To help combat shortages of school
administrators, Kentucky has established an alternative certification program
that provides participants immediate certification to begin working as a school
administrator. During the program, participants complete coursework and receive
support from district and university mentors. Most other states have similar
programs. The improvement of support from district and university mentors was
the focus of this study. A literature review supported the importance of
mentoring and suggested qualities of effective mentors and effective mentoring
activities. This study used mixed methods in a convergent parallel design.
Participants completed surveys consisting of short answer questions, rating
scales, ranking questions, and checkbox questions at three points (early,
middle, and late) during a yearlong mentoring cycle. The results of this study
suggest that mentors should take careful inventory of the characteristics of
their mentees. Likely results of those inventories are detailed by the study
and include suggestions such as mentees need immediate training in school law
and finance. The results also indicate numerous services that mentors should
likely provide to mentees such as simply checking in on them periodically,
providing professional development ideas, assisting with licensure exam
preparation, ensuring that mentees do not
neglect tasks proven effective by research, and encouraging mentees to engage
in regular leisure activities. Unique to the role of university mentors, mentees
sometimes want advice in dealing with disagreements with district leaders.
