Abstract:

As a result of restructuring secondary science teacher education efforts, re-conceptualized “Faculty-School Partnership” model has been implemented since 1998. However, studies on the effectiveness of the model consistently reported some problems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate “Faculty-School Partnership” model from the mentor teachers’ perspectives in order to improve the current practices. Participatory action research methodology based on critical theory was adopted in this study. Participants were 13 secondary science teachers who were acting as mentors to physics, chemistry, and biology teacher candidates. Semi-structured interview protocol was used for data collection. Interviews were transcribed. Using qualitative data analysis software (NVIVO 8) interviews were coded with constant comparison method. Codes were organized in six categories. Mentor teachers did not have enough and/or adequate understanding of the philosophy, content, and functions of the partnership. They were neither provided with enough information and documentation nor trained for mentorship. Moreover, they reported a need of guidance on how to mentor candidate teachers. In order to improve the partnership; suggestions about candidate teachers, nature of the partnership, expectations from the faculty and supervisors were proposed. Key words: Mentor teachers, faculty-school partnership.

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