Adult Learning Theory: Reflections on the role of mentoring as a key to success in advanced degree programs

Abstract

Vital to completing advanced educational and training programs beyond the undergraduate degree level is realizing specific dispositions and traits. In this paper, the role of mentoring as a critical contributing factor to student success is examined through critical reflection as a form of qualitative inquiry. Traditionally utilized in professional settings to improve practice, critical reflection provided an emergent methodological approach for close examination of personal experiences with mentoring during the learning process in pursuit and subsequent completion of a professional degree (Fook, 2013). This in-depth examination of personal experience derived lessons learned from individuals that successfully navigated the rigor of advanced educational programs to expose mentoring’s role as the key to success.