The Teacher Mentor’s Need for Pedagogical Instruction at Bethlehem University

Abstract

The professional literature extensively discusses the needs of the student for emotional and cognitive development; this topic has been neglected in connection with pedagogical instruction. A prominent scholar who deals with this topic is A.H. Maslow (1956), who argues that we are all born with needs that direct us toward growth, development and self-realization. No systematic research studies have yet been conducted on the subject of the student’s needs in this respect, and the lack of a methodical approach to that subject is sorely felt. The identification of these needs could increase collaboration and trust between the teacher training college and the school. The sample in the present study consisted of 15 teacher mentors – 9 males and 6 females – who participated in an action research study on the topic of pedagogical instruction. The central tools chosen for this study were interviews, documentation and observation of a course in the process of its being taught. The findings point to the difficulty teacher mentors encounter in the fulfillment of their needs, including even their basic needs, and to the result that the teacher mentors’ feelings of alienation and their distrust of pedagogical instruction makes it hard for them to build a cooperative relationship. One of the recommendations is to develop an organizational structure that will invite all the participants in the pedagogical instruction encounter to work together so that they will all feel that they are vital to the success of their fellow participants.

DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2017.v7n1p119