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1 – 10 of over 1000Sheetal Desai, Srinivasa A. Rao and Shazi Shah Jabeen
This paper aims to focus on how reciprocal mentoring can be used to make employees culturally intelligent.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on how reciprocal mentoring can be used to make employees culturally intelligent.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conceptualize and present this framework based on their own experience in the industry and research experience in cross-cultural competence.
Findings
Workplaces today are characterized by high levels of multiculturalism. In such environments, being able to navigate this cultural diversity can be a challenge to many employees. Investing in cross-cultural training can be costly and time consuming. In such a situation, what better way to learn and appreciate cultural diversity than by bringing together two individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Reciprocal mentoring for developing cultural intelligence can be an effective practice that organizations can follow to develop intercultural competence amongst its employees.
Practical implications
The concept presented in the paper can help organizations use their own existing resources to develop cultural intelligence company-wide, rather than choosing third-party interventions/training.
Originality/value
This paper provides executives with a quick glimpse into the concept of cultural intelligence and its development through reciprocal mentoring.
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Significant effort has been made to support pre-service and novice teacher learning in the K-12 context. Less attention has been paid to promoting pre-service and novice second…
Abstract
Purpose
Significant effort has been made to support pre-service and novice teacher learning in the K-12 context. Less attention has been paid to promoting pre-service and novice second language teacher learning via collaboration with peers and more expert educators at the university level. In order to facilitate this type of teacher collaboration, a mentoring project was incorporated into the existing practicum of a Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) program at a US University. The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of the mentoring experiences of four ESL mentor-pre-service teacher pairs in the US University context.
Design/methodology/approach
For this research project, eight teachers – four mentor-pre-service teacher pairs – participated as pairs in mentoring sessions focussed on activities such as co-planning, co-teaching, and co-reflecting on teaching. Informed by a sociocultural perspective on teacher learning (Vygotsky, 1978), this study presents case studies of all four pairs in order to demonstrate the complex nature of mentoring. The data analysis focussed on the content of the teachers’ interactions and their perceptions of the mentoring experience.
Findings
The study traced the developmental trajectories of the participating teachers over one 15-week academic semester. The study uncovered some critical contradictions that the participants encountered during the mentoring experience, thus pointing to its complexity. The study also uncovered the varied nature of mentoring: whereas in one pair the mentor acted as a more expert other (Vygotsky, 1978), in another pair, the mentoring relationship was more reciprocal.
Practical implications
This study showed that pre-service teachers can develop further through mentoring. Such mentoring can help teachers gain confidence and share teaching strategies. At the same time, the study revealed certain challenges associated with introducing a mentoring project in a pre-service teacher practicum. It is recommended that program faculty as a whole read the rich dialogues produced by participating teachers engaged in relationships focussed on collaborative learning, thereby discovering a foundation for revisions that go beyond individual teaching practices to the programmatic level.
Originality/value
This study’s principal contribution to the field is that it showcases the complex nature of mentoring experiences and the ways in which they differ from each other.
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Oksana Parylo, Sally J. Zepeda and Ed Bengtson
The purpose of this paper is to examine principal mentoring, a process that is significant in principal identification, socialization, development, and retention.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine principal mentoring, a process that is significant in principal identification, socialization, development, and retention.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was framed within the social constructivism paradigm and thematically examined individual perspectives to develop the thematic constructs relevant to the participants’ experiences of and perceptions about principal mentoring.
Findings
Thematic analysis of the interview data from 16 principals from the state of Georgia, USA, revealed five major themes related to leaders’ experiences of and perceptions about principal mentoring: mentoring as recruitment; mentoring as socialization; mentoring as support; mentoring as professional development; and mentoring as reciprocal learning.
Research limitations/implications
These findings were limited to the sample of principals used for this analysis. Researchers are encouraged to examine principal mentoring in other contexts.
Practical implications
The results of this inquiry suggest the need for formal and informal mentoring opportunities for new and experienced principals and call for further research on comparing mentoring practices between the large and small schools systems.
Originality/value
The paper identifies mentoring as an important path to principal effectiveness and contributes to the corpus of literature on educational mentoring by examining the perceptions and experiences of new and experienced principals about the mentoring they received and provided.
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Suzanne Molitor, Lana Parker and Diane Vetter
After many years working with mentors for beginning teachers, both through a formal, Ministry-sponsored program, known in Ontario as the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) and…
Abstract
Purpose
After many years working with mentors for beginning teachers, both through a formal, Ministry-sponsored program, known in Ontario as the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) and through a university-based Faculty of Education practicum, the authors cultivated an understanding of the value of both mentoring and the communities that foster it. The authors observed that pre-service mentors are not offered the same level of support as their induction mentor counterparts. The purpose of this paper is to explore the aforementioned gap by bringing together a small group of pre-service mentor teachers with several highly trained induction mentors from the NTIP program in two full days of professional development: one day of learning and community building among mentors, and the second day of collaboration by pre-service mentors alongside their teacher candidates (TCs). The authors learned that pre-service mentors need and desire professional learning and community mentoring support to develop foundational understandings about the role of mentors and the skills and strategies that support an effective mentoring practice. As a result, the authors advocate for sustainable professional development that leverages existing programs and the clarification of the pre-service mentoring role through continued study and collaboration over time.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study was designed to explore, understand, and interpret pre-service mentor teachers’ experience of professional learning about mentoring and the role of the mentor, including their responses to participating in a like community of learners. This study brought together educators serving as pre-service and induction mentors to engage them in formal professional learning about mentoring, within an environment that created the conditions for collaboration and community in the context of learning about mentoring.
