Social mentoring practices as a factor in the professional development of young rural teachers

Abstract

The development of the mentoring movement in Kazakhstani schools requires its institutionalization as a resource for the professional development of teachers. The purpose of the article is to analyze the content and main forms of organization of professional interaction of rural young teachers with mentors, as well as to identify problematic "zones" in the implementation of mentoring programs in rural general education and small schools. The authors argue that the development of the mentoring movement in Kazakhstani schools requires its institutionalization based on the transformation of training and retraining programs for teachers.

In order to identify the main forms of organization of professional interaction between young teachers and mentors, questionnaires and interviews were conducted among young and experienced rural teachers of the Almaty region, most of whom were graduates of the Kazakh National Women's Pedagogical University.

During the interview of young rural teachers, answers were received to the question of what forms of professional development young rural teachers prefer, which make it possible to identify problematic "areas" in the implementation of mentoring programs in rural schools. According to interviews, only 16.3% of novice teachers are willing to receive advice from mentors. On the contrary, the majority of young teachers prefer self-education (32.7%) and advanced training courses, including workshops, seminars, online courses and webinars (26%). Only 9.6% indicated subject methodical associations as one of the effective forms of professional development, despite the fact that they are designed to provide methodological assistance to a novice teacher.

The authors conclude that the regulatory regulation of the mentor teacher status and the introduction of institutionalization of mentoring as part of the professional introduction program will have a direct impact on strengthening the country's pedagogical potential and enhancing the role of continuous professional development of rural educators.

Key words: professional development, professional adaptation, institutionalization of mentoring, rural teachers.