SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION: A Study of the Mentoring Experience within PRODITECSchool Management, Continuing Education, Mentoring, Educational Technologies, PRODITEC
This dissertation aims to analyze the experience of school administrators who participated in the PRODITEC — School Management Development Program — where mentoring is employed as a formative strategy for innovation in educational management. The core of this research lies in comprehending how school principals assess the program's effectiveness, the pertinence of its collaborative approach, and the impact of this experience on their professional practice. This study is grounded in the understanding that the actions of school managers are crucial for implementing public educational policies and fostering an institutional culture geared towards the continuous professional development of teachers. Specifically, the research investigates whether mentoring can be considered an effective training methodology within the school management context, drawing from the perceptions and lived experiences of the participating principals. By doing so, this study intends to contribute to the creation of frameworks that can inform the enhancement of continuing education programs for teachers, particularly those mediated by educational technologies and sustained by collaborative practices promoted by the managers themselves. A qualitative methodology was adopted, structured on netnographic procedures, which included observing mentoring sessions and administering a questionnaire to the participating managers. The data analysis is expected to provide an understanding of the meanings that the principals attribute to their formative experience with PRODITEC and to evaluate the degree to which this strategy fosters more innovative and contextualized pedagogical practices that are aligned with the demands of the contemporary world. Therefore, this work aims to offer theoretical and practical insights that reinforce the integration of continuing education, school management, and the pedagogical application of digital technologies.