The resurgence of public concern about the effectiveness of schools
has brought with it a renewed appreciation of the importance of the principal
in the educational process. Most preparation programs for school
administrators now require some type of internship or field experience. The
purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding about mentor-protege
relationships and the personal and contextual factors affecting those
relationships in a regional program for the preparation of principals.
Mentor-protege relationships were examined through the collection and
analysis of demographic data, scores on a semantic differential, scores used
to measure compatibility of personality traits (FIRO-B), and in-depth
interviews. The personal and professional questionnaire and semantic
differential were both developed by Martha Cobble. Data for four of the six
dyads in this study were collected but not analyzed by Cobble in her exploratory study describing mentor-protege relationships in a regional
program for the preparation of principals.
The findings of this study indicated that mentors were important to the
career development of proteges in ed ucational settings. Close personal and
professional relationships developed between mentors and proteges, and
both populations stressed professional aspects of their relationships over
social aspects. The mentors' ability to plan meaningful activities and
experiences based on their administrative experience was more important to
the development of the relationships than were demographic factors such as
age and gender. This study should extend the generalizability of Cobble's
work and be of interest to mentors, proteges, and others wanting to learn
more about mentoring in educational administration.
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