Abstract

• The main purpose of the study was to study teachers' informal mentoring on engagement of at-risk students in Hlaing Township, Yangon Region. Quantitative method and qualitative methods were used in this study. The questionnaire included two parts; at-risk students’ perception on teachers' informal mentoring and their engagement. Teachers' informal mentoring portion was modified by the researcher under the guidance of supervisor, and at-risk students' engagement portion was based on Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) and refined under the guidance of supervisor. The reliability coefficients (the Cronbach’s alpha) were 0.92 for teachers' informal mentoring and 0.89 for at-risk students' engagement. One hundred and ninety-four Grade 9 students from Basic Education High Schools in Hlaing Township participated in the study. Descriptive statistics and one-way ANNOVA and interviews were used in exploring the levels of students’ perceptions on teachers' informal mentoring and engagement of at-risk students. The teachers in Hlaing Township often performed their mentoring on at-risk students. Therefore, their students' engagement is moderately high. After that, in comparing the students who receive teachers' informal mentoring and those who are not receiving, the students who receive teachers' informal mentoring is higher engaged in their learning than those who are not receiving. In qualitative findings, the information from interview questions were complementary to the quantitative findings. Therefore, educators and education policy makers should consider the findings of the research work in improving teachers' informal mentoring and students' engagement.