Deconstructing Mentoring for Effective Educational Leadership

Agnes Nabitula, Charles Eryenyu & Stella Margaret Ujeyo Suubi
Department of Education
Faculty of Science and Education
Busitema University Nagongera Campus
Email: nabitulaagnes@gmail.com

Abstract: This study explores the role of mentoring in the professional development of school leaders in Uganda’s secondary education system. Drawing from global literature and Uganda’s national education policies, the study critically examines existing mentoring practices, highlights challenges, and proposes a context-sensitive framework to enhance leadership development. The review reveals that while mentoring is widely recognized as a strategic tool for educational leadership, its implementation in Uganda is largely informal, unstructured, and misaligned with the specific needs of novice head teachers. Most mentoring occurs without formal guidelines, mentor training, or alignment to strategic leadership competencies such as policy navigation and stakeholder engagement. Cultural and institutional factors, such as rigid hierarchies, gender dynamics, time constraints, and lack of policy support further hinder the effectiveness of mentoring. The study adopts a desk-based methodology, using thematic analysis of secondary data from academic and policy sources between 1994 and 2024. Findings emphasize the need for a structured, policy-backed mentoring framework with defined phases, trained mentors, and institutional support. The study recommends integrating mentoring into national professional development systems to ensure consistency, relevance, and sustainability. Such a framework would enhance leadership readiness and improve school performance by equipping new leaders with the skills and confidence needed to manage Uganda’s dynamic education environment.