48 Structural Process and Impacts of Mentoring Module in Ballet Certificate Program: A Case Study on CBTS Program, Royal Academy of Dance, Malaysia Xian Yuin Chen, Sang Woo Ha Universiti Malaya, Malaysia Submitted: 2022-02-24. Revised: 2022-05-22. Accepted: 2022-06-13 Abstract This case study aims to give an overview of the structural process of dance mentoring module and investigate its impact in Malaysian dance education, exemplifying CBTS program, known as Certificate in Ballet Teaching Study. For this study, the researchers have employed Eric Par- loe’s mentoring model as a theoretical tool to re-interpret the process of CBTS mentoring mod- ule. Focusing on insider’s approach, also known as the emic perspective, the researchers used qualitative methods, such as interviews, auto-ethnography, and archive analysis. To discuss the necessity of the mentoring module, the researchers have examined the structure and process of CBTS 404 Mentoring Module first. After that, this study scrutinized student-teachers’ purpose and experience while they were enrolling in the CBTS program and analyzed the influence of the mentoring module based on the perspective and experience of the currently certified mentors. Lastly, the researchers have explored the impacts of the mentoring module based on previous experience of the student-teachers and mentors. Based on these analyses, the researchers have argued that the mentoring module, CBTS404, plays an actual role in teaching how to apply ac- quired theoretical knowledge to practical teaching environments. Keywords: Ballet Certificate Program in Malaysia, Mentoring Module, CBTS Program, Royal Academy of Dance How to Cite: Chen, X. Y. & Ha, S. W. (2022). Structural Process and Impacts of Mentoring Module in Ballet Certificate Program: A Case Study on CBTS Program, Royal Academy of Dance, Malaysia. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research And Education, 22(1), 48-61 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (1) (2022), 48-61 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/harmonia DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v22i1.35245 the most popular association among Ma- laysian ballet teachers and students (Tally- Press, 2020). Malaysia, named Malaya at that time, accepted the RAD system from the United Kingdom in 1953. The RAD has offered two distance learning programs for participants (hereafter referred to as student-teachers) as follows: 1) Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies (CBTS) and 2) Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma (PDTD). Many student-teachers tend to INTRODUCTION In Malaysia, there are currently a few ballet associations that provide several te- acher training programs for people who want to be a certified ballet teacher: 1) the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), 2) the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD), 3) Cecchetti, 4) Vaganova, and 5) the Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing (CSTD). Among the ballet asso- ciations operated in Malaysia, the RAD is Corresponding author: E-mail: sangwooha@um.edu.my p-ISSN 2541-1683|e-ISSN 2541-2426 Xian Yuin Chen, et al., Structural Process and Impacts of Mentoring Module in Ballet Cer- 49 choose the CBTS rather than the PDTD be- cause the CBTS is an online distance lear- ning program available for student-teach- ers around the world. Student-teachers in the CBTS do not need to travel to London to attend classes. Instead, student-teachers can attend classes online from their homes. On the other hand, the PDTD is a three- month full-time program for professional dancers who want to teach ballet. The pro- gram should be only conducted in London and China. That is, the PDTD participants are required to travel to London or Chi- na to complete the required classes. Hen- ce, most Malaysian student-teachers have preferred to choose the CBTS program that can become a token to begin their career in the ballet teaching field. Massen & Kowalewski defined men- toring as “serving as a wise and trusted counselor to others” (Massen & Kowalews- ki, 2010, p. 13). This means that mentoring is the process that offers a wide range of advice with long-term goals and helps instill attitudes that promote achievements and participation. Another scholar, Que- ralt, mentioned that academics with men- tors have a significantly higher level of ca- reer development than academics without mentors (Queralt, 1982). This statement proves that a mentoring module is requi- red in the educational setting. Similarly, the role of a mentor in the CBTS program is to guide each student-teacher in trans- ferring the theoretical knowledge learned in the first year into the real teaching envi- ronment in the second year. Student-teach- ers should discuss with their mentors, sha- re ideas, and design his/her lesson plans. While designing and planning the lesson plans, only people who student-teachers can approach to get advice, guidance, and direction are their mentors. Before and after the examination, the mentors offer practical advice, guidance, and direction, and their help leads student-teachers to complete the CBTS program in the end. According to Zachary & Fischler, good mentoring depends on a reciprocal learning relationship between a mentor and a mentee by forming a partnership to work together to achieve a mutual goal that focuses on developing skills, know- ledge, abilities, and thinking (Zachary & Fischler, 2009). In other words, a success- ful mentorship involves that both a mentor and a student-teacher should work toget- her to achieve a goal. From the researchers’ standpoint, student-teachers attitudes to- ward CBTS404 mentoring module would determine whether they achieve skills to transfer theoretical knowledge into practi- cal teaching. That is, student-teachers need to consider the CBTS404 mentoring modu- le as a significant learning process to gain practical knowledge from their mentors and help student-teachers apply actual skills to real teaching moments. However, the researchers discovered that some of the student-teachers tend to treat the CBTS404 mentoring module as a required course and complete it quickly to get a certificate. Of course, the CBTS404 mentoring module is one of the mandatory subjects for the Ballet teaching certification; ho- wever, such