Aspects of effective mentorship in the design and technology classroom

Abstract

This article reports, in part, on a descriptive research project conducted through 1994/1995, on the perspectives of students and their subject mentors as to the most effective approaches to mentoring in the design and technology classroom. It highlights the students' own views on their subject training needs and the way these impinge on the subject mentor's role and its effectiveness.

The article identifies a special relationship that often develops between a student and a 'voluntary subject mentor', a person who offers support to the student in the development of their subject capability as well as in the task of learning to teach. The main findings of the research are presented as a series of concluding statements and lead to five recommendations.