ABSTRACT
Contrary to the naive assumptions of the right wing ideologues as O'Hear (1988) and Lawlor (1990), neither teaching nor teacher education are simple enterprises; and since as yet the authors have had only a few years' experience of school-based initial teacher education, it is inevitable that they should still be at an early stage in clarifying its problems and possibilities. This chapter highlights that its aim is to offer–suggestions to be tried or questions to be answered–which will be helpful to policy makers, practitioners and researchers. The mentors participating in the Oxford study emphasised especially intrinsic benefits from mentoring–the management skills developed, the opportunity for a new dimension to one's professional life, and especially the stimulus to reflect on one's own practices and expertise. Such professional development benefits tend to depend, as Maynard also notes, on the attributes of mentors themselves and also on the support of headteachers.
