To Know Is Not Enough: Mentoring Interns Through a Liminal Phase

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: Teacher Commitment, Retention, and Staffing in the United States and Abroad

Abstract

Mentoring has been used as a mechanism to introduce undergraduate teaching students and newly qualified teachers to the reality of the ‘elementary school’ workplace. At CQUniversity the internship signifies the end point of being a student and the transition towards becoming a teacher thus we see this as a liminal phase. In this paper we suggest a challenge facing pre-service teachers during their teaching internships is the notion of the liminal guide and the liminal gatekeeper. Our paper elaborates on this challenge and what we can do to meet that challenge to improve education outcomes and serve the public good.

Authors

• Teresa Moore, Central Queensland University

• Pam S. Gargett, CQUniversity