Obstacles and needs in the formative and professional trajectory of the beginner teacher mentor

Abstract

The current changes in education need new agents that facilitate the professional development of teachers to contribute to the improvement of work performance. The initiation programs to the professional practice constitute the bridge towards educational improvement with special attention to key figures such as the mentor. This study focuses on knowing and analyzing the obstacles and training/professional needs of the beginning mentor teacher, role immersed in a Program for Initiation to Professional Practice in the Dominican Republic. The methodology is qualitative according to the instruments: self-presentation guides, biograms and critical incidents for a total of 10 participants. The results and discussion show that beginning mentors have techno-pedagogical training deficiencies that hinder their own professional practice, needing institutionalized help and more time for mentoring training. Given this, we conclude that the mentor has a positive attitude towards the educational improvements in his country.