164 | COSERE Also, the mentor does not necessarily have to be a teacher of the same subject, it depends more on their ability to establish a good partnership with the mentee. An important issue is the pairing of mentors and mentees. It is always more advantageous if the mentee can choose their mentor themselves. A mentor should be a capable teacher who should have (loosely according to Jonson, 2008): • Ability to impart effective teaching strategies. • Knowledge of the curriculum to be taught. • Ability to listen actively. • Ability to communicate openly with the mentee. • Sensitivity to the mentee’s needs. • Ability to lead the mentee in a non-directive way and leave him or her free choice of different styles. • Ability to care and provide support without judgement. Each mentor should then have access to supervision and further education. The training of mentors is not always clearly defined in school systems, but multi-year supervised training is envisaged. Successful mentoring Mentoring publications usually highlight the following conditions for successful mentoring: • Establishing a relationship between mentor and mentee. The relationship is based on voluntariness and trust. The relationship is an equal partnership and learning. In terms of duration, it tends to be medium-term and long-term, depending on the achievement of the objectives. • Setting specific mentoring goals. The goals of mentoring leadership are usually determined by the mentee (in agreement with the mentor), but the needs of the organisation can also be taken into account in some way (e.g. when the school needs teachers to improve in a specific area) (Lazarová et al., 2016). Generally speaking, the mentor supports the mentee, facilitates their reflection and learning processes, empowers them, and gives them courage. • Diverse leadership methods. The mentoring process, procedures and work techniques used vary depending on the mentee’s goals, context, needs and learning style, as well as the mentor’s experience and competencies. However, the essential work tools and skills of a mentor are active listening, observation of teaching, conducting an interview, providing feedback, using various techniques and tools to diversify collaboration and increase efficiency (e.g. evaluation questionnaires, etc.). (A Learning, 2010; Jonson, 2008; Lazarová et al., 2016).
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