| dc.description.abstract | As global concern rises for the teaching profession and quality of teachers, nations are addressing educational issues in ways that stress implementing formalized support systems for beginning teachers and teacher mentoring. Sharing these concerns, Norway has also taken measures to strengthen the teaching profession through mentoring new teachers. Different perspectives of mentoring, however, result in different outcomes. This study compares Norwegian teacher mentoring programs in two counties by examining the nature and implementation of the programs as well as the experiences from new teachers perspectives. Using a qualitative research strategy, data was collected from new teachers, teacher mentors, school leaders, district representatives in each county and a university professor who leads a teacher mentor program. The study draws off different theory and literature for each research question; literature examining teacher mentoring perspectives, curriculum implementation, as well as situated learning theory. The study found that the content and aims of mentoring varied at different levels in each county. These differences influenced the structure of the programs as well as the experiences of the new teachers. The data suggests that the nature of the teacher mentoring programs differed from County A to County B, focusing mainly on socio-emotional support and acquirable skills respectively. Support, content, communication and feedback were the areas in which the counties significantly differed in their implementation. Mentoring seemed most successful in terms of the participants experiences when the goals of mentoring were consistently aligned in the county, institutional, instructional and personal levels. The nature of the mentoring programs, as well as the new teachers position in the school, disposition towards learning, and status, all had an influence on the new teachers experiences. Although the new teachers reported mostly positive experiences, this study suggests that all key stakeholders involved in mentoring should be active participants in the implementation of a mentoring program. | eng |