Göran Fransson

Abstract In Sweden, with no tradition of mentors participating in formal summative assessment of newly qualified teachers, a Government Inquiry proposes this dual role for mentors. This paper examines how the mentor's and headmaster's role in the assessment and the relations ...

Lärandet sker när man kanske minst anar det, och på platser där man befinner sig för att i första hand göra något annat än att just lära sig något. I denna bok lyfts det som ibland beskrivs som den ”osynliga” eller ”tysta” kunskapen i arbetslivet fram. Den här sortens kunskap har ofta ...

Introduction The purpose of this analytical paper is to examine how culturally embedded norms, values, relations and prerequisites operate in the development of a mentoring system. This is done by contrasting the case of Sweden with that of Finland. Although these neighbouring Nordic countries have a lot in common, their educational systems have taken different directions, especially with regard to the mentoring of new teachers (Aspfors, Fransson & Heikkinen, 2012). As is proposed and argued in this paper, these different approaches to mentoring are largely culturally embedded and the results of specific social, cultural, educational, philosophical and political conditions. I will analyse these culturally embedded preconditions for mentoring at an overall macro-level. In Finland, the mentoring of (new) teachers came into focus in 2010 with the launching of the national programme Osaava Werme, funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Mentoring is organised as peer-gro...

A teacher registration reform that transforms the ‘educational space’ - An analysis of changing roles, relations, powers and positions ABSTRACT Using the theoretical perspective of ‘educational space’, this paper analyses the Swedish teacher registration reform and it´s induction system and how it changes roles, positions, relations, powers and identities within the Swedish educational system. An educational space can be understood as a relational category in which object and actor are related to another and where changeable positions and boundaries are created (Ferrrare & Apple, 2010). In this sense, actors within an educational system – such as teachers, principals, mentors and NQTs – position themselves and are also actively positioned by others (Leander & Osborne, 2008). They are also positioned by norms, values, curricula and legislation; in this case by the teacher registration reform and the structured induction system. Key words: educational space, mentor, newly qualified te...

The purpose of this analytical paper is to examine how culturally embedded norms, values, relations and prerequisites operate in the development of a mentoring system. This is done by comparing Sweden’s top-down mandatory one-to-one mentoring approach and evaluation, with Finland’s bottom-up peer-group mentoring approach initiated, piloted and implemented by researchers. The analysis is based on meta-analysis of research, policy documents, written and oral information. The analysis show that culturally embedded issues, such as a culture of trust, an ideology of distrust, teachers’ and researchers’ positions and the ‘need’ to strengthen cooperation or evaluate teachers in different ways, contribute to the development of peer-group mentoring and one-to-one mentoring with evaluation. Introduction Purpose The purpose of this analytical paper is to examine how culturally embedded norms, values, relations and prerequisites operate in the development of a mentoring system. This is done by ...

This paper focuses on teacher commitment, and in particular teachers who display high levels of commitment throughout their long teaching careers (over 15 years). Graduates from one Teacher Education programme were interviewed on nine occasions via email about their working lives, which spanned from their graduation in 1993 to 2012. Out of the 69 who answered on all nine occasions, seven teachers stating high levels of commitment during all their years in the profession were selected. Factors contributing to their commitment were categorized into the types described by Day et al (2005): personal context, school context, system context and professional factors. For every new generation of teachers, understanding their commitment to increase teacher retention and efficiency is of great value.

Title: Professional (Non-)Commitment? Dilemmas in Teachers’ Task Perception in Relation to Documentation Keywords: commitment, documentation, task perception, teacher knowledge, teaching. General description of research questions, objectives and theoretical framework (up to 500 words) For over 30 years neo-liberal currents have had a far-reaching influence on the restructuring of educational systems. The managerial consequences of this have often taken the shape of New Public Management (Grimmet, Flemming & Trotter, 2009). Some of these consequences are marketisation, increased managerialism, an increased focus on effectiveness and international comparisons. These in turn lead to demands for grades at an earlier age and extensive student testing. In all, these developments have led to the documentation of students’ results becoming a larger part of teachers’ work. The aforementioned changes are often described as things that challenge and change teachers’ professional roles and posi...