a passive attitude toward the CBTS404 mentoring module can lead student-teachers not to have the ability to transfer theoretical knowledge into real practice. Practically speaking, what stu- dent-teachers experienced to learn from online teaching courses of the CBTS does not mean that they are already equipped with teaching skills to transfer theoreti- cal knowledge into real practice. In other words, knowledge learned from online courses is not able to be taught skills au- tomatically. Berry argued that “the concern with such courses is the implication of a hierar- chy of ‘what to teach’ over ‘how to teach’” (Berry, 2019). As Berry mentioned, some student-teachers might not know how to transfer theoretical knowledge into their practical teaching because they are inex- perienced teachers in the beginning stage of the dance education field. The lack of teaching experience could make student- teachers focus only on “what to teach” rat- her than “how to teach.” Shulman argued that a “teacher must further understand why it is so” (Shulman, 1986, p. 9). This Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (1) (2022): 48-6150 statement indicates that it is important for teachers to understand the rational reaso- ning behind the subject matter that they are teaching. On the other hand, ‘how to teach’ can be defined as pedagogical con- tent knowledge. Kleickmann et al. went on to mention that pedagogical content kno- wledge is “the knowledge needed to make the subject matter accessible to students” (Kleickmann et al., 2012, p. 2). It indicates that teachers need to have skills to trans- mit knowledge effectively to ensure that their students understand what they are learning. In a similar vein, overlooking how to teach often happens to student-teachers who start teaching ballet with a CBTS certi- ficate. Even though student-teachers teach based solely on the given syllabus book af- ter gaining an official teaching certificate, at the beginning of the teaching stage tend to face difficulty in applying the theoreti- cal knowledge to their teaching. In most cases, student-teachers are new teachers, so they still lack real teaching experien- ce. Hence, student-teachers might not be able to respond to some sudden situations. For example, when a student is unable to follow ballet techniques, a new student- teacher with the certificate might not take prompt action to the student’s learning trouble. In this repsect, it is the fact that many student-teachers tend to rely on what to teach while overlooking how to te- ach. To overcome this issue, the CBTS pro- gram has included a mentoring system to help student-teachers expand their experi- ence of real teaching, giving proper advice and guidance face-to-face. Kara stated, “positive beliefs of stu- dents towards obtaining knowledge sup- port their efforts to learn a subject” (Kara, 2010, p. 51). This statement enabled the researchers to indicate that the positive at- titude of student-teachers is a key to amp- lify their knowledge and skills that can be applied in real situations. The student- teachers attitude would keenly affect the outcome that they gain during the CBST mentoring module. In this case study, the researchers first examine the structure and process of CBTS 404 Mentoring Module. Secondly, the researchers identify student- teachers’ purpose and experience while enrolled in the CBTS program. This article also analyzes the mentoring module’s in- fluence based on the perspective and ex- perience of the currently certified mentors. Lastly, this case study aims to analyze how effectively mentors-directed guidance can help student-teachers apply and transform theoretical knowledge into real practices. In this article, the researchers would like to emphasize that accessing the mento- ring module is as important as receiving the program certification in that it guides student-teachers to enlarge their real ex- perience before joining the actual teaching field. METHOD This case study is designed by qua- litative methodology, including in-depth interviews, auto-ethnography, and archi- ve analysis are used in data collection and data analysis. Based on these methods, the researchers put weight on the insider’s approach, known as the emic perspective. Murchison stated that researchers become the primary research instrument to collect and record data because of their unique position as participant-observer as well as the oral testimony of research subjects (Murchison, 2010, p. 13). This means that the data collected comes from both the researchers themselves and the research participants that the researchers wish to access. Of course, there may be questions about the possibility that such information is too subjective data when emic qualita- tive research methodology is often based on the views of a small number of indivi- duals. To reduce the subjective view of the study, the researchers reinterpreted the CBTS mentoring model using Parsloe’s mentoring model. The researchers also de- alt with the experience of being a mentor as a provider and a student-teacher as a re- ceiver. In addition, the self-reflection of the researcher was inserted in this analysis. The researchers are convinced that such Xian Yuin Chen, et al., Structural Process and Impacts of Mentoring Module in Ballet Cer- 51 methods not only strengthened the study’s objectivity but also reduced bias in data analysis. A total of five (5) mentors and ten (10) student-teachers were involved in the interview. During the interview, the mentors were asked to share their experi- ence working with their student-teachers throughout the CBTS mentoring module. The mentors were also asked to share met- hods used in guiding student-teachers to transform theoretical knowledge into ac- tual teaching environments. In the inter- view with the student-teachers, they were asked to share their experience under the guidance of their mentors throughout the mentoring module. The student-teachers also shared how they decided to join the CBTS program and how the program hel- ped them in their teaching. The researchers’ experience and personal reflections were included as an example to support the researchers’ argu- ments throughout this case study. As a cer- tified RAD ballet teacher, the researchers utilized their own experience to provide experimental information