Assessing the Level of Pedagogical Mentoring Activities among Early Childhood and Primary School Teachers in Plateau State

This study assessed the level of pedagogical mentoring activities among early childhood care and education (ECCE) and primary school teachers in Plateau State, Nigeria. Using a survey design, data was collected from 100 primary and ECCE teachers across the three senatorial zones through a five-point Likert scale titled “Teacher Mentoring Assessment Questionnaire (TMAQ)”. The findings revealed a significant gap in mentoring practices, with only 14% of teachers participating in any mentoring relationship and 0% in formal mentoring programs. All existing mentoring relationships were informal, naturally developed, and lacked documentation, formal goals, or structured components. Despite limited participation, mentoring relationships demonstrated strong cultural responsiveness, with high scores for respecting traditional values (M=4.00) and understanding cultural contexts (M=4.00). However, institutional support was critically lacking across all dimensions, with universal “strongly disagree” responses for dedicated time, training, resources, and recognition systems. Notably, teachers who participated in mentoring relationships consistently reported higher results compared to non-mentored teachers: job satisfaction (+1.26), teaching confidence (+0.99), new strategy implementation (+0.93), and retention (+1.10). The study concludes that while mentoring shows positive potential for teacher development and retention, significant implementation gaps exist. Recommendations include establishing structured mentoring programs, creating institutional support systems, and leveraging existing cultural strengths while adding formal components to maximize professional development impact.