Guiding the Next Generation: The Transformative Power of Mentorship and Career Development in Physical Education

Abstract
Mentoring practices are crucial for the career development of student interns.
Yet, there exists limited research on this aspect regarding the extent to which
career development in physical education (PE) is influenced by mentorship.
This study examines the impact of mentoring practices on the career development
of Physical Education (PE) student interns from the University of Education,
Winneba during internship in Senior High School in Ghana. The objectives
are to identify the practices incorporated into the mentoring process
and the perceived consequences on the interns’ career development. A crosssectional
survey with census sampling was conducted on 122 PE student interns.
The participants comprised 26 females and 96 males with their ages,
ranging between 20 to 42 years. The instrument was a self-developed and validated
questionnaire with a Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient reliability of 0.74.
Multiple Linear Regression was employed in the data analysis. For all mentoring
practices, the results showed direct and positive effects on career development,
except for model teaching and mentoring philosophy. Though, the most
powerful driver of career advancement was mentoring feedback, mentoring
practices as a whole accounted for 44.6% of the variation in interns’ career development
outcomes. The development of mentoring philosophy and integrating
model teaching into the early part of the students’ internship curricula
seem to have potential improvement on participants career. The study concludes
that comprehensive and regular training of mentors in feedback, leadership,
and accessibility is crucial for fostering the career-readiness of PE teachers.
It is recommended that mentors should scaffold student interns’ teaching confidence and classroom management development for the initial stages of
internship for effective career development.
Keywords
Career Development, Ghana, Mentoring Practices, Physical Education and
Student Interns