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We examine the question of whether peer-mentoring programs in higher education develop leadership skills in student mentors.

The various forms of peer mentoring are discussed, as well as the benefits that these programs can bestow on mentors. We then turn to a discussion of the relationship between peer mentoring and leadership, and place particular emphasis on implicit leadership theories and the research in this area. A case study of a large peer-mentoring program at an Australian university is undertaken and the various aspects of implicit leadership theory are examined in the light of comments collected from both mentees and mentors.

Evidence of implicit leadership skills of mentors was seen in the responses of mentees. However, the explicit treatment of leadership skills in the peer-mentoring program needs to be approached in a more deliberate manner if students are to benefit fully from the experience of mentoring.

While the results of this study were inconclusive, it does provide a basis for further inspection of leadership development within peer-mentoring communities.

Integrative curriculum is sometimes understood in terms of utilizing two or more disciplines to explore and inquire into ideas to achieve certain tasks and learning outcomes. “Integrative” as an educational and curricular term, concept, and set of processes is more concerned with integrating students’ experiences across the teaching and learning activities of their academic program, constructing their knowledge and a range of competencies and capabilities in a meaningful and student-centered manner. This chapter approaches integrative curriculum in higher education through peer teaching and learning. The chapter presents and analyzes the case study of Phoenicia University, Lebanon, where one of the approaches to emphasizing integrative curriculum is through the “Peer Support Program” (PSP). In the PSP, excelling students (mentors) across various courses (e.g., calculus, English, etc.) mentor and tutor their marginal peers (mentees) who are underperforming in their studies. This study analyzed the attitudes, perceptions, and confidence levels of both the mentors and mentees in the PSP across freshman calculus courses. The chapter found that the PSP revealed reciprocity and mutual benefit for both the mentors and mentees in terms of academic gain, self-satisfaction, and personal growth. Some of the identified concerns about the program were that mentees seemed to be too dependent on the mentors and majorly driven by studying for the mark. The program was a win-win combination for the mentors, mentees, and the institution itself, serving as an effective integrative curriculum avenue, where students’ experiences, commitment, and ownership in the teaching and learning process are actively integrated into a meaningful, connected, and student-centered university environment.

This chapter offers a reflection in the form of a three-way dialogue, exploring how peer mentoring supports our aim to contribute to the delivery of two interconnected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 3 (Health and well-being) and 11 (Sustainable cities and communities). These goals have been a constant in our practices (as heritage, public health and education professionals), and working together has been pivotal to achieving goals. The reflection is based on the collaborative experience of the three authors since 2016, recognizing how mentoring has shaped the different projects we have imagined and delivered together. Our reflection and experience engage with the notion of ‘authentic mentoring’, whereby we support each other and contribute to each other's gaps in knowledge and practice. This has occurred in a very informal and organic way, outside of more traditional definitions of mentoring, where a certain hierarchy of knowledge transmission is usually expected. This chapter narrates our collaborations across various projects and focuses on the most recent one, Outreach to Ownership (O2O) (2023), delivered for Historic England using Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Student as Partners (SaP) as our main philosophical and methodological frameworks. The O2O project allowed us to reflect on how we worked together and with our students. The students' role has evolved from peer mentors and mentees to authentic collaborators.

“My introduction into Higher Education was not my plan, but clearly it was ‘The plan’” (Russell, 2016). This simple statement is loaded, bearing in mind the things that I have experienced, what I now know, and what I continue to learn on a journey still in progress. When I reflect on my journey thus far, I am often amazed considering what I thought that I was preparing for, as compared to where I have landed professionally. It is not that my vision was small; perhaps, it was limited based on my exposure at the time. However, it remains that I am a licensed psychologist who is a first-generation graduate and a black woman on the tenure track, and while I have enjoyed successes along the way, the road has not been without obstacles. I have encountered potholes, blind spots, and rerouting. Although I cannot say that my lessons to date have me coasting on “cruise control,” I can confidently say that mentors and their mentoring have made the difference in the quality of my ride. There are key moments, relationships, and experiences that I am privileged to share so that they may light the pathway for others traveling similar roads.

