Title of Study: Professional Insights for the Successful Implementation Peer Mentoring Programs for Undergraduate Teacher Candidates
You are asked to participate in a research study conducted by Dr. Clayton Smith and Dr. Geri Salinitri from the Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel to contact Dr. Clayton Smith at Clayton.Smith@uwindsor.ca. Dr. Smith can also be reached during daytime hours at the phone number (519) 253-3000 Ext. 2802.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This study has three purposes: (a) to provide insight into the nature, diversity, and number of peer-mentoring opportunities that are being offered to teacher-candidates as a part of or accessory to post-secondary level teacher education programs (b) to explore common challenges and benefits of peer-mentoring opportunities offered to pre-service teacher candidates across different institutions, and (c) to illustrate and inform best practices for the implementation of peer mentoring programs for teacher candidates by higher education institutions, teacher educators, and program coordinators.
PROCEDURES
If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be asked to:
- Respond to the initial email from the research team, indicating your willingness to participate in an interview
- Correspond with members of the research team to schedule an interview at a convenient time for you.
- Complete a short descriptive survey provided to you with directions by the research team. Surveys will allow the research team to learn more about the context of your experiences with peer mentoring programs. If your survey responses indicate that your experiences are relevant to the goals of the research in this study, you will be asked to complete an interview.
- Attend a voluntary interview at an agreed upon time. During an interview, a member of the research team will ask questions about your experiences with peer-mentoring programs for pre-service teacher candidates, the successes and challenges you observed, and related perspectives/insights.
Interviews for this study are being conducted from December , 2022 – December , 2023. Eligible participants are professionals in education who have valuable experiences and insights regarding the development and implementation of peer mentoring opportunities amongst pre-service teachers. Interviews for this study may be approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour long. Each consenting participant will engage in one interview. Interviews may take place over Microsoft Teams, or other platforms that are accessible for participants. Email is the preferred method of communication for scheduling interviews, asking questions, and engaging in follow-up discussions with the research team.
POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
There is a low-level risk posed by commonalities between the participants in this study, and the principal investigator. Some participants may relate to the principal investigator as members of the same global teaching and learning community, with similar career experiences and/or educational interests. Some participants may also recognize the investigators of this project as professional colleagues. Members of the research team will remain mindful of these risks, and will take steps to interact with participants using non-bias language during interviews. Additionally, student research assistants may facilitate interviews with participants. A low-level social and psychological risk may be posed by interview questions prompting participants to reflect on challenges related to experiences with peer mentoring programs.
There is a low-level risk associated with surveys in this study. Some survey questions are designed to determine whether or not eligible participants are a good fit for a qualitative interview. If a participant does not possess the experiences that the research team hopes to explore in qualitative interviews, negative responses, or indications that the survey question is unapplicable, will reveal this to the research team. Surveys are designed to use neutral, participant-positive language. All honest responses to survey questions are appreciated by the research team. If you experience any discomfort while completing survey questions, or observe that many survey questions are not relevant to your experience, you may contact the research team via email to discuss your concerns. A low-level security risk is posed by the use of Qualtrics to collect survey responses. Qualtrics is a trusted web-based data collection platform.
A low-level risk is present in relation to data security in this study. Survey information will be collected using online software. Audiovisual recordings of interviews will also initially be taken online, but will be downloaded to a secure offline location and deleted from the online server proceeding the interview.
As interviews in this study will relate to professional activities, and participants will be reached through professional contact information, there is a low economic risk present in this study.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
This study aims to provide benefits to institutions and teacher educators who desire to implement peer mentoring opportunities for teacher candidates. This exploratory study aims to identify best practices and valuable insights revealed by an examination of existing peer-mentoring opportunities for teacher candidates. This research will inform the successful implementation of teacher mentoring opportunities through knowledge of benefits, potential challenges, tried program models, and insights of the professional learning community. No direct benefits to participants are expected from this research.
COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
Participants will not receive compensation for engagement in this study.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Any information that is obtained in connection with this study, and that can be identified with you, will remain confidential, and will only be disclosed with your permission. All recordings of interviews made with audio or video tape (for the purposes of transcription) will be stored offline and deleted upon the completion of a written interview transcript within two weeks of an interview. The accuracy of the information collected will be verified through a summary of main points at the end of the interview. Only members of the research team will have access to the raw data, and this information will be password protected. Retained data will be destroyed within 3 years of the conclusion of the study. Although your words may be quoted, your name or any identifying information will not appear in reports or publications resulting from this study.
Participant confidentiality is protected in this study, however, the ability of the research team to prevent participants from being identified may be limited in unique circumstances should participants describe their involvement with a highly unique mentoring program. In this case, the research team can not guarantee that readers of reports disseminated in connection with this study will not recognize the descriptions of highly unique programs, and link these programs to the institutions. Survey and interview data will be linked in this study,
PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
You may withdraw from this study by emailing Clayton.Smith@uwindsor.ca and stating your desire to withdraw your data. You may refuse to participate in the study, or refuse to answer any questions during interview discussions. Participants will no longer be able to withdraw from this study as of November 1st, 2023. Your information may be removed from this study at your request, or at the discretion of researchers.
FEEDBACK OF THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY TO THE PARTICIPANTS
A summary of the study results will be available at the web address below, prior to the release of findings in publications.
Web address: https://www.uwindsor.ca/people/csmith/313/current-research
Date when results are available: April1, 2024
SUBSEQUENT USE OF DATA
These data may be used in subsequent studies, in publications and in presentations.
RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
If you have questions regarding your rights as a research participant, contact: The Office of Research Ethics, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4; Telephone: 519-253-3000, ext. 3948; e‑mail: ethics@uwindsor.ca