the perceptions
(and ultimately the attitude) the classroom teacher assumes towards the role of mentoring in
the professional experience adds to the complexity. While it is assumed that classroom-based
teachers who choose to mentor a pre-service teacher will have a positive attitude towards the
mentoring circumstance, some of the teachers in this study have highlighted that having a
greater understanding of what it means to mentor provided a stepping-stone for an adjustment
in their actions. Mentoring is frequently described as a complex activity in the literature
(Ambrosetti, 2010; Fairbanks et al., 2000; Hall et al., 2008; Tillema, Smith & Leshem, 2011)
and the three elements identified by the participants provide some insight into this
complexity. Although the notion of the holistic nature of mentoring was expressed by way of
‘hearts and minds’, links can be made to the three components of mentoring that were
identified earlier: relationship, developmental needs and contextual elements.