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1 – 10 of 55Anne Margrethe Glømmen, Beate Brevik Sæthern and Rikard Eriksson
This study aimed to identify and describe how mentoring influences the mentor, by operationalising and specifying learning outcomes involved in mentoring.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to identify and describe how mentoring influences the mentor, by operationalising and specifying learning outcomes involved in mentoring.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used an action research approach, by uniting theory and practice to explore new ways of learning and evolve the field of practice in education. Thematic analysis was used to identify and organise patterns or themes that emerged from the data.
Findings
The results showed that mentoring changed the mentors' perspectives towards improved understanding, more flexibility and approval of other cultures. It seems that mentoring expanded the mentors' search for values, wishes and resources, including an awareness that our values, wishes and needs are more similar than different. Mentoring also seems to have improved the ability to reformulate, be flexible, strive to optimise user engagement and engage with people as they are, based on their own prerequisites.
Research limitations/implications
The low number of participants means the results cannot be generalised, and voluntary participation may have led to more motivated involvement and positive results.
Practical implications
This study shows that mentoring has had an impact on students' development of intercultural competence and cultural sensitivity through regular meetings with individuals from a different cultural background. Mentoring seems to have revealed insights into underlying prejudices and changed perspectives towards better understanding, thus increased acceptance of other cultures.
Originality/value
Search for similar studies shows a lack of research that operationalises and specifies the learning outcomes that mentors gain from being a mentor.
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Helen Frances Harrison, Elizabeth Anne Kinsella, Stephen Loftus, Sandra DeLuca, Gregory McGovern, Isabelle Belanger and Tristan Eugenio
This study aims to investigate student mentors' perceptions of peer mentor relationships in a health professions education program.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate student mentors' perceptions of peer mentor relationships in a health professions education program.
Design/methodology/approach
The design uses embodied hermeneutic phenomenology. The data comprise 10 participant interviews and visual “body maps” produced in response to guided questions.
Findings
The findings about student mentors' perceptions of peer mentor relationships include a core theme of nurturing a trusting learning community and five related themes of attunement to mentees, commonality of experiences, friends with boundaries, reciprocity in learning and varied learning spaces.
Originality/value
The study contributes original insights by highlighting complexity, shifting boundaries, liminality, embodied social understanding and trusting intersubjective relations as key considerations in student peer mentor relationships.
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Lindsay J. Hastings, Hannah M. Sunderman and Addison Sellon
Building upon a larger mixed-methods research agenda, the purpose of this research study was to explore the growth of generativity (i.e. care for the next generation) among…
Abstract
Purpose
Building upon a larger mixed-methods research agenda, the purpose of this research study was to explore the growth of generativity (i.e. care for the next generation) among college student leaders who mentor, answering the central question “What changes in generativity do college student leaders who mentor associate with their mentoring experience, and why?” and associated sub-question “How does generativity develop among college student leaders who mentor?”
Design/methodology/approach
Applying methodological innovation to a phenomenological design, semi-structured interviews were conducted and triangulated with pictorial degree-of-change graphs among 33 collegiate leadership mentors at a large Midwestern USA land-grant university.
Findings
The findings indicated that senior collegiate leadership mentors overwhelmingly acknowledged sustained generativity increases as a result of mentoring a younger student when given the tools, environment to process and time needed to develop trusting investment relationships. These increases in generativity were associated with changes in their understanding of generativity, the desire to pass on the knowledge given to them and growth in both mentor and mentee.
Originality/value
Findings from the current study advance mentoring research and practice by providing a deeper understanding of mentoring as a developmental intervention, informing antecedents of generativity and utilizing innovative qualitative methodological techniques.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
Spanish researchers conducted a survey of 80 experienced mentees. They identified 27 mentee outcomes in previous research, then narrowed them down into four factors encompassing the most relevant themes. The results revealed that knowledge transmission, social capital and psychosocial support were all possible outcomes.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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Amy Fisher Moore and Rhys Johnstone
The case was written from secondary materials.
