Practicing mentorship in school improvement

The main purpose of this study is to examine the functionality and applicability of a practice known as 'academic coordination,' which is considered a form of mentoring within the scope of the International Baccalaureate Programme (IBP), in the context of school development. The study focuses on evaluating the functionality of this practice and its applicability in public schools. To achieve this goal, the study collected the opinions of teachers and administrators who implemented the practice in a private school and a similar-level public school regarding the practice's professional collaboration, school development, and professional development aspects. The participants in this study consist of a total of 26 individuals, including a manager and 14 teachers from a private school that offered the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and the Ministry of Education (MEB) curriculum during the 2021-2022 academic year in Bornova district of Izmir province. In addition, a manager and 10 teachers from a public school in Karşıyaka district, which implemented a preparatory program and had a socioeconomic profile similar to the private school, participated in the study. The schools were involved in the research and the 26 participants were selected through purposeful sampling methods, aiming to achieve maximum diversity and presentation by considering different types of schools, subject areas, professional experience levels, and education levels. The research employed a qualitative research method and a phenomenological design, with data collected through a semi-structured interview form consisting of five questions. Descriptive and content analysis techniques were used to analyze the participants' responses to the interview questions. The findings were presented by creating codes, categories and themes. As a result of the research, it is found that: - Academic coordination is associated with coordination, harmony, and coordination as a concept. - Although it has some similarities with mentoring, it plays a larger and more significant role, with a guiding role. - The workload situation varies depending on the individual and understanding. - It contributes to both teacher-to-teacher and administrator-teacher communication in educational organizations, contributing to the school climate and school development. - It serves as a supporting and facilitating bridge among teachers. - It has a significant impact on teachers' professional development. - Similarly, it makes a significant contribution to professional development. - It plays a major role in school development. - If implemented in public schools, it would make a significant difference. - Nevertheless, it is concluded that it cannot be implemented in public schools due to issues such as meritocracy problems, bureaucracy dependence, civil servant mentality, expectation of incentives, teacher resistance to change, and similar reasons. It is believed that this study, which examines the academic coordination practice, and the study findings will guide researchers, policy makers, and teachers.