to this case stu- dy. Hence, the researchers are convinced that we are people to be familiar with the structural process and impacts of the CBTS program. In company with the interviews and self-reflection, the RAD’s official website played an essential role in this case study as it is the key source to gather informati- on about the CBTS program. Other online journals and research databases like JSTO- RE and Project MUSE also played an im- portant role in discovering related sources on mentoring models. APPLIED THEORY Eric Parsloe’s theory about an ideal mentoring model is mainly applied in this case study as a tool to discuss the neces- sity of CBTS404 mentoring module. This model was produced by Eric Parsloe sum- marizing the four mentoring stages. Due to a copyrights issue, the researchers re- constructed Figure 1, summarizing the four stages of the generic coach-mentoring process (Parsloe & Leedham, 2009, p. 21). Figure 1. The Four Stages of Eric Parsloe’s Mentoring Model For the model, Parsloe specified four stages: 1) analyzing for awareness of need, desire, and self; 2) planning for self-res- ponsibility; 3) implementing using styles, techniques, and skills; and 4) evaluating for success and learning (Parsloe & Leed- ham, 2009, p. 21). Based on this model, he emphasized that the mentoring stages are not straightforward processes but conti- nuous movements within the whole pro- cess. All stages are overlapped. The fol- lowing sections will address the detailed application of Parsloe’s mentoring model. RESULT AND DISCUSSION Structure and Process of CBTS 404 Men- toring Module According to Jackson & Price, “men- toring delivery exists in a variety of models and has been widely explored both from a pastoral and well-being perspective as well as from a learning perspective. Many models draw on adaptions of business sec- tor models to support new entrants into a particular environment” (Jackson & Pri- ce, 2017, p. 101). Their statement indicates that mentoring programs play an impor- tant role in determining the effectiveness of the program in various fields. Therefore, prior to discussion of the effectiveness of the module program, it should explore the structural process of CBTS404 Mentoring Module. The CBTS mentoring module oc- curs in the program’s second year when Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (1) (2022): 48-6152 student-teachers are in the fourth module, CBTS404 Practical Teaching. As stated in the CBTS program handbook, student-te- achers are required to teach at least 45 clas- ses within the duration of the mentoring module of 10 months, from January to Oc- tober, accompanied by three visits for ob- servation (2020, p. 29). With the Practical Teaching Supervisor (PTS), student-teach- ers visit each different dance studio. Upon completion of the module, it is aimed that each student-teacher should be well equip- ped and ready to begin to teach on their own. Figure 2. Structure of Practical Training in the CBTS Program Figure 2 above displays the struc- ture of the practical training in CBTS 404. As seen in the Figure, observation of each mentor’s teaching is the first step before student-teachers gain opportunities to te- ach the whole class. A student-teacher ob- serves how his/her mentor teaches other students in class. During this observation, the student-teacher sits at the side of the class and makes a note of what s/he obser- ved. This example indicates that during the observation, the student-teacher learns te- aching style of a mentor. In most cases, the mentor asks the student-teacher to observe as much as possible and would encourage him/her to observe different grades. It is because, through more observations about various situations, the student-teacher can recognize those situations and learn to mi- nimize disconcerted conditions. Hence, such observations enable all student-teach- ers to have indirect experience to manage any situations that they might encounter while teaching. After observing a few classes, a stu- dent-teacher act as an assistant teacher to assist his/her mentor during class. In this stage, a mentor guides the student-teacher to correct his/her mistakes in class. When the mentor thinks that the student-teacher is ready to teach, the mentor allows him/ her to teach part of the class. For examp- le, the mentor asks the student-teacher to teach one or two exercises based on the syllabus book, or the mentor allows the student-teacher to teach a certain exercise during the last 15 minutes of the class. The mentor then observes how the student-te- acher teaches and conducts the class. After a few months, or when the mentor thinks that the student-teacher is ready and well prepared to teach on their own, the men- tor asks the student-teacher to prepare his own lesson plans and begin to teach the whole one-hour class. The class that the student-teacher teaches becomes the class that the student-teacher uses for their PTS visits. The mentor observes the student- teacher’s teaching and provides feedback and suggestions at the end of the class. Unlike the regular structure of the mentoring module, there are cases where student-teachers can skip the first three processes and directly join to teach the full class in CBTS404. To have such a fast track, a student-teacher should have one or two years to observe and assist a se- lected mentor before the official enrolment in the CBTS program. After observation and assistance before the official enrol- ment, a student-teacher usually decides to participate in the CBTS program and selects his/her mentor. One of the resear- chers was also on the fast track when she took the CBTS program. The researcher started observing a mentor’s teaching and assisting her in class for two years starting in 2012. After then, the researcher enrolled in the CBTS program in 2014. Because of completing two years of observation and assisting, the researcher could immediate- ly jump into teaching the full class when the researcher started CBTS404. Figure 3 presents the whole process of the mento- ring module: Xian Yuin Chen, et al., Structural Process and Impacts of Mentoring Module in Ballet Cer- 53 Figure 3. Process of Mentoring Module in the CBTS Program Before a student-teacher starts to te- ach the class to prepare for the PTS visits, a mentor meets the student-teacher