Mentoring in a university/senior high school collegiate: study of the learning environment and the mentor/protege relationship

The oral tradition of mentoring within the secondary school learning environment has been identified as an area in which more research is required. Insights into the phenomena experienced between mentor and protege may inform the meaningful design and implementation of future mentoring relationships. Key factors contributing to the cognitive skills development of the protege appear to be linked to the development of a mutually agreed upon set of operational dynamics in the mentor relationships. These operational dynamics are dependent upon the affective and social development of both parties within the learning environment. The factors of particular interest to this study, are the student centredness of the teaching, the motivational techniques, the extended learning processes, the ways in which the class time is used and the overall classroom climate. The University of Newcastle, the Faculty of Education and Arts and the Callaghan Collegiate have established links to support the collegiate's strategic plan (2001) to provide quality teaching and learning environments. Within this plan mentoring has been identified as a key strategy. Tertiary education students have been engaged as mentors in school programs across a variety of Key Learning Areas over a two year period. This paper explores contrasting mentoring styles that have evolved in response to the subject matter and skills expected from different discipline areas. Diary reports from mentor and protege provide the raw material for the analysis in this paper.