The use of audio diaries to support reflective mentoring practice in Hungarian teacher training

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore how mentors' and mentees' self-concepts and related reflective practices in mentored teacher training are supported by using audio diaries within the framework of Dialogical Self Theory (Hermans, 2001), and how it could be used in the wider context of teacher training.Design/methodology/approachThis study explores a specific qualitative methodology, the use of audio diary in self-reflective activities, in the context of teacher training in Hungary. When analysing the data, we used the thematic analysis approach to employ a relatively high level of interpretation.FindingsMulti-level meta-position reflections have emerged from the data that were comparable at a given point in time. We found five different I-positions (Hermans, 2001) that suggest that mentors and mentees perceived of these as shared themes of the emerging incidents in mentoring. However, those aspects of the mentoring process on which mentors and mentees reflected only vaguely or have not reflected mutually in their audio diaries involved a certain level of mis-positioning and further tension.Practical implicationsAudio diaries are beneficial for personal and professional development. The tools and the methodology around them could be leveraged to broaden mentor–mentee dyads, which may lead to including university-based teacher educators and researchers from the field.Originality/valueThe value of this study arises from the process of recording audio diary logs as a direct representation of thoughts during the mentorship process.