to talk about his/her aims and objectives in bal- let class. The mentor also tells the student- teacher expectations of the mentor. Once the mentor and the student-teacher are clear with each other’s expectations, the mentor sets up schedule of the classes for the student-teacher to teach. The mentor should usually allow the student-teacher, who does not have an own class or studio, to use regular classes of the mentor. Hence, the student-teacher takes one or two of the mentor’s regular classes to teach during the practical teaching. If a student-teacher can prepare his own studio, his/her men- tor comes to the studio on a class day to observe how the student-teacher teaches. Before each class, the student-teacher pro- vides the mentor with a copy of the lesson plan so that the mentor has an idea of what the student-teacher had prepared for class in advance. During the observation, the mentor does not interfere or interrupt the student- teacher and just observes until the end of the class. The mentor and the student- teacher have a short discussion after each class. The student-teacher can express his/her thoughts and share ideas with the mentors. The mentor also gives suggesti- ons and guidance based on his/her expe- rience. This helps the student-teacher to minimize non-effective teaching methods and allows the student-teacher to improve lesson plans. The mentor indirectly asses- ses the student-teacher for improvements based on the following lesson plans and the student-teacher’s responsiveness to a situation in class. For student-teachers to be eligible to take part in the teacher training program, they need to be familiar with the syllabus of the ballet association. Student-teachers who participate in the CBTS program have usually learned and studied the RAD syl- labus since childhood and for a long time. Hence, when student-teachers participate in a teacher training program, they sign up for the CBTS program without hesitation. This is because it takes up a lot of time, cost, and effort for student-teachers to pick up and be familiar with a new syllabus be- fore signing up for other teacher training programs. Application to Eric Parsloe’s Mentoring Model The structural process of the CBTS mentoring module can be re-interpreted according to the stages of Parsloe’s mo- del (2009). The first stage of the Parsloe’s model (analyzing the awareness of need, desire, and self) happens during the first meeting between a mentor and a student- teacher. Before the student-teacher starts to teach class during the PTS visit, the mentor meets the student-teacher to talk about the aims and objectives of the student-teacher in ballet class. Once the mentor and the student-teacher are accurate with each other’s expectations, the mentor sets up class schedules for the student-teacher to teach. The second stage of the Parsloe’s mo- del (planning for self-responsibility) can be applied when the student-teacher be- gins to take responsibility for his/her ac- tions and execute an action plan. During this stage, the student-teacher is ready to work with the mentor in discussing ideas and designing lesson plans in detail. The student-teacher also needs to set a timetab- le and ensure that he/she is on the right track. The mentor can monitor the prog- ress based on the schedule provided by the student-teacher. The third stage of Parsloe’s model Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (1) (2022): 48-6154 (Implementing the use of styles, techni- ques, and skills) demonstrates how the mentor helps the student-teacher put actions into practice. After the student- teacher plans and designs his own lesson plans with the mentor, he/she applies the learned skills to transfer knowledge into real practice. During the observation, the mentor does not interfere with or interrupt the student-teacher. Instead, the mentor observes to the end. In the final stage of Parsloe’s mo- del (evaluating for success and learning), the mentor has discussion sessions with the student-teacher to evaluate the who- le process critically. The student-teacher is allowed to express his/her thoughts to the mentor. After listening to the student- teacher, the mentor gives suggestions and guidance based on his own experience. The mentor indirectly evaluates the student- teacher in terms of his/her improvements and responsive capability to the given situ- ations of class. Thus, in an analogous vein to Parsloe’s model, the mentoring process in the CBTS program is an iterative cycle and ends when student-teachers complete the program. The researchers have considered that there is a similar interlock between Parsloe’s mentoring model and the CBTS mentoring process. For readers, matching with Parsloe’s mentoring model provides a better understanding and clearer visu- alization of the mentoring process in the CBTS program. Student-teachers’ Viewpoint and Experi- ence from the CBTS Mentoring Module As stated by Baran, the mentoring process is a resolutely process imple- mented to support the employees of an organization (Baran, 2016). In conjuncti- on of the statement from Baran, the CBTS provides student-teachers with the mento- ring program to student-teachers that help broaden their teaching knowledge and skills. Figure 4 below is taken from oral testimonies from ten (10) student-teachers who had completed the CBTS program from 2011 to 2020. This result displays the reason student-teachers decide to join the CBTS program. Student-teachers join the CBTS program because they see the pro- gram as an opportunity for better career development. Figure 4. Purpose of Student-Teachers to Join the CBTS Program According to Student-Teacher 1, she saw the CBTS program as a continuing de- velopment to retain a ‘RAD registered te- acher status.’ The CBTS program provided an opportunity for her to take an active role in her career development as a professio- nal dancer to be a qualified ballet teacher (Student-Teacher 1, Personal Communica- tion, April 5, 2021). Out of ten (10) student- teachers involved in this case study, five (5) of them decided to join the CBTS pro- gram to become qualified ballet teachers. Through the program, they, who had wor- ked as part-time but non-certified ballet te- achers, wanted to learn, understand, and know more about techniques and teach- ing skills. Their goals and objective were to complete the program and be able to sign students under their names for exa- minations in the future. Joining the CBTS program was not a part of the plan for Stu- dent-Teacher 5, but she decided to join the program as an additional option for her ca- reer development (Student-Teacher 5, Per- sonal Communication, April 5, 2021). Stu- dent-Teacher 3 and Student-Teacher 9 also decided to join the CBTS program because they wanted to open their dance studio and become certified teachers of the CBTS program (Student-Teacher 3 & Student-Te- acher 9, Personal Communication, April 5, 2021). As for Student-Teacher 10, her pur- pose for joining the program was similar to Student-Teacher 1, which wanted better career development (Student-Teacher 10, Xian Yuin Chen, et al., Structural Process and Impacts of Mentoring Module in Ballet Cer- 55 Personal Communication, April 5, 2021). Both Student-Teacher 1 and 10 were pro- fessional dancers, and they decided to ven- ture into teaching dance. For them. Joining the CBTS program was one of the fastest and easiest ways. Another reason that led Student-Teacher 10 to join the CBTS pro- gram was that she wanted to teach her stu- dents more properly and professionally. Kram argues that mentoring ful- fills a psychosocial function when there is trust, emotional support, shared problem- solving, role modeling, counseling, accep- tance, and affirmation (Kram, 1983). This emphasizes that good mentoring covers practical to emotional skills. Holloway’s quotation from Scott’s statement is simi- larly addressed: “experience teachers were particularly enthusiastic because they be- lieved that mentoring allowed them to help others, improve themselves, receive respect and profit from the novice teach- ers’ fresh ideas and energy” (Holloway, 2001, p. 85). This statement underscores the importance of receiving “mentoring” even for experienced teachers. In this con- text, the first thing a new/in-experienced teacher should do before going to the fo- refront of the educational environment is to experience mentoring firsthand. For example, as a dance graduate, Student-Teacher 1 could combine her ex- perience and grasp much knowledge and skills given by her mentor through the mentor’s experiences after completing the CBTS program. Student-Teacher 2 learned how to use different ways to bre- ak down each exercise for different levels of students, and better understood the fundamentals of ballet from her mentor (Student-Teacher 2, Personal Communica- tion, April 7, 2021). As for Student-Teacher 3, she learned about teaching philosophy of ballet and at the same time acquired philosophy of living life from her mentor. Student-Teacher 3 applied almost 70 per- cent of what her mentor taught into her current teaching (Student-Teacher 3, Per- sonal Communication, April 5 2021). Stu- dent-Teacher 4 learned how to plan for her students’ progressions and how to set the effective ways and goals for her students (Student-Teacher 4, Personal Communi- cation, April 7 2021). Student-Teacher 5 developed skills and techniques to provi- de clear and easy explanations to her stu- dents from her mentor. With the ability to teach different dances, Student-Teacher 6 learned different ways to help students with different types of difficulties (Stu- dent-Teacher 6, Personal Communication, April 7, 2021). Throughout the mentoring, the mentor of Student-Teacher 7 guided her to change her bad habits of not looking at students during the class demonstration (Student-Teacher 7, Personal Communica- tion, April 6, 2021). She tended to look at herself instead of making eye contact with her students. Student-Teacher 8 improved her mentoring skills (Student-Teacher 8, Personal Communication, April 6, 2021). She learned how to explain and provide descriptions to students. Student-Teacher 9 developed skills to create a fun learning environment with her mentor. Her mentor was good at communicating with younger students and always created a different, fun learning environment each time. Upon completion of the CBTS program, Student- Teacher 9 can create a fun learning envi- ronment and continue it for her students. Lastly, for Student-Teacher 10, her mentor taught her a way to look at things diffe- rently. Her mentor always showed good energy that impacted Student-Teacher 10 until today. Figure 5. Influences of the CBTS Program on Student-Teachers’ Teaching To sum up, Figure 5 above shows how the CBTS program influenced stu- Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (1) (2022): 48-6156 dent-teachers in their teaching. This Fi- gure reminds the researchers of Scott’s three positive influences from mentoring mentioned by Holloway on the previous page: 1) helping others, 2) improving and respecting oneself, 3) gaining from the novice teachers’ fresh ideas and energy (Holloway, 2001, p. 85). While in the CBTS mentoring module, student-teachers ac- quired how to help others/their students that would match with the first influence of Scott. They also learned how to deve- lop teaching know-how for plans, skills, and demonstration, which can relate to the second influence of Scott. As in the third influence of Scott, student-teachers could learn how to think differently and create fun and non-repeated conditions in teach- ing. Therefore, what the researchers found in the student-teacher’s oral testimo- nies proves that having a mentoring mo- dule positively impacted them, and they still reflect on what they learned from the mentors in their teaching. In other words, it is said that the direct experience of the CBTS mentoring module has influenced new/in-experienced teachers. Mentors’ Viewpoint and Experience from the CBTS Mentoring Module The pairing of a good mentorship between a student-teacher and a mentor is important. As argued by Greene et al., the mentorship pairing is usually based on an informal evaluation of personal traits (Greene et al., 2019, p. 82). In company with the pairing of the mentorship, Cesa & Fraser argued that a healthy mentorship requires the attention of both a mentor and a mentee to each other’s changing needs and the flexibility to accommodate these needs (Cesa & Fraser, 1898, p. 127). This means that both mentors and student-te- achers need to adapt to each other’s needs throughout the mentoring process. Of course, in the CBTS mentoring