Abstract
Research methodology
The case was written from secondary materials.
Case overview/synopsis
This case is designed to support learning objectives in a Human Relations class of a university management course. The case explores how the UK Metropolitan police, working with the Girls’ Network, piloted a reverse mentoring programme for six months in 2021. Three senior officers were mentored by a trio of teenage girls from disadvantaged London boroughs. The aim of the programme was to address falling trust in the police by creating more understanding and empathy in the mentees for the issues facing the communities where the mentors lived, and to give the mentors more confidence from the experience of representing their communities. Each mentor–mentee pair focused on a specific policing issue that was relevant to the mentor’s neighbourhood: knife crime, domestic abuse or social inequality. Through the process, the senior Met police officers gained a deeper understanding of the challenges in the communities they served. Now that the pilot had been completed, the Met faced a decision point. Should the programme be spread further through the Met?Through reading and discussing the case, students are expected to explore the importance of empathy in the workplace and how reverse mentoring, when having the right support and overall intent, could be used in organisations.
Complexity academic level
This case is appropriate for university management courses. This case has a difficulty level appropriate for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. This case could be incorporated into a unit on human behaviour, leadership or coaching.
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Osamudiamen Kenneth Otasowie and Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke
The paper assessed the required drivers of mentoring practices in construction-related firms: a perspective of the quantity surveying (QS) firms in Nigeria with a view to…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper assessed the required drivers of mentoring practices in construction-related firms: a perspective of the quantity surveying (QS) firms in Nigeria with a view to providing possible drivers for effective mentoring relationships in the respective construction firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey design was used to assess the level of knowledge, mentoring concept adoption and the required drivers of mentoring relationships in construction-related firms. QS firms in Abuja, Nigeria were sampled through the use of semi-structured questionnaires. A total of 149 questionnaires were administered to principal partners, partners, senior quantity surveyors and quantity surveyors in QS firms in Abuja through personal delivery. A total of 142 of them were returned and found suitable for analysis, representing 95.30% effective response rate. Percentage, mean, Kruskal–Wallis and factor analyses were utilized for the analysis of the data.
Findings
The study revealed an appreciable knowledge of mentoring concept but not so much with the adoption in the respective firms. This connotes that there is a problem with the adoption of mentoring concept in construction-related firms despite knowledge of the concept. Also revealed by the study, are the required drivers of mentoring practices in construction-related firms.
Practical implications
The findings show the required drivers of mentoring practices in construction-related firms and the recommendations to further the adoption and implementation of these drivers to ensure mentoring practices thrive in construction-related firms in the country.
Originality/value
This paper reveals the required drivers of mentoring practices in Nigerian construction-related firms and provides ways through which the drivers can be implemented in the construction firms.
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Scholarly studies on mentoring have mostly focused on traditional mentor–mentee relationships, with little or no emphasis on how institutionalized mentoring activities that…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholarly studies on mentoring have mostly focused on traditional mentor–mentee relationships, with little or no emphasis on how institutionalized mentoring activities that include different pedagogical approaches could be used to enhance the professional development of academics. To address this knowledge gap, this article examines how an institutionalized multilevel mentoring program could be used to enhance the professional development of early-career academics and academics in designated groups in a South African university.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for the study were gathered from 18 mentees and 2 program administrators using semi-structured interviews. The data gathered were assessed by way of thematic analysis that involved a detailed process of identifying, analyzing, organizing, describing and reporting the themes that were developed from the data set.
Findings
The findings revealed that when mentees participate in different mentoring and professional development activities that are structured based on different pedagogies, they can engage in higher-order thinking processes and develop multidisciplinary experiences within an expanded professional learning community. Enabled by the situated learning setting, mentees can negotiate the meaning of their professional practice within a professional community and comprehend the nuanced pedagogical approaches including scaffolding learning used by mentors to shape their career trajectory and guide them to secure promotions.