ABSTRACT Abstract Contested architectures of mentoring: support, supervision or collective self-development Jessica Aspfors, Christine Edwards-Groves, Göran Fransson, Stephen Kemmis In this paper, we describe contested practices of mentoring within and between Australia, Finland and Sweden. Our study is based on national policy documents and empirical data from participants involved in mentoring. The theoretical framework will build on the theory of practice architectures (Kemmis & Grootenboer, 2008). The aim is to demonstrate three archetypes of mentoring persisting in literature and practices: mentoring as supervision, support and collective self-development. In Australia, we find the three kinds of mentoring jostling with one another. In Finland, the perspective of collective self-development is emphasized. In Sweden, the traditional model of mentoring (support) has been typical since 1995, with a current reform of teacher induction which turns mentoring more into supervision. Our paper will show (1) that the meanings of 'mentoring' are contested within and between the countries involved; (2) that the three forms of mentoring identified represent three different projects: (a) assisting newly qualified teachers (NQTs) to pass through probation or (b) traditional mentoring of NQTs by more experienced teachers or (c) peer-group mentoring (PGM); and (3) that these three projects, that could be simultaneously present, also involve and imply quite different practice architectures in the form of different material-economic, social-political and cultural-discursive arrangements.

This article highlights and problemizes some challenges and dilemmas in international cooperation. The focus is on individual and collative processes of communication, interpreting, understanding and sensemaking-processes emerging as challenging when ...

A mandatory probationary year for newly qualified teachers in conjunction with teacher registration is to be introduced in Sweden from 1st July 2012 (Government Bill 2010/11: 20). This reform requires newly qualified teachers to be supported by a mentor. ...

Introduction
The purpose of this analytical paper is to examine how culturally embedded norms, values, relations and prerequisites operate in the development of a mentoring system. This is done by contrasting the case of Sweden with that of Finland. Although these neighbouring Nordic countries have a lot in common, their educational systems have taken different directions, especially with regard to the mentoring of new teachers (Aspfors, Fransson & Heikkinen, 2012). As is proposed and argued in this paper, these different approaches to mentoring are largely culturally embedded and the results of specific social, cultural, educational, philosophical and political conditions. I will analyse these culturally embedded preconditions for mentoring at an overall macro-level.
In Finland, the mentoring of (new) teachers came into focus in 2010 with the launching of the national programme Osaava Werme, funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Mentoring is organised as peer-group mentoring with groups of 4-10 early career teachers, from different schools and with different subject skills, in their first to fifth year. In one year they participate in six to eight seminars which are facilitated by an experienced and specially trained teacher. This programme, which is voluntary, has evolved out of research and a series of pilot projects and action research programmes (e.g. Heikkinen, Jokinen & Tynjälä, 2012).
In Sweden, the mentoring of new teachers came about as a result of the Swedish Parliament’s decision in 2011 to implement a teacher registration reform and a mandatory probation year for new teachers. The reform requires new teachers to have a mentor, and to be evaluated by principals as to whether he/she is competent enough to be registered. One-to-one mentoring is emphasised in the policy documents and the reform is regarded as a top-down reform (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2011).

