This PhD thesis explores how those involved in the Teach First mentoring process - trainees, mentors and university tutors - perceive that process and their role within it. It presents a new framework for understanding the mentoring process in ITT, based on a 'triad' of key players. It also reveals how the distinctiveness of the Teach First programme can be attenuated by the school-based mentoring process, and considers the implications of these findings for all those involved in ITT, including system leaders, policy makers and Teach First itself. "This study... will make a valuable contribution to our understanding of the process of mentoring - particularly in the context of Teach First." - Professor Ian Menter, President of the British Education Research Association