Developing a mentor-mentee relationship

This chapter focuses on establishing, developing, maintaining and sustaining mentor–mentee relationships. It also looks at how to deal with situations when the mentor–mentee relationship may not be working well. Hudson identified four key factors in establishing an effective mentor–mentee relationship. These include personal and professional qualities; skills and practices; environmental factors; and the selection process involved. Regardless of the allocation or selection process involved, in researching the development of mentor–mentee relationships, Hudson established that meeting with a mentee is an important part of establishing a meaningful relationship, as it encourages a dialogue, allowing basic social interactions to begin. Ground rules provide a framework for mentor and a beginning teacher to work from. Getting to know a beginning teacher allows mentor to begin to understand who they are and where they are coming from, and therefore, consider what strategies/approaches mentor might need to use to support them.