Theoretical framework - the dynamic of culture
The analysis of cultural aspects and the theoretical framework both focus on culture and cultural dynamics. According to McDaniel, Samovar and Porter (2012), definitions of culture often focus on “shared values, attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, norms, material objects, and symbolic resources” (p. 10-11). However, the aspects that construe what we call culture are not fixed and stable (Hall, 2007). On the contrary, they are construed and negotiated in human interactions and are thus always included in processes of transformation and change. 
By means of the Cultural Mentoring Framework, Kochan and Pascarelli (2012) offer an analytical framework for analysing these aspects of mentoring in terms of three cultural constructs: traditional, transitional and transformative. The rationale of the traditional construct is to transmit the existing culture to newcomers, thus recognising the norms, values, beliefs, behaviour and so on as timeless and general. The rationale of the transitional construct is change and adaptation to changing preconditions. Changing the preconditions, such as changing teachers’ tasks or emphasising certain organizational aspects or perspectives of teaching and learning, may lead to mentors facilitating the transformation process of these ‘messages’. The rationale of the transformative construct is, according to Kochan and Pascarelli, to move beyond the transitional construct by questioning norms, values, beliefs and behaviour more, and in that way, contribute to cultural change. In a transformative construct, mentoring may take the shape of networking and learning communities with evolving and transforming roles that challenge and change the concepts of mentoring. This framework offers insights into the different aspects of (possible) cultures and the dynamic of cultures, i.e. the mechanisms for how culture changes, evolves and may be challenged. Thus, the changing preconditions for educational systems and new aspects and ideas all become intertwined with the cultural conditions, and result in culturally-bound outcomes.

Methods and sources of data
The analysis data consists of oral and written information and a qualitative meta-analysis (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005) of policy documents from Sweden and Finland and of presented or published research (n=29) concerning Finnish and Swedish culture and the educational systems in Finland and Sweden, especially research into mentoring or induction systems.  The meta-analysis implies an aggregative approach of studies on micro- and meso-level to macro-level (cultural level), and in the analysis the (possible) interplay between micro- meso- and macro-level has been critically analysed. Thus the analyses have been performed in a deductive way. The analyses of the cases of Finland and Sweden are to be regarded as a qualitative cross-case comparison (Miles, Huberman & Saldaña, 2014) where especially the similarities, differences and patterns in the results are highlighted.
The findings and conclusions presented in this paper have emerged gradually and, since 2005, have developed in conjunction with a series of network projects and collaborative research projects run by researchers from Sweden, Finland and other Nordic and Baltic countries. The mentoring systems in these countries have also been analysed and discussed at a number of national and international conferences and symposia organised by the networks or in connection with other established annual conferences (e.g. Author, XXX & YYY, 2011: Jokinen et al, 2010) in which I have participated.  These kinds of experience have its pros and cons, and Pickering (2008) emphasise the centrality of experience in cultural studies, but warns also for the risk of ‘self-interpreting’. However, in this study the solid base of written information and research are the key-source for the analysis that was performed in 2013.

Results

The culture of education that determines the mentoring approaches is highly influenced by a country’s history, especially in the Finnish case with its history of wars and Cold War living under threat, making the issue of building a nation and a national identity very important. Thus, Finnish educational researchers having the culturally embedded position, trust and task to realise research-based pilot projects (Sahlberg, 2011); the outcomes of which outcomes are able to influence national policy and become more widespread. This culturally embedded trust in educational researchers and Finnish teachers influences the development of peer-group mentoring. However, these highly regarded teachers have great autonomy, and claims have been raised that this not optimises the opportunities to cooperate and learn from each other (Jokinen & Välijärvi, 2006) which makes the idea of peer-group mentoring and collaborative learning more interesting – and perhaps also necessary – ¬than one-to-one-mentoring. This innovative aspect of peer-group mentoring has been developed through pilot projects.
Compared to Finland, Swedish teachers do not have the same degree of social standing. While Finnish teachers are highly respected, Swedish teachers and the Swedish educational system, teacher and educational researchers have been under systematic attack over the last two decades, mainly from neo-liberal positions. This ideological shift, its bureaucratic consequences and its steering model, named as new public management (NPM), has been implemented in Sweden to a very high degree an increased focus on control, inspection, regimes of accountability and the evaluation of teachers, (Dyrdal Solbrekke & Englund, 2011; Lundahl et al., 2010) which has meant that the top-down state initiative and implementation of a mandatory one-to-one mentoring system with elements of teacher assessment has been a logical step.
Thus, Finnish teachers seem to be living in a culture of trust, while Swedish teachers have to face an ideology and culture of distrust.

