Impacts of Seniors Mentoring Juniors During Preservice Physical Education

Purpose: Developing adult learners through mentoring has been emphasized in education for decades. Using peer advocates as mentors is a strategy discussed today as a best practice to help develop self-directed learners. The purpose of this study was to examine impacts of 20 seniors who mentored 13 juniors during the juniors' first year of a pre-service physical education program. The same faculty members taught seniors and juniors. Thus, all shared similar knowledge about quality K-12 physical education. Methods: This qualitative study featured qualitative and quantitative data collection methods including: semi-structured interviews; informal interviews; open-ended surveys; and document collection (e. g., students' biographical profiles; mentoring session reports; lesson plans; reflection journals; program feedback forms and faculty field notes). Questionnaires were administered at the start and end of each semester (4 administrations). Analysis/Results: Data were triangulated across sources and participants. When sources aligned, they allowed for themes and categories to be identified. Divergent data provided opportunities to identify individual differences. Positive themes that emerged included: Mentors Never Stopped Giving; Mentors Understood Our Needs; Mentors Were More Like Friends; Mentors Have Been Where We Are; and Mentors Helped Us Succeed. On the negative side, themes such as I Felt Like a Drain; Finding Time to Meet was Challenging; I Needed More Support; and I Held Back Too Much reflected concerns of the mentees. Positive results indicated that juniors believed seniors helped them become better teachers especially relative to planning. This also was evident from documents that reflected the juniors' growing understanding of learners' needs and how to meet them. They appreciated talking informally with seniors, learning about solutions to problems; and discussing concerns with someone who had been there just a year before. They were grateful for seniors' helpful hints on challenging assignments and most acknowledged seniors as friends. Conversely, some felt like burdens to seniors or burdened by schedules since they felt unable to meet as often as required due to job or family. Personality traits or differences also impacted comfort levels for some. Conclusions: Overall, the mentoring program provided important supports for mentees. Their responses aligned with those discussed in the literature indicating a need for caring, knowledgeable, and experienced mentors for novices during rigorous developmental experiences. Results also showed that more experienced peers could effectively serve as mentors even in arenas such as teacher education programs. In this study, mentors helped generate emotional support and curricular as well as pedagogical knowledge.