Mentoring: A Mechanism for Improving Teachers’ Performance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

It was a descriptive study, which identified the need of mentoring for improving the performance of Primary School Teachers. It explored the possibilities of introducing a mechanism of mentoring to improve efficiency of in-service and prospective teachers with a view to bring positive change by integrating the mentoring system initially in the main stream of primary education of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study reviewed relevant literature, which included a study of documents, internet sources, books, journals and research studies as well as personal data bank of the researcher. The population of study included all the 3400 male teachers of 956 Govt; Boys’ Primary Schools and 15 District Level Education Officers of Mansehra. The sample of the study included 384 teachers of 192 Govt; Boys’ Primary Schools of district Mansehra and 5 district level education officers. The tools of the study for data collection included an opinionnaire that was fielded personally to 384 primary school teachers of district Mansehra and interviews held with five District Level Education Officers of the same district. The key questions examined in the study asked: 1. What is the current status of mentoring in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?, 2. What is the need and importance of mentoring in local and global perspective? and 3. What implementable suggestions the study could make for introducing mentoring in teacher education programme at the primary level? The validity and reliability of the instruments and data were ensured through the traditional techniques such as pilot study, establishment of rapport, application of statistical measures and un-biased approach to the study. The outcome of the study indicated that the launching of mentoring programme would be useful both for mentors and mentees for their professional development. Major problems identified were non-availability of mentoring system in government boys’ primary schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the half baked training of the teachers in the teacher training institutions. The study found that there was dire need to introduce mentoring mechanism in main stream of education at primary level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Several gaps were found which included lack of proper mentoring system, need of professional support to the prospective and serving teachers, poor performance of supervisors in the field and lack of opportunity to explore career. The results of the study would be useful for curriculum planners, teacher educators, policy makers and professional teachers who would benefit the students through their improved teaching skills. It was also discovered that mentoring helped teachers to establish goals and fulfill their career related needs. The effectiveness of teachers and their pedagogical skills could be improved with the mechanism of mentoring, which generated self-confidence, enthusiasm and communication skills. It motivated teachers to accept challenges, find solution of the problems and learn to manage stress. The focus of the recommendations of the study was on the development of a mechanism for implementation of the strategy that included suggestions for appointment of mentors, selection criteria and a plan for training and workshops. The study proposed a mechanism of mentoring for training mentors and other key personnel of education department and made recommendations for its proper induction in main stream of education for Govt; Boys’ Primary Schools  in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Key Words: Mentor, Mentee, Mentoring, Teacher Education, Primary School Teachers, District Level Education Officers, Curriculum Planners, Policy Makers.