In this chapter, I will share about my personal journey, highlighting key moments, personal experiences, and relationships encountered at different points along the way. Hindsight provides so many lessons. When recounting my story, I tend to contextualize my experience as a “First.” A First is an individual who was once a first-generation college student, who successfully matriculated through their undergraduate degree programs, and now find themselves navigating life in their respective personal and professional spaces (Russell, 2018). For some, this may be inconsequential; however, for me, it is salient to my faculty identity because it is relevant to many things that I did not know coming into the role. To that end, I will start by referencing what I have considered to be missed opportunities or misuse of resources at the graduate level while being focused on the “here and now” and nonacademic professional pursuits. I will share how outreach to mentors at a significant point in my career contributed to my uncharted entry into higher education, and how I came to realize the currency embedded within mentoring relationships. This narrative will include discussion of “mentoring moments” or what I call the “mentors in my mind,” “the council” (key players and relationships), “jumping in the deep end” (being open to something new, being “in search of” looking to fill the gaps in knowledge through formal mentorship opportunities), and “practicing what I preach” – building the network and using my resources to further my career and to develop students.

Mentoring is a concept that originated between 800 and 700 BC and which is still in existence in organisations irrespective of size, nature of ownership, type of industry or geographic location. In its most primal form it is regarded as a method according to which a less experienced employee (protégé or mentee) is guided and advised by a more experienced and skilled employee (mentor) in terms of life as well as professional skills. However, this definition has developed over time as organisations applied mentoring in a more structured manner and institutionalised it within formal organisational processes. Mentoring was, therefore, regarded as a method to “systematically develop the skills and leadership abilities of less experienced members of the organization” (SPA Consultants, 1995, p. 14). Mentoring has been in use within the library and information science profession from the mid-1980s and various publications have discussed the use of mentoring from an American, Australian and British perspective. However, relatively few publications are available regarding the use of mentoring within the South African contexts, and therefore an extensive discussion on the implementation of a structured mentoring scheme at the National Library of South Africa (NLSA) is included in the article. This study draws particularly on recent literature on the knowledge economy and more specifically knowledge management to suggest ways in which the concept of mentoring should be revised. Mentoring should henceforth be seen as a knowledge management technique to support the creation and sharing of tacit knowledge rather than merely a technique to develop less experienced individuals. This revised view of mentoring is of particular importance to ensure the sustainability of library and information service organisations in the knowledge economy.

The closing chapter offers additional reflection on two substantial threads which run throughout the volume. Firstly, quality education (SDG4). Contributors to the volume have articulated with varying degrees of explicitness what quality education means in their specific contexts. Complementary perspective is offered in the closing chapter, through the inclusion of personal interpretations from two students in their last but one year of high school in the United Kingdom. The students are reflecting back on a week of work experience in a university and looking forward to their university journey. Amrita Narang has kindly provided a response to these personal reflections, drawing on her experience of learning and working in various national higher education contexts. Aspects the two students highlight resonate with the ethos of entrepreneurial education. An example of entrepreneurial learning in a collaborative Sino-UK higher education venture is therefore included here, showcasing ways in which students can further grow their strengths, with bespoke entrepreneurial mentoring support.

The mentoring thread running throughout the volume is picked up in the final chapter with specific reference to contracting (a staple element of formal mentoring relationships, achieved in complex and subtle ways in informal ones), closure and co-learning. All chapter contributions focus on long-term, ongoing mentoring relationships, in which closure is temporary and is viewed as a stepping stone for subsequent learning opportunities. To facilitate continued learning in readers, the final section in the chapter invites them to pause and reflect, signposting three sources of insight and wisdom for sustainability-oriented lifelong learning and action.

The overarching aim of this chapter is to explore the existing status of mentoring in accounting firms in India and Malaysia, to understand whether or not mentoring is gendered in these country contexts, and to investigate the impact of the size of the firm and country context on mentoring. The mentoring framework is used as a theoretical lens to understand the orientation of principals and partners towards the existing and future mentoring support and activities of micro-sized, small-sized, medium-sized, and family-owned accounting firms operating in both India and Malaysia. Data obtained from 40 in-depth interviews (n = 20 in India and n = 20 in Malaysia) are analyzed using qualitative data analysis software NVivo12. The findings obtained from the study indicate that mentoring support exists informally in accounting firms, mentoring support offered and mentoring activities undertaken are gendered, and the nature, extent and type of mentoring offered in accounting firms varies according to the size of the firm in both countries. The chapter presents important practical, theoretical and methodological implications of the study for avoiding gendered mentoring practices in accounting firms.