Originality/value
The current study contributes to the scholarly discourse on situated learning by showing that mentoring could be planned and implemented as a pedagogical endeavor with diverse learning activities and structured as a form of professional development program within a professional community.
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Elizabeth Lapon and Leslie Buddington
The transition to college presents significant challenges for many students as they navigate new academic and social experiences. In the USA, 30% of first-year students drop out…
Abstract
Purpose
The transition to college presents significant challenges for many students as they navigate new academic and social experiences. In the USA, 30% of first-year students drop out before their second year. Research indicates that mentoring programs help students achieve social integration and likely have a positive effect on their transition to college. This research study was conducted with education students to better understand the potential impacts of peer mentorship.
Design/methodology/approach
Student mentors and mentees were matched by attributes such as their concentration within the education major, gender, sports they played and whether they were first-generation matriculants. Data collection utilized two surveys one before the peer mentoring process and one after the process.
Findings
The findings suggest that peer mentoring improved first-generation students' sense of belonging to both their major and the college. Peer mentors also experienced increased belongingness. The transfer rate among participants of 2% was a significant drop from previous years.
Originality/value
The success of the peer mentoring experience was possibly due to the intentional matching process based on certain attributes. Additionally, taking a leadership role increased a sense of belonging in the peer mentors.
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Abigail Newton, Megan Robson and Darren Johnson
Young offender mentoring programmes aim to support young people’s desistance from offending, but despite the importance, there remains limited exploration into mentor experiences…
Abstract
Purpose
Young offender mentoring programmes aim to support young people’s desistance from offending, but despite the importance, there remains limited exploration into mentor experiences of supporting the young people. This study aims to explore how a community-based mentoring intervention supports desistance in young offenders by understanding the mentor's experiences, with a specific reflective focus on facilitators and barriers to their work.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven mentors from Northumbria Coalition against Crime, a youth and community service. Interview transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, with external auditing conducted by the research supervisor.
Findings
Two superordinate themes resulted: “Factors for engagement” and “Personal experiences”, with participant disclosures reflecting professional reward and a sense of success. This was interwoven with “burnout”, emotional investment and challenges linked to barriers to effectiveness. Challenges included the young people having external negative influences, multiple individuals involved in a person’s care and the barrier of in person activities during the coronavirus pandemic. The clinical importance of mentoring programmes, implications for future working practice and research limitations are considered.
Practical implications
The clinical importance of mentoring programmes, implications for future working practice and research limitations are considered.
Originality/value
These findings contribute to understanding mentors’ experiences of working with young people in the community, offering critical insight into the mentorship and wider service dynamics. Furthermore, it provides an inaugural evaluation of the Northumbria Coalition against Crime services.
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This article aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of the importance of mentor preparation and provide recommendations for effective mentor preparation programmes based on…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of the importance of mentor preparation and provide recommendations for effective mentor preparation programmes based on the literature.
Design/methodology/approach
A narrative review of a range of literature focussing on the importance and characteristics of effective mentor practice and preparation.
Findings
Many mentors working in educational contexts lack adequate preparation, and a shift in mentoring practice from a mentor as expert approach, which mentors are likely revert to without training, to a more collaborative relationship in line with educative mentoring is recommended. Relationship building, working collaboratively and encouraging critical reflection are essential mentoring capabilities, and can be supported by participation in effective mentoring preparation programmes. Characteristics of these programmes include: providing time for mentors to reflect on their personal capabilities and attitudes; strengthening their knowledge about mentoring and learning a range of approaches and tools.
Practical implications
Implications for mentor preparation include consideration of curricula that focus on the nature of effective mentoring relationships, provision of effective observation-based feedback and the facilitation of critical reflection. Blended learning models appear to have potential and organisational leaders need to recognise and value mentoring to ensure that it is prioritised.
Originality/value
This article makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the nature of effective mentor preparation programmes.
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