module, student-teachers select their own mentors, but from the mentors’ point of view, it is said that the characteristic and attitudes of student-teachers also play an important role in determining the perfor- mance of the student-teachers during the mentoring program. Mentor 1 considered that student-teachers need to have pas- sion and desire to pass down knowledge to their students to achieve teaching go- als (Mentor 1, Personal Communication, March 15, 2021). Student-teachers should also look deeper to understand the pro- cess of how students do well in dance. Mentor 1 stressed that student-teachers should not teach students without maste- ring skills and understanding the theory of ballet steps. Mentor 2 perceived that student-teachers should have patience as much as passion when they teach. Of course, for student-teachers, the teaching job is closely related to their living expen- ses, but student-teachers should make an endeavor to arouse students’ interest in dance. When student-teachers portray passion for dance to their students, it mo- tivates students to learn dance. As Mentor 2 testified, “once we have the passion, we will have the patience to teach” (Mentor 2, Personal Communication, March 16, 2021). This quotation indicates the importance of student-teachers patience while delive- ring knowledge and skills of ballet. Men- tor 3 viewed that student-teachers need to be open to teaching and learning and are willing to listen with humility (Men- tor 3, Personal Communication, March 16, 2021). Student-teachers should also be someone who can accept criticisms and is keen to improve their teaching and learn from their mentors. In addition, student- teachers need to be hardworking and have good time management skills. Mentor 4 had the same point of view as Mentor 3, who emphasized hardworkingly and a lot of effort to learn (Mentor 4, Personal Com- munication, March 26, 2021). This is becau- se student-teachers are required to spend time researching by themselves while in the CBTS program. Student-teachers need to look for in- formation on ways to improve their teach- ing methods and styles. As for Mentor 5, she regarded that student-teachers need to have the initiative to ask questions (Men- Xian Yuin Chen, et al., Structural Process and Impacts of Mentoring Module in Ballet Cer- 57 tor 5, Personal Communication, March 25 2021). In the beginning stage, student- teachers may feel shy to ask their mentors questions. However, the mentoring modu- le is the best time and opportunity for stu- dent-teachers to ask multi-layered ques- tions and seek advice and guidance from their mentors. Sometimes mentors may not be aware of the challenges that each student-teacher is encountering. Thus, stu- dent-teachers should actively ask mentors for advice or guidance to overcome their difficulties. Based on the oral testimonies above, the researchers detected that the attitude of student-teachers determines the effort that the student-teachers put in to complete the CBTS program and also determines the willingness of the student-teachers to learn from their mentors. In this respect, the re- searchers also found that the majority of student-teachers in the CBTS program are humble and give full respect to their men- tors, and they aim to learn as much as they can from mentors. As evidenced by the research informants, the student-teachers took all advice and guidance from their mentors openly and showed improve- ments every time. Mentors also tried their best to provide full support to their stu- dent-teachers. The mentors never turned down their student-teachers and always stood by student-teachers’ side to provide the needed support, guidance, advice, and motivation. The mentoring involved was positive, and no negative comments were mentoring. It can be seen that the student- teachers have applied their real teach- ing ways and style to the education they learned from their mentors. Impacts of the CBTS Mentoring Module Through the oral testimonies of stu- dent-teachers and mentors who have ex- perienced the CBTS mentoring program similar to Parsloe’s mentoring model, the researchers have argued that the CBTS mentoring module has positive impacts on student-teachers who become novice teachers. Through the mentoring model, Parsloe expected that the model can build confidence and evaluate the effectiveness of mentoring in all aspects(Parsloe & Leed- ham, 2009). As in Parsloe’s expectation, the re- searchers discovered that the mentoring model meets the expectations of the CBTS mentoring program. In accordance with Parsloe’s argument, Gakonga directly ar- gued that mentoring should be composed of three elements: 1) “technical support,” 2) “support with reflection,” and 3) “emo- tional support” (Gakonga, 2019, p. 433). Mentoring in technical support is an im- portant aid in developing knowledgeable professionals. The second is as a facilitator of reflection so that mentees themselves identify their shortcomings and enrich the mentees’ reflective practice. In emotional support, mentoring can function effecti- vely in challenging situations that novice teachers can experience. Some scholars in Humanities Science see these aspects of mentoring as impacts of alternative or competing models. The statement of Wilson et al. is simi- lar to Gakonga’s arguments: a valuable as- pect of the mentoring process is the feeling of being involved. This kind of connection helps mentees feel positive about what they are doing, improve their confidence level, and help them deal with the feeling of self-doubt when they feel that they are not qualified for the job (Wilson et al., 2002, p. 326). These three impacts – technical support, support with reflection, and emo- tional support – are clearly demonstrated in the CBTS mentoring module. Firstly, a major impact of the CBTS mentoring module is that mentors provi- de knowledge and advice whenever stu- dent-teachers need it. This can also help student-teachers to minimize the possibi- lity of teaching their students in the wrong way. For example, a mentor teaches Grade 1 students how to do proper Demi Plies. During the class, the mentor decided to use guided discovery as the teaching met- hod. The mentor then demonstrates to the Grade 1 students two different versions of doing a Demi Plies. After that, the mentor asks which version of Demi