Findings
This study surfaces the insights related to the types of knowledge and skills that mentors developed in this study in addition to pointing toward the knowledge and skills they perceive to be necessary to their effective participation in their roles as mentors. The study also identifies both the value that pre-service mentors perceived as a result of being invited into a learning space and the dynamics of professional learning and dialogue in collaboration with their induction mentor counterparts and their pre-service mentees.
Research limitations/implications
This research study explores a research gap in the area of mentoring as it relates to pre-service mentors or cooperating teachers. Its unique feature involves bringing together two previously segmented groups of mentors: pre-service mentors supporting developing TCs and induction mentors supporting novice teachers. It describes the value and impact of mentoring as understood by pre-service mentors, in particular identifying the reciprocal benefits they experienced. The authors also investigate and shed light on the value and impact of pre-service mentor participation in a community that is intentionally created to support their professional learning about their role. It provides recommendations for practice and indicates areas of potential research.
Practical implications
This study surfaces the potential benefits of professional learning and community for pre-service mentors who play an integral role in supporting TCs in the completion of their education degrees. It makes practical recommendations which point to uniting pre-service and in-service mentors as participants in learning communities that build leadership capacity and advance mentoring knowledge and skills to impact the mentoring relationship. This study advocates for a restructuring existing practice in the area of pre-service mentoring to encourage professional learning and interaction that connects the work of pre-service and in-service mentors, bridging two currently separate mentoring communities.
Originality/value
This study offers a re-visioning of mentoring as a community endeavor. It advances the notion that, supported by a targeted program of professional development and participation in communities of inquiry, knowledge creation and mobilization, mentors can build their mentoring and leadership capacity and extend their professional impact.
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Marian van Bakel, Vlad Vaiman, Charles M. Vance and Arno Haslberger
To enlarge the focus on international mentoring beyond traditional company-assigned expatriates, this conceptual paper examines important contexts and dynamics of intercultural…
Abstract
Purpose
To enlarge the focus on international mentoring beyond traditional company-assigned expatriates, this conceptual paper examines important contexts and dynamics of intercultural mentoring involving traditional expatriates and host country nationals (HCNs), with both as mentors and mentees.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper explores how intercultural mentoring in different contexts can guide the individual professional development of expatriates and HCNs, and in doing so, contributes to MNC knowledge management and organization development.
Findings
Major contributions of this paper include increased attention to the role of culture in mentoring, and an illumination of important intercultural mentoring opportunities and imperatives involving traditional company-assigned expatriates and HCNs, who are key global talent players in MNC knowledge management and overall operations performance. This paper also provides practical recommendations on how organizations can facilitate mentoring within a global context, as well as suggestions for viable avenues for future research, including further extending the global talent reach of international mentoring.
Originality/value
This paper emphasizes the importance of taking the intercultural context into account when planning and managing mentoring in MNCs and outlines how culture can affect mentoring relationships involving traditional company-assigned expatriates and HCNs. This contextual aspect has often been neglected in the extant literature, yet can be crucial for the success of mentoring relationships that cross cultural borders. With its inclusion of HCNs, this paper also expands the picture of international mentoring beyond the traditional focus on company-assigned expatriates.
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Bongi Bangeni, Carla Fourie and June Pym
Co-authored by three South African academics working in higher education development, this chapter uses the transition from professional practice to academic contexts as an entry…
Abstract
Co-authored by three South African academics working in higher education development, this chapter uses the transition from professional practice to academic contexts as an entry point into a discussion of transitions broadly. We reflect on the role of mentoring in supporting the multiple transitions which dual professionals navigate and what this means for the provision of inclusive, quality education (SDG 4) with a focus on higher education. In reflecting on this Sustainable Development Goal, we approach the topic of mentoring from a critical perspective which allows us to attend to the themes of power, access and equity that it invokes. The body of scholarship on the transition experiences of practitioners into academia has challenged the assumption that professional expertise translates into teaching expertise in the classroom. The opening vignette contextualizes this challenge. The vignette protagonist offers to support an academic colleague and approaches a mentoring expert to explore her guiding principles for mentoring within and beyond the classroom. The dialogue surfaces the need for mentoring that considers the various transitions that dual professionals navigate. We engage critically with international literature on the role and positionality of dual professionals in academia and reflect on selected concepts from this literature to highlight the importance of an adaptive mentoring approach for meeting academics in transition at their point of need. We offer a synthesis of literature on holistic approaches to mentoring, critically reflecting on how they enable inclusive quality education for the benefit of society.
