Research Issue

Current research into the role of Mentoring suggests that the practice can be modified to suit different organisations and clients. In a report to the Journal of Educational Administration (1995 Vol. 33 No.5), Geoff Southworth upholds the practice of Mentoring as one strategy to assist with the Professional development of beginning principals. Among the benefits are that the process benefits the mentors as well as the protege and is also beneficial in encouraging critical reflective practice. There is a volume of contemporary research which validates the value of this program.

At Kia Ora State School, these principles are being used to develop a Peer Reading program which aims to benefit the Mentors as well as the proteges and encourage critical, reflective practice. This project is intended to have an indefinite life, however a formal evaluation of the project will be conducted in June 1998. An interim review will be conducted in November 1997 and the results published.

Peer Reading Support Program for Non Fluent Readers

The Mentors who are to be trained originate from a Year 7 class. On this occasion, Mentors are being trained who have recognised reading difficulties. This differs from many similar programs in that the best readers are not chosen to provide the model. It is considered important for this project to choose the children who most need to revisit specific reading skills.

The goals of the program for this group of children are;

(1) to improve the self esteem of children who previously have had poor experiences with reading.

(2) to provide a set of techniques which will improve word attack skills, fluency and comprehension.

(3) to create the opportunities for children to become more critical of their own reading and give indicators of what constitutes fluent reading.

(4) to provide a trained peer who can provide daily assistance with reading.

The proteges for this program will be selected from a Year 2/3 class. For this project, the children selected as proteges are experiencing difficulties in reading. They are identified as such by the classroom teacher and those children who are identified by the Year Two Net as requiring intervention.

The goals of the program for this group of children are;

(1) to improve the self esteem of children who are beginning to experience frustration with reading.

(2) to improve reading fluency, comprehension and word attack skills.

(3) to provide daily reading assistance in a regular, structured manner by a trained peer.

Background to the Project

There are currently many ways in which children who require assistance with reading are accommodated at this school. This project is to be seen as a school initiative in response to a local need and is in addition to the current level of support operating at the moment. This project does not replace any other program.

It is intended that the skills taught to the Years 2/3 children will be developed throughout the Primary years. Those children who adopt the role of protege now and receive assistance from a Mentor will in turn become a Mentor when they reach the upper school. This program is also seen as a proactive strategy to prepare the school for 1998 as Education Queensland embraces its’ new district structure. It is planned that this program, after any modifications, will assist this school in managing the issue of reading recovery in a time when schools are adopting a School Based Management Model.