Supporting the teaching practices of the pre-service social studies teachers with mentoring

The action research model was used in this study, which was carried out in order to improve the professional competencies of social studies teaching senior students within the scope of Teaching Practice I and II courses and gain experience in the field with the support of a mentor. With this research, the mentoring support process was provided with various activities, outdoor trips, seminars and various mentoring supports so that teacher candidates can pass the teaching practice course efficiently. The study group of the research consisted of a total of 15 mentees, 9 girls and 6 boys, who were studying in the last year of the Social Studies Teaching Department of Akdeniz University Faculty of Education in the 2021-2022 academic year and took a teaching practice course. In the research, the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale and the Teaching Motivation Scale were applied to 53 pre-service teachers, 32 girls and 21 boys, in quantitative dimension, who did not receive mentoring support, and whose permissions were obtained for the scale. In order to collect qualitative data in the study, Mentoring Pre-Practice Interview Form, Mentoring Post-Practice Interview Form, Mentor Post-Session Evaluation Form, Mentor Evaluation Form and Mentoring Interim Evaluation Form were used to collect qualitative data. Content analysis was used in the analysis of qualitative data, and SPSS 22 program was used in the analysis of quantitative data. When the results of the research were evaluated in general, it was determined that the mentoring practice gave the mentees experience and improved their professional and personal competencies. While it is seen that mentees encounter various problems during the separation stages when they do not receive mentoring support, it is seen that mentoring is effective in solving various problems that mentees encounter. For this reason, it has been determined that mentoring provides the mentees to gain awareness, gains such as classroom dominance, being an effective teacher, and experiencing various teaching methods. It can be said that the mentees who stated that they were satisfied with their mentors during the mentoring training process met the expectations of the mentoring practice. On the other hand, while it was determined that the self-efficacy of the mentees was higher than the teacher candidates who did not receive mentoring support, it was observed that the teaching motivations of the mentees and teacher candidates developed similarly. In the light of the results of the study, it is suggested that mentoring practices should be included within the scope of the teaching practice course, that mentoring practices should be used especially in the theoretical part of the teaching practice course, and that the university and the Ministry of National Education should act in cooperation for mentoring to be successful.