The Novice Educator Support and Training (NEST) project, aimed at enhancing the professional development of novice educators, has successfully concluded its second pilot phase. This milestone marks the end of the experimental stage and paves the way for the project’s next phase.
NEST employed a comprehensive evaluation approach, utilizing a panel design to measure outcomes such as mentoring practices and teaching competence over a two-year period. This approach enabled the assessment of participants’ professional growth before and after intervention, as well as a comparison between the intervention and control groups. The evaluation process also included two cohorts running concurrently over two school years in each of the pilot countries.
Throughout the duration of the project, mentors received specialized training to provide adaptive mentoring to their mentees. This training was delivered either in person or through online platforms, ensuring flexibility and accessibility for participants.
The evaluation of the NEST project has been conducted by experts from the University of Duissburg-Essen, bringing academic rigor and credibility to the assessment process. The project partners are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to share the results of this evaluation. The findings will be disseminated by the end of the year 2023 through various events held across all pilot countries. Additionally, a final EU-level event is scheduled to take place in Brussels in 2024, where the results will be presented.
As the experimental phase of NEST concludes, the consortium is now able to release the mentoring training materials developed throughout the project. These valuable resources will be made available on the project website’s “resources” section and on the Erasmus+ results platform. Educators and stakeholders interested in enhancing mentoring practices and supporting novice educators will have access to these materials, fostering continuous professional development within the field.
NEST has demonstrated its commitment to improving the support and training provided to novice educators. By implementing a rigorous evaluation process and investing in mentoring practices, the project aims to enhance teaching competence and ultimately improve the educational experience for students. With the conclusion of the second pilot phase, NEST moves closer to achieving its objectives and making a lasting impact on the field of education.