... SVEP category: Education. Keywords(en) : Dilemmatic space, mentor, newly qualified teachers, positioning, teacher registration. ... Key words: Dilemmatic space, mentor, newly qualified teachers, positioning , teacher registration. Referenser: ...

In this article, the concept of introducing and analytically using the concept of dilemmatic space in an educational context offers a potential to elucidate and deepen the understanding of the complexity of teachers' everyday practise in work. Traditional ways of ...

I denna bok diskuteras och problematiseras reformerna med introduktionsperiod, mentorskap, lämplighetsprövning och legitimation för lärare och förskollärare. Reformerna innebär att många möjligheter skapas, men de innebär också en hel del nya utmaningar, ...

I denna antologi analyserar, problematiserar och diskuterar lärare och forskare vid Högskolan i Gävle olika sidor av att undervisa inom Högskolan. Exempelvis fokuseras möjligheter och dilemman som kan uppstå när lärare försöker att mäta och värdera ...

"Fransson, G. & Grannäs, J. (2012). Mentors, Mentoring and Dilemmatic Spaces - A contribution to theoretical renewal for understanding mentoring. Paper presented at The American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual conference, April 13 – April 17, 2012, Vancouver, Canada.


Introduction

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to analyze and discuss the changes in the roles, positions and relations of mentors as a result of the teacher registration reform that was implemented in Sweden on 1 July 2011 (Government Bill, 2010/11). The reform requires that newly qualified teachers (NQTs) must do a “probationary year” under a mentor. During this year, the principal is responsible for assessing whether the teacher should become registered or not. The principal performs this assessment by following the national standards developed by the Swedish National Agency for Education. The Teachers’ Responsibility Board is a forthcoming institution that will possess the right to withdraw a teacher’s registration or to issue warnings. In summary, the Swedish educational system is a decentralised system, so it depends on a school’s confidence in a teacher’s professionalism and autonomy. Therefore, reform changes are interesting and important to analyse critically.
During the business meeting of SIG Mentorship and Mentoring Practices at the 2011 AERA-conference, participants argued for the need to renew the theoretical way of conceptualizing mentoring and the processes of mentoring. Different theoretical perspectives create different aspects of context, relations and perspectives. In this paper we will use the conceptual frame of dilemmatic space (Honig, 1996) when analyzing the ways in which the teacher registration reform is changing and building the support practices of which mentors and mentees apprentices are part. Dilemmatic space is a conceptual framework that has been applied to fields such as social work (Hogget, Mayo & Miller, 2006, 2007, 2009) or to analyses of political contexts (Whitaker, 2008). However, this framework has scarcely appeared in research concerning educational settings (Fransson & Grannäs, 2011; accepted).
Mentoring and dilemmas
Mentoring is comprised of a multifaceted activity and relationship, and it occurs within complex educational contexts, such as competing relationships, goals in curricula and commitments. The relationship between mentor and mentee has inspired a considerable amount of research, and many studies give examples of challenges that mentors might face that could create dilemmatic situations (cf. Barnett, 2008; Fransson & Gustafsson, 2008; Gormley, 2008; Kilburg, 2007).

