Exploring school placement tutors’ perspectives on the impact of formative mentoring conversations with student teachers in Ireland
Type
Article
Journal Title
Research in Teacher Education/RiTE
Book title
Publication Date
2025-07
Volume
15
Issue
1
Start page
14
End page
18
Publication Number of pages
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
As part of a two-year pre-service
teacher education Master’s
programme in Ireland, student
teachers (STs) are assessed on their
school placement modules by school
placement tutors (SPTs) who are
external to the school environment. In
accordance with the Teaching Council
(2021), school placement aims to
develop the student teacher’s capacity
for self-reflection with support from
their SPTs, and affords the ST valuable
opportunities to seek and receive
advice in a way that is structured as
well as supported. Within one higher
education institution in Ireland, on
the first school placement, STs receive
three visits from their SPT, the first being
non-evaluative with no grade assigned.
The two subsequent visits are assessed
against established college grade
descriptors and the average equates
to the overall placement grade. This
small-scale study investigates the SPTs’
perspectives on their role throughout
the non-evaluative visit. Of particular
interest is the dynamic of the SPT and
ST relationship and the nature of the
conversation between STs and SPTs.
A qualitative approach was adopted,
utilising focus groups with SPTs to gain
insights into their role in mentoring
and supporting STs throughout this
visit. Findings revealed differences
between the non-evaluative and
evaluative visits, with SPTs reporting
that the former fostered more open
and supportive dialogue, with STs
more inclined to ask questions about
elements of their practice. The study
highlights, from the SPTs’ perspective,
the positive impact of non-evaluative
visits on STs’ professional growth,
suggesting that these visits are crucial
for fostering reflective practitioners.
Keywords
formative assessment, school placement, student teacher development, mentoring, reflective practice