Plies is suitable Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (1) (2022): 48-6158 for the Grade 1 students. When the Grade 1 students select the right one, the mentor praises the students and asks the students to show the right Demi Plies. If the Grade 1 students select the wrong one, the mentor demonstrates again and asks the students to look and think carefully about which one is the right one. It can cover the technical support that Gakonga emphasized (2019, p. 436). The mentor’s practical and specific teach- ing contexts help a student-teacher in the CBTS program gain insight into how dif- ferent teaching methods are used when teaching different grades. When the men- tor finds that the teaching method used by the student-teacher is not appropriate, the mentor then hints the student-teacher to think of another teaching method that is more suitable and effective. Secondly, when student-teachers be- gin to teach right after being certified, they might not be aware of their own weaknes- ses. Student-teachers can overcome their weaknesses with the help of their mentor as Gakonga argued the second element, support with reflection (2019, p. 437). They stated that “ask any successful dan- cers how they got to where they are today, and they will thank a teacher (or three) for helping them to reach their potential (2013, p. 66). This indicates that everyone can be successful with the help of a teach- er or more. For example, when a mentor asks a student-teacher to prepare warm-up or cool-down exercises to teach as part of the class, the student-teacher can gain spe- cific advice from the mentor. The mentor keenly checks whether the student-teacher pays attention to the followings: 1) the pro- per distance that students keep with one another, 2) the suitability of movements designed in a warm-up or cool-down exer- cise, and 3) the effectiveness of the exercise designed. With the help of the mentor, it is time for the student-teacher to realize what is his/her lacking parts in teaching and to quickly find a way to flexibly respond to other types of situations that may arise du- ring class. One of the researchers experienced a similar situation when she designed a set of stretching as a warm-up for one of the classes that she taught. After the class, the mentor told the researcher that stret- ching was not suitable as a warm-up be- cause students had just come for a class, and their muscles had not yet warmed up. The mentor cautioned that students would soon be injured if the researcher continued to use this stretching method to warm up. The mentor’s comments enabled the re- searcher to recognize the inadequacy of movements. After learning from the men- tor, the researcher always conducted stret- ching sessions 15 minutes before the class ends for each class. Thus, the mentor-di- rected advice enabled the researcher, who was then a student-teacher, to be aware of the effectiveness of the exercises designed for students. This is because ballet requires highly technical movements, and if the de- signed exercises are not suitable or effecti- ve for the class, it will not benefit students, nor will it help the movement progress of the students. Lastly, the CBTS mentoring module has also impacted student-teachers to inc- rease their confidence in their teaching and ensure the student-teacher unremitting enthusiasm for their teaching as Gakonga stressed the third element, emotional sup- port (Gakonga, 2019, pp. 434–435). Morris quoted Schonberg’s sentence:” I am trying to teach the unteachable … In the process of surmounting these hurdles, students learn to think and work creatively” (Mor- ris, 2012, p. 10). With the mentoring modu- le, mentors always encourage student-te- achers to never give up easily, even when faced with difficulties. In order to respond to the mentors’ requests in a timely man- ner, student-teachers would sometimes meet tight deadlines. However, in addition to having confidence in student-teachers teaching, it is also important for student- teachers to boost confidence in in-person education. Student-teachers must moti- vate and encourage their students just as mentors do with student-teachers during the mentoring module. Furthermore, student-teachers shou- Xian Yuin Chen, et al., Structural Process and Impacts of Mentoring Module in Ballet Cer- 59 ld balance stronger and weaker students in their class. This is because each student has different abilities. Such an imbalance would affect not only students but also student-teachers. A mentor is a person who shares practical experience and helps student-teachers conduct balanced classes. The mentoring module is an opportunity to meet mentors up close. Although the learning process is complicated, such prac- tical experiences with mentors can only be accessed during the mentoring module. Through this mentoring process, student- teachers can expand knowledge and expe- rience simultaneously. CONCLUSION The RAD ballet association has edu- cated many students to become wonder- ful ballet teachers for the past 100 years in the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and other countries. In the case of RAD student- teachers in Malaysia, the CBTS program can be considered one of the fastest ways for better career development. The CBTS program has also helped many student- teachers to be qualified and certified ballet teachers in Malaysia. In the researchers’ view, while completing the whole pro- gram, mentoring is required at the very last stage but plays a significant part in en- suring that student-teachers are well pre- pared and ready to begin their career as ballet teachers. Except for the RAD program, other ballet associations in Malaysia offer teach- er training programs. Of course, the rese- archers do not intend to compare them or say that the RAD system is the best. Rat- her, the researchers want to allow readers to get better insights into the long-distance training that is provided to RAD students to become qualified ballet teachers as a part of their career development. Through this case study, readers can also better un- derstand the mentoring process during the CBTS program. In addition, readers can also catch up impacts of the CBTS mentoring module. The researchers have demonstrated that the mentoring modu- le effectively produces mentors-directed guidance. The mentor’s