For instance, Barnett (2008) focused on ethical decision-making and judgment that mentors must use to balance competing demands: they must find optimal ‘solutions’ for challenges and dilemmas they may face. He uses a conceptual framework of boundaries that could be crossed or violated. Another major issue highlighted in recent years is whether or not the mentee should be involved in some kind of formal evaluation or assessment (cf. Fransson, 2010). The issue has gained renewed interest and has also been underlined in research (Carver & Feinman-Nemser, 2009; Yusko & Feinman-Nemser, 2008). On a micro level, mentors and mentees must handle the challenges and dilemmas connected to the evaluation systems that are regulated on a macro level, such as the policy documents from the Swedish National Agency for Education. One reason for this renewed interest in assessing new teachers is the worldwide trend of increased rhetoric about quality and effectiveness in educational systems (Kyriakides & Demetriou, 2007; Lipman, 2009).
As many countries restructure their educational systems with components like increased assessment tests, regimes of accountability press harder upon teachers (Devos, 2010) and probation years for NQTs. These restructuring reforms change pre-conditions for the educational systems, teachers’ work and researchers’ work. As it is important for teachers and researchers to understand this changing context, researchers have to adjust or develop methods and theoretical and analytical tools as well as approaches that will truly grasp phenomena in this changeable educational landscape. Thus, many researchers are arguing for a renewal of the methods and theoretical perspectives currently applied to the research of mentoring in educational contexts, for instance within SIG Mentorship and Mentoring Practices (AERA). Similarly, Waterman & He (2011) argue for a research focus on the “complexity of mentoring within specific school contexts” (p. 152), rather than on finding linear connections between phenomena, for instance connections between mentor characteristics and teacher retention. In this paper, we used the conceptual framework of dilemmatic space to highlight the complexity of school contexts and of teachers’ everyday work, especially the complexity of mentors’ work, such as the relational and positional aspects of their role as well as when they handle dilemmas. 
Dilemmatic spaces: A theoretical perspective for understanding mentoring
This paper acknowledges that mentoring is a demanding activity and that the mentor and mentee must handle a lot of challenges and dilemmas. In contrast to a problem that can be solved, a dilemma cannot be fully solved without leaving some remainder (Denicolo, 1996). Dilemmas mainly arise from conflicting or competing goals, norms, values, obligations, commitments, etc., and no simple solution is possible. Traditionally, dilemmas have been regarded as specific events or situations; in other words, dilemmas occur over time. In addition, Honig (1996) suggests that dilemmas remain ever present in peoples’ “space” of living. She argues that people always “react” in relation to ever-present “dilemmatic spaces” rather than simply acknowledge dilemmas as specific situations.
Central to the conceptual frame of dilemmatic space are its spatial and relational dimensions. Space is considered a relational category; that is, space itself arises when one object is related to another (cf. Löw, 2008; Ferrare & Apple, 2010). This kind of “relational work” also applies to people’s relations or objects’ relationships to each other through positioning. This implies that teachers actively position themselves in relation to others, and at the same time they are actively positioned by others. In the same way, different ‘objects,’ such as curricula, norms, and values, are positioned in relation to each other. Given that dilemmatic space is a relational perspective, the analysis in this paper began from the mentors’ perspective.
In these spatial and relational processes, tensions between competing forces, such as norms, values, obligations, powers, interests or relations, give rise to dynamic processes of negotiation and positioning. Thus, dilemmatic space could be regarded as an ever-present framework of competing forces like goals, norms, values, obligations or commitments. However, professionals might be inadequately aware of these competing forces and how they interact to construe challenges and dilemmas. What constitute competing forces and dilemmas are also matters of position or perspective. What one perceives as a dilemma may not appear as a dilemma to another. For instance, the space of the classroom or a mentor-mentee relationship is constituted differently from the perspectives of a pupil, an experienced teacher, a novice teacher or a principal. 
By considering multiple perspectives, the conceptual frame of dilemmatic space opens analytical dimensions that can help researchers to connect the challenges and dilemmas of teachers’ everyday work with the influences, constraints and considerations of the local community and with reforms, intentions or statements at different policy levels. Educational reform or shifts in value systems change the borders, positions, relations and powers of a dilemmatic space. By using the conceptual frame of dilemmatic space, we analyse and discuss the changes of roles, positions and relations of mentors and mentees that the implementation of a teacher registration reform and probation years for NQTs will incur.
Methods
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Although an increasingly digitised society offers a variety of options, it also implies challenges, risks and dilemmas for citizens, organisations and corporations. The purpose of this article is to critically analyse digital society from the perspective of dilemmatic space. The theoretical frame offers new ways of making sense of the digital society, and may provide new perspectives on how to manoeuvre (or not) in it. By taking dilemmas as the starting point, aspects such as uncertainty, plurality, options, challenges and decision making are in focus, as are processes of power, negotiation, identity formation, positioning and manoeuvring.The theoretical framework is applied and exemplified in relation to three digitised society themes: (a) the blogosphere and social networking communities (SNC), (b) file sharing, network control and surveillance, and (c) education. These themes have been chosen in order to illustrate the different aspects of a digital society and to show how the theoretical framework operates when different aspects of these themes are placed in the foreground or background, i.e. emphasised or downplayed. This implies that the unknown and unexpected must be taken into account, and that this involves having to manoeuvre in new, changing and ever present dilemmatic spaces.

