PERCEPTION OF SCIENCE TEACHERS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AGUATA EDUCATION ZONE OF ANAMBRA STATE TOWARDS MENTORING FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Mentoring has increasingly been recognized as a critical strategy for fostering continuous personal and professional development by facilitating the transfer of knowledge, skills, and experience from more experienced professionals (mentors) to less experienced colleagues (mentees). This study investigated science teachers' perceptions of mentoring for professional development in Aguata Education Zone of Anambra State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions and adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population comprised science teachers from 21 public secondary schools in the study area. Using a simple random sampling technique, 16 schools (eight each from Orumba North and Orumba South Local Government Areas of the Education Zone) were selected, yielding a sample of 96 science teachers. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire titled Science Teachers' Perception of Mentoring for Professional Development Questionnaire (STPMPDQ). The instrument demonstrated acceptable internal consistency with a reliability coefficient of 0.76. Descriptive statistics (mean scores) were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed an overall positive perception of mentoring for professional development (grand mean = 2.66). Respondents agreed that mentoring conversations benefit both mentors and mentees (M = 3.04), mentoring is an effective strategy for professional development (M = 2.98), mentoring facilitates the acquisition of new knowledge and skills (M = 2.77), and mentees are able to openly discuss their professional weaknesses during mentoring (M = 2.67). Conversely, respondents disagreed that mentors assume a position of superiority over mentees (M = 2.46) or that mentees feel inferior during the mentoring process (M = 2.04). The findings suggest that science teachers perceive mentoring as a collaborative and supportive professional learning strategy that promotes knowledge sharing, reflective practice, and professional growth. The study recommends that educational administrators institutionalize structured mentoring programme in secondary schools to strengthen teachers' continuous professional development and improve instructional effectiveness.