Sim, Hwee Hwang

This study examined three cooperating teachers’ understandings of social studies teaching and mentoring, and the influence of those understandings on their mentoring practices and on their student teachers’ learning of teaching. The intention was to extend the knowledge bases of mentoring and learning to teach primary social studies in Singapore.

Qualitative case study method using multiple inquiry modes, namely, interviews, observations and document analysis, were utilised to explore, describe and explain mentoring and student teacher learning processes through an in-depth study of three pairs of cooperating teachers and student teachers. Data were analysed interpretatively using the constant comparative method of coding, categorising and thematising.

Aligned with the conceptual framework which was derived inductively from the literature review, the findings showed that the cooperating teachers’ understandings of social studies teaching and mentoring had a strong impact on the way they mentored their student teachers in learning how to teach primary social studies. In terms of understanding of social studies teaching, all the cooperating teachers considered the purpose of the subject to be citizenship transmission with common emphases on the teaching of values, followed by knowledge and skills acquisition. Although they shared the same purpose, they approached their teaching differently which reflected their personal teaching perspectives. However, some commonalities in teaching were observed. These were reliance on the textbook for teaching, values inculcation, teaching of discrete skills for students’ mastery, a lack of development of students’ critical thinking, and assessment of students’ knowledge through quizzes. There was no discussion of issues and inquiry as a teaching approach was not observed. The cooperating teachers’ understandings of social studies teaching were aligned with their teaching practices. In terms of understanding of mentoring, all of them held varied mentoring perspectives: humanistic, nurturing and apprenticeship. Their perspectives were reflected through their differing mentoring foci and practices. Despite the variations, there were more similarities than differences in their understandings and practices of mentoring. Their common emphases were the teaching of social studies for citizenship transmission, and the development of their student teachers’ teaching competency through an apprenticeship model of mentoring where support was the norm. Common limitations in their mentoring were also observed. The cooperating teachers showed that they mentored their student teachers according to their understandings of social studies teaching and mentoring. The findings also revealed that the cooperating teachers’ understandings of social studies teaching and mentoring influenced the way their student teachers learnt how to teach primary social studies. The findings indicated that all the student teachers identified a range of significant learning, comprising academic, technical, practical and personal knowledge and skills, which they learnt from their cooperating teachers. Critical knowledge and skills were not highlighted as part of their learning. All of them learnt to “act” and “know” like teachers. Their learning was personal and they modelled their teaching after their mentors. They showed different amounts of growth in teacher development which were linked to the different amounts of support and challenge provided by their mentors. Overall, the findings of this study underscore the importance of mentor preparation to ensure a more consistent quality of student teacher learning.