Abstract
The primary aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of novice teachers and SMT members concerning the role of school management in mentoring novice teachers' transition into the teaching profession. Aligned to this aim, the study examined whether initial teacher education (ITE) programmes adequately prepared novice teachers for best practice in the actual school context. Further, this study sought to make-meaning of novice teachers' perceptions on mentoring programmes that are being implemented in primary schools in the Metro-North Education District, Western Cape, South Africa. Additionally, the study examined the perceptions of school management on the role of mentoring novice teachers. For this study, the generic qualitative design guided the researcher to understand the responses of both novice teachers and SMT members on the role of school management in mentoring novice teachers' transition into the teaching profession. The study's generic qualitative design assisted the researcher in ascertaining novice teachers' perceptions of mentorship programmes at quintile five primary schools through qualitative data analysis. Finally, the generic qualitative design was ideal for the researcher to construct a research report to understand the role of SMT members in mentoring novice teachers' transition from ITE programmes into the actual school context (Yin, 2018:60). It was concluded that this study will assist policymakers in the Department of Basic Education, Department of Higher Education and Training, and Higher Education Institutions to introduce improved ITE programmes. Key words: Role, school management, mentoring, novice teachers, transition