Constructing Student-Teacher Identities via a Mentorship Programme Initiative: A Case for School-Based Learning

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore how student-teachers narratively constructed their identities through a mentorship school-based approach. These prospective teachers used typologies of their identities as a base of support for their becoming teacher professionals. This study employed a qualitative research method via semi-structured interviews and explored student-teachers’ learning experiences during the school-based learning project. From these interviews, which are inductive in nature, we first sought out recurring themes in student-teachers’ ways of speaking about their mentors and their experiences of the school-based learning project. The findings revealed that PGCE student-teachers’ exposure to a structured mentorship programme provides more than adequate opportunities for the enhancement of personal growth and professional development; thus reinforcing the construction of multiple teacher identities.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n9p405