Execution of mentoring technique for professional development of government school teachers: A case study

“Teacher as learner is the centrepiece linking classroom and the school improvement” -Barrie Bennett

In a country the development of teacher is one of the paramountnever ending process which is required for the growth of Education System. The Teacher Education and School Education share a positive correlation where the progress in one reinforces the excellencein other.In India, the Education system requires a complete renovation and the teacher education system must become dynamic centres of advanced Educational engagements. This would facilitate not only the transformation of the teacher as per the demand and expectations but also would lead the development of our future generation. This can be achieved through a systematically planned and well-structured Capacity Building programmes. Delhi Government has taken a step towards improvement and quality assurance in professional development of teachers employed in Government schools of Delhi. To upgrade the quality of education, a Mentor-Teacher Programme (MTP) was launched in March, 2016 to bring innovative teaching learning practices and successful educational models across the globe into the classrooms. In this programme 200 Delhi Government Teachers were selected.

The present study discusses elaborately about the Mentor Teacher Programme, so far journey of Mentor Teachers (MTs) in the form of theirinvolvement, achievements and challenges. A request to collaborate in the study was sent to 100 MTs and out of which 50 MTs affirmatively responded. To collect the data for the study questionnaire, Interview and Focussed Group Discussionswere used.Through percentage, content and thematic analysis, it was revealed that although the MTP is still in its embryonic stage but is one of the good innovative practices which have been adopted by Delhi Government.All the fellows work closely with SCERT, the Department of Education (DoE), NGO partners and other stakeholders in programmes and are responsible for assisting and ensuring collaborative, good quality implementation.

The implication of the study lies in highlighting the need of building and bringing strong evidence based System Enhancement Programmes like MTP in Education System for betterment.