This article focuses on teacher commitment, and particularly on teachers displaying sustained high levels of commitment throughout their teaching careers (over 15 years). Graduates from one Teacher Education programme responded to an open-ended questionnaire conducted on ten occasions concerning their work as teachers, from graduation in 1993 to 2013. Out of the 72 who responded on all nine occasions, eight teachers stating high levels of commitment throughout their careers were selected for additional interviews. A framework containing four commitment factors was used as the point of departure. Content analyses of the interview and selected questionnaire data then resulted in a revised framework of five factors: personal, teaching, school context, system context and professional development. Accounts from eight teachers with sustained high commitment illustrate the framework. The article offers an extended framework for understanding and categorising the factors that contribute to teacher commitment.

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a research project concerning a web-based (online)
course for mentors of newly qualified teachers (NQTs).
Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-method approach with questionnaires and interviews
was used to collect the data.
Findings – Positive attitudes towards online education were discerned and initial concerns about the
use of technical tools were dissipated during the course. It was found that the mentoring-related
content of the online course could be mediated. The most significant difference in the participants’
meaning making and ability to “connect theory and practice” with “concrete knowledge” was between
those with experience of mentorship before or during the course and those without.
Research limitations/implications – The study focuses on one cohort of mentor participants
(n¼18) attending one mentor education course.
Practical implications – The paper contributes to the value of online education for mentors of NQTs
and includes some practical recommendations for mentor education providers.
Originality/value – This paper reports on an under-researched area. Research on professional
development programmes for mentors in general is limited, and even more so when it comes to online
education for mentors.
Keywords: Mixed methods, Online education, Mentor education, Mentor training,
Newly qualified teachers, Web-based education
Paper type: Research paper

This article is a review of international research on the uptake and use of digital technologies in primary and secondary
schools. The aim was to provide a credible and clear picture of current research, together with some well-informed
suggestions as to how future research could develop. Two strategies were used: (1) identify themes within current research
that indicate important lessons to be learned in relation to the uptake and use of digital technologies in primary and
secondary schools, and (2) based on these lessons, identify which knowledge-gaps need to be closed and in the light of
this suggest directions for further research. It is concluded that a rather complex and fragmented picture of the uptake
and use of digital technologies emerges from the literature review. Three specific suggestions for research on the uptake
and use of digital technologies in primary and secondary school are provided: (1) the outcomes of technology use in
relation to different levels in the educational system, e.g. arenas of implementation and realization, (2) digital practices
that are longitudinal and information-rich and that go beyond existing knowledge, and (3) initiatives for a renewal of
theoretical and methodological approaches when designing and analyzing studies within the field.

Keywords: Digital technology, literature review, primary school, secondary school, uptake and use, policy, school
leadership, teacher professional development.

Sweden has no tradition of mentors participating in the formal summative assessment of newly qualified teachers. However, an Inquiry Committee Report proposed that mentors should have some involvement in this process. This article reports on the results of an examination of 108 official responses to the Inquiry Report submitted to the Ministry of Education and provides a research overview. The results show that only 23 of the 108 responses mention assessment, and none of these are positive to the proposed expansion of the mentor’s duties. Only four responses include an explicit discussion of the relationship between mentors and mentees. These results are discussed in the light of research into relations between mentors and mentees and whether or not mentors should participate in the assessment of their mentees. One conclusion is that answers to this question need to relate to the prerequisites, values and objectives of the educational context.

