The Cost Elements of Mentoring to the Student Teacher: The Moderating Role of Mentees’ Gender and the Location of Schools of Attachment

Abstract

This study examined the moderating role of gender of mentees and the location of schools of
attachment and its impact on the cost of the mentoring process. The cross-sectional and
descriptive survey designs were blended to address the stated objectives along with the
quantitative approach. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 810 mentees
(477 males and 333 females) for the analyses. Frequencies, percentages, two-way ANOVA
and predictive margins were used for the analyses. The major cost areas identified were
accommodation, feeding, utility bills, transportation and stationery. Generally, the results
indicated that, with exception of utility (electricity and water), gender and location
individually explained the magnitude of the cost of the mentoring programme on the mentees
but their joint effect did not. Specifically, more mentees in the urban areas irrespective of
gender spent more on accommodation than mentees in the rural areas. Nonetheless, males
in the urban areas spent more on accommodation than females in the urban areas and
females in both the rural and urban areas spent more on utility bills and feeding than the
male mentees. It was also observed that location of school of attachment did not
significantly influence the payment of utility bills. The study concluded that with exception of accommodation and stationery; the female mentees felt the cost of the mentoring process in
the areas of utility and feeding than the males. The study recommended that: the government
pays special allowance to the student teachers during the mentoring session but the females’
package should be higher than the males and the school authorities should provide decent
accommodation for all mentees posted to their schools.