practical guidan- ce induces student-teachers to apply and transform theoretical knowledge into real practices. Therefore, the researchers would like to argue that accessing the mentoring module cannot be ignored during the CBTS program because it is an important process to guide student-teachers to broa- den their real experience before entering the teaching field. While conducting this study, the re- searchers encountered a few limitations. Firstly, due to the clashing of timetables, the researchers did not manage to conduct par- ticipant observation while collecting data. Out of five mentors, only one is currently mentoring student-teachers for the CBTS program. For this reason, the researchers could only observe mentoring moments of a mentor while collecting oral testimonies comprehensively from interviews with the other mentors. Moreover, the interval of interviewees’ oral testimonies had hap- pened for some time where the majority of student-teachers have completed the CBTS program for more than 3 to 5 years. Hence, the oral testimonies provided are based on selective memories of the student-teachers and mentors. In future research, the resear- chers can include data from participant ob- servation and gather oral testimonies from participants who have recently completed the program within a year. On top of that, although mentoring is a general process that occurs in other fields, it has yet to be applied to Malaysi- an dance studies. Hence, this would be the first trial of applying the educational men- toring theory to a dance study in Malaysia. Some people would usually consider the process of dance education to be like the other sectors. However, the dance educati- on sector in Malaysia is not that broad and is still growing. Therefore, the connection of dance studies with existing theories is limited. In such a context, the researchers’ attempt to apply the existing theory to Malaysian dance education studies would be meaningful. This case study can be a good example for future research related Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (1) (2022): 48-6160 to dance education for Malaysian dance scholars or students. The researchers hope that based on this case study, other dan- ce scholars or students will be motivated to attempt to make a connection between the existing educational theories and app- ly them to their dance research. The rese- archers also hope that dance education as academic research is further developed in Malaysia and even other Asian countries. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This article is extracted and revised from a Master project on analysis of men- torship in the Royal Academy of Dance. The researchers are immensely grateful to all lecturers of the Dance Department, Universiti Malaya for their comments and encouragement. REFERENCES Baran, M. (2016). Model of organizational reediness to implement mentoring. In Proceedings of the 8th International Joint Conference on Knowledge Engi- neering and Knowledge Management (Vol. 3, pp. 208–214). KMIS. Berry, K. (2019, May 16). Out of step: the need for change in ballet teacher train- ing. https://royalballetschool.org. uk/2019/05/16/out-of-step-the- need-for-change-in-ballet-teacher- training/2019 Cesa, I. L., & Fraser, S. C. (1898). A method for encouraging the development of good mentor-protégé relationships. Teaching of Psychology, 16(3), 125–128. Gakonga, J. (2019). Mentoring and mentor development. In Steve Walsh and Steve Mann (Ed.), The routledge hand- book of english language teacher educa- tion (pp. 432–445). Routledge. Greenea, J. L., Koerner, B., & Wilson, J. (2020). From the inside out: Exem- plary music education association mentoring programs. Arts Education Policy Review, 121(2), 74–88. Holloway, J. L. (2001). The Benefits of men- toring educational leadership. Edu- cational Leadership, 58(8), 85–86. Jackson, L. H., & Price, C. (2017). Illumi- nating constellations of peer mentor- ing: The case of Music programmes in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 56(1), 99–109. Kara, A. (2010). The Development of the scale of attitudes towards learning. Journal of Social Sciences, 9(32), 4932– 6249. https://royalballetschool.org. uk/2019/05/16/out-of-step-the- need-for-change-in-ballet-teacher- training/ Kleickmann, T., Richter, D., Kunter, M., Elsner, J., Besser, M., & Krauss, S. (2012). Teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge: The role of structural differences in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 2–17. Kram, K. E. (1983). Phases of the mentor relationship. Academy of Management Journal, 26, 608–625. Massen, A., & Kowalewski, B. (2010). Preparing to Serve: Online Training Modules. https://www.weber.edu/ wsuimages/CommunityInvolve- m e n t / M e n t o r i n g _ T u t o r i n g % 2 0 Modules/Tutoring%20and%20Men- toring%20Intro%203-29-10.pdf Morris, A. (2012). Mentor Magic. Dance Magazine, 86(8), 1100. Munchison, J. M. (2010). Ethnographer as research instrument. Ethnography Es- sentials: Designing, Conducting, and Presenting Your Research, 13. Parsloe, E., & Leedham, M. (2009). Coaching and Mentoring: Practical Techniques for Developing Learning and Performance (2nd ed.). Kogan Page. Queralt, M. (1982). The role of the mentor in the career development of univer- sity faculty members and academic administrator. In Paper presented at the National Association for Women Deans annual meeting, Administra- tors, and Counselors. Royal Academy of Dance. (2002). Certificate in ballet teaching studies programme handbook 2020. Xian Yuin Chen, et al., Structural Process and Impacts of Mentoring Module in Ballet Cer- 61 Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who under- stand: Knowledge growth in teach- ing. Educational Researcher, 12(2), 4–14. TallyPress. (2020, July 24). Top 10 Ballet Studios in KL & Selangor. https://tal- lypress.com/malaysia-top-10s/top- 10-ballet-studios-kl-selangor/ Theys, E. M. (2013, December). They taught me to... Dance Magazine, 66–68. Wilson, P., Perelra, A., & Valentine, D. (2002). Perception of new social work faculty about mentoring experience. Journal of Social Work Education, 38(2), 317–333. Zachary, L. J., & Fischler, L. A. (2009). What we know about good men- toring relationships. In The Mentee’s guide making mentoring work for you (1st ed.). Wiley.