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Gillian Hallam and Carol Newton‐Smith
To present the findings of the comparative evaluation of two transitional mentoring programs developed for new library and information professionals in Australia, one as a group…
Abstract
Purpose
To present the findings of the comparative evaluation of two transitional mentoring programs developed for new library and information professionals in Australia, one as a group program and the other with pairs of mentors/mentees.
Design/methodology/approach
The research project involved an initial review of the literature. A comparative study was undertaken, with a survey approach to collect data from the participants in the transitional mentoring programs. The study obtained data about three key areas: career‐related, learning‐related, and professional development.
Findings
It was found that participants had a high level of satisfaction with both the programs and both mentor and mentee reported positive career, learning and personal development outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
The study was limited to one year of transitional mentoring activity for one professional field in Australia. It would be beneficial to continue the study over a longer period of time to collect further data from other participants.
Practical implications
The research project highlights evaluation of mentoring programs. The project has helped develop an initial understanding of benefits to be gained through mentoring relationships to support new professionals. The study is likely to have wider application across other professional disciplines and may encourage professionals to consider mentoring as a valuable part of career development.
Originality/value
The paper provides information about two different models of transitional mentoring programs, together with one possible approach for the evaluation of mentoring programs. The paper offers support and encouragement to any professional group planning to establish and manage a mentoring program.
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Helen M. Woolnough and Sandra Lesley Fielden
Literature has shown that mentoring and career development programmes can assist women and minority groups in pursuit of more senior roles. The Challenging Perceptions 12-month…
Abstract
Purpose
Literature has shown that mentoring and career development programmes can assist women and minority groups in pursuit of more senior roles. The Challenging Perceptions 12-month, multi-faceted career development and mentoring programme was specifically designed to aid female mental health participants in their attempts to break the glass ceiling, which can be apparent within senior levels of the UK National Health Service. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a career development and mentoring programme on female mental health nurses' career and personal development compared to a matched comparison group.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal, qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews conducted with female mental health nurse participants and a matched control group at four time points, six months apart over an 18-month period. Female mental health nurses at F, G, H, I and Nurse Consultant Level who applied to participate in the programme were selected by a panel consisting of members of the project team and subsequently randomly allocated a group. Twenty-seven female mental health nurses experienced the programme and 27 female mental health nurses constituted a comparison group.
Findings
Experience as programme participant influenced the career and personal development of participants, particularly compared to the matched control group. Career development outcomes included promotion and additional learning/study. Personal development outcomes included increased self-confidence and increased satisfaction with ability to deliver quality patient care.
Originality/value
Career development and mentoring programmes designed to affect diversity have an important role to play in fostering the career and personal development of nurses in healthcare organisations.
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Z.W. Taylor and Victoria G. Black
The purpose of this paper is to explore how postsecondary mentoring programs address mentee dispositions prior to the mentee entering the reciprocal relationship, particularly…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how postsecondary mentoring programs address mentee dispositions prior to the mentee entering the reciprocal relationship, particularly which mentee dispositions are valued across mentoring program types, including peer, community-to-student, faculty-to-student and faculty-to-faculty programs.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed quantitative content analysis to examine 280 institutional US postsecondary mentoring websites across four different institution types (public, four-year; private, four-year, non-profit; private, four-year, for-profit; public, two-year) and four different mentoring program types (peer or student-to-student, community-to-student, faculty-to-student and faculty-to-faculty programs). Grounded coding strategies were employed to generate these four mentoring program types, supported by extant research (Crisp et al., 2017).
Findings
Of 280 mentoring programs, 18.6 percent articulated mentee dispositions prior to entering the reciprocal relationship. When mentoring programs did address mentees, most programs articulated mentor duties aligned with mentee expectations (47.5 percent of programs) and program outcomes for mentees (65.7 percent of programs) rather than what the mentee can and should bring into a reciprocal relationship.
Research limitations/implications
This study is delimited by its sample size and its focus on institutional website content. Future studies should explore how mentoring programs recruit and retain mentees, as well as how website communications address the predispositions and fit of mentees within different types of mentoring programs.
Practical implications
This study provided evidence that many postsecondary mentoring programs in the USA may not be articulating programmatic expectations of mentees prior to the mentoring relationship. By failing to address mentee predispositions, mentoring programs may not be accurately assessing their mentor’s compatibility with their mentees, potentially leading to unproductive mentoring relationships.
Originality/value
This study affirms extant research (Black and Taylor, 2017) while connecting mentor- and coaching-focused literature to the discussion of a mentee dispositions scale or measurement akin to Crisp’s (2009) College Student Mentoring Scale and Searby’s (2014) mentoring mindset framework. This study also forwards an exploratory model of mentoring program inputs and outputs, envisioning both mentor and mentee characteristics as fundamental inputs for a mentoring program rather than traditional models that view mentors as inputs and mentee achievements as outputs (Crisp, 2009; Searby, 2014).
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