcher & Murphy, 2012; Murphy & Butcher, 2009, 2011, 2013), reports on beginning teacher experiences. Research questions focused on the effectiveness of mentoring relationships, goal setting practices, and the use of the Registered Teacher Criteria (RTC) (NZTC, 2010) to support their teaching practice and professional learning.
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