Supporting transitions from student to professional : a mentoring case study from early childhood education

Transitions are inevitable in professional practice. In the context of adult learning, transitions are part of a continuous process of invention and exploration that is often linked to disequilibrium and dissonance. The impetus for this mentoring project arose from staff discussions around the delivery of final year units in QUT's reconceptualised Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood). As the first cohort in the new course were about to begin their final year of study, we saw advantages in preparing students for teaching and learning using principles and practices underpinning transitions - valuing notions such as dilemmas, loss, identities, uncertainty, professional resilience and sense-making. This chapter reflects on this mentoring and transition project.