Mentoring and School Leadership: Experiences from South Africa

Among the factors included in the Advanced Certificate in Education-School Management and Leadership (ACE-SML) qualification in South Africa, is the requirement for leaders to be mentored. Mentoring is perceived to be among the most necessary processes in ensuring that practising principals will in turn be able to become resourceful mentors to their teachers. This article explicates the results of a study that investigated the mentoring process in selected schools. It was a qualitative study conducted among Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces’ sample of principals. Mentoring is a relatively new concept in South African schools, and in this investigation the researcher found that the mentor-mentee relationships can be fraught with challenges. Among others, in line with existing research, the findings revealed that the personalities of the mentor a nd mentee are very crucial in ensuring the effectiveness of the mentoring experience. Moreover, the results bring to light that mentors who have received effective training will be more efficient than mentors who did not. Furthermore, future schools will require the services of effective mentors who will understand the agenda of change in schools.