Investigation of Special Education Educators’ Views on the Necessity to Apply the Institution of Mentor in Special Education and Training Schools

This paper explores the views of special education teachers on the necessity of introducing the institution of the mentor into the educational act. In particular, the knowledge, skills, and qualifications required by the mentor candidate for the more efficient functioning of the mentoring process are explored. The sample of the survey consisted of 143 special education teachers from the Region of Western Greece, while the data were collected through a questionnaire. The statistical analysis of the questionnaire data was performed using the statistical software SPSS Procedure 24. The survey results show that teachers recognize the importance of mentoring for their educational work and highly express their demand to imports the institution in schools. They find it particularly important that the mentor should have knowledge of pedagogy, psychology and teaching methodology, in order to effectively exercise his role. Finally, factors such as the teaching experience and possession of relevant expertise the development of a cooperative framework and the modification of the curriculum, on behalf of the mentor guarantee a proper guidance process in the school unit.