ABSTRACT:
In this conceptual article, we argue that there is a need for a more elaborated theoretical  perspective when discussing dilemmas in teachers’ work. Thus, we introduce the conceptual frame of dilemmatic space in educational settings and argue that introducing and analytically using the conceptual frame in an educational context offers a potential to elucidate and deepen the understanding of the complexity of teachers’ everyday work practices. Traditional ways of looking at dilemmas infer that they are related to specific situations in which people react to
conflicting values, obligations or commitments and where there is often no right way to act. However, the idea of a dilemmatic space offers a more complex understanding of dilemmas and their positioning and relations. Instead of being regarded as specific events or situations, dilemmas are considered as ever-present in people’s living space, as in a dilemmatic space. As space is seen as a relational category wherein one object is related to another or others, the spatial dimensions of dilemmatic space highlight the dynamics of dilemmas and dilemmatic
spaces. These dynamics are important to recognise, for instance, in relation to the changeable boundaries of the space or issues that conjure up the dilemmas at an individual and social level. These changing conditions of values, decisions, responsibilities and authority change the rules for relations, negotiations and positioning, and thereby the boundaries of the dilemmatic space and the dilemmas themselves. In this article, the theoretical base for the idea of dilemmatic space is elaborated on and connected to conditions for teachers’ work. Some conclusions are that new concepts force us to challenge pre-conceptions and involve us in new kinds of sense-making processes. As such, the conceptual frame of dilemmatic space offers a broad theoretical framework with which to conceptualise dilemmas and the complexity of educational contexts.

Keywords: dilemmatic space; dilemma; ethics; micro political; space; teachers
TO THE ARTICLE:  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2013.744195
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to expand the conversation about mentoring and policy and
provides a detailed analysis of empirical research on mentoring polices in education, with a focus on
adult mentoring in primary and secondary schools.
Design/methodology/approach – Articles in peer-reviewed journals were examined using a
systematic content analysis. In total, 405 abstracts/articles were reviewed, and 37 articles were
subjected to an in-depth analysis.
Findings – Although very few articles dealt specifically with mentoring policy in any substantial
way, a major finding that emerged was that to be effective, policy development should include not only
the stakeholders who have the power to create it, but also those who must implement it.
Research limitations/implications – Although the authors acknowledge that the systematic search
process may not have captured all the relevant articles, and that other books or resources on this topic
might not have been accessed in the search process, serious research on the topic of mentoring policy and
its implications for primary and secondary school contexts nevertheless seems to be limited.
Practical implications – The findings have implications for practice and future research, and point
towards the need for a comprehensive research agenda on this topic.
Originality/value – The paper has value for the directions of future research.
Keywords Mentoring, Mentoring in education, Beginning teachers, Induction programmes,
Literature overview, Policy and mentoring induction
Paper type Literature review

This chapter provides a theoretical base for the understanding of moral and ethical issues in teaching. It outlines how teaching can be regarded as a social, relational and moral endeavor and discusses the moral and ethical dimensions of teaching and learning. Classical ethical frames, such as consequential-ism, deontology and virtue ethics, are described and problematized as guiding frames for the process of moral decision-making. Bauman's ideas about ethics in postmodern society are presented, including the notion of moral uncertainty and ambivalence in present-day society. Habermas' (1996) discourse ethics, emphasizing communicative actions, are also introduced. The theoretical frame of dilemmatic space is proposed as an additional means of understanding and maneuvering through the complexities of modern everyday life, where varying norms and values and moral and political positions are taken into account. Conflicting views of how morality develops are presented and challenges for teaching morality and ethics outlined.