Perceptions of the school management team in mentoring educators in a primary school in Mpofana circuit.

Abstract

Mentoring as an important management component might be easily done if it is carefully thought through and taken seriously and done by appropriate people such as the School Management Team. There is a danger that if mentoring process is not viewed as core to developing professional development of staff, it might end at the periphery of the SMT and proper support and continuity might lack. This study focused on the perceptions of the School Management Team in mentoring Post level one educators in a primary school in Mpofana Circuit. The study puts the SMT at the centre of mentoring process at school level and seeks to understand their experiences and perceptions regarding the manner in which they provide mentorship. This case study was informed by Transformational Leadership Theory and is framed within interpretive paradigm. Participants in the study were heads of departments, deputy principals and a school principal. Data was generated through the use of semi-structured interviews and documents review. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. It is anticipated that the findings will shed more insights about SMTs’ experiences and perceptions regarding their practices in providing mentorship to Post-level One educators.