ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how school-based initial teacher education is affected by a student teacher’s close link with a mentor, especially in course structures where there is also a dominant relationship with one school. It examines how mentors and school staffs contribute to students’ induction to an individual school, to their understanding of classroom processes and skills, and to their induction to the teaching profession. The chapter describes the relationship between induction and acculturation. It suggests that the emphasis on ‘fitting-’ meant that induction was extensively concerned with acculturation, a process which, being often tacit, presented some dangers. Whilst induction into planned and agreed procedures was an open process, where meanings were explicit, induction which was achieved through the tacit processes of acculturation carried hidden implications. The longer the time with that school, and the earlier it was in a student’s course, the greater the likelihood of dependence and acculturation.
