E-Mentoring in Higher Education: A Structured Literature Review and Implications for Future Research

Eva María Torrecilla Sánchez,Harold Tinoco-Giraldo,Francisco José García-Peñalvo

doi:10.3390/su12114344

Eva María Torrecilla Sánchez, Harold Tinoco-Giraldo + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114344

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: May 26, 2020
Citations: 37	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Universidad de Salamanca

Abstract

Mentoring in higher education helps learners acclimate to a new academic topic, increases the likelihood of academic success, and reduces attrition. Learners rely on the expertise and experience of mentors to help them graduate in a timely manner and advance on to their career. As online and distance education becomes more pervasive, computer-mediated mentoring allows learners to connect with their mentors in new ways. Research about mentoring in higher education includes investigations into the efficacy of virtual or e-mentoring. We conducted a literature review of research from 2009 to 2019 to identify relevant elements for implementing e-mentoring programs in higher education. Our research revealed that there is a consistent interest in the subject matter within educational research; however, there is a gap on virtual mentoring in higher education for students conducting offsite internships. Our research reviews e-mentoring programs, identifies how these programs are evaluated, identifies factors of successful programs, and establishes a research agenda in areas of e-mentoring programs for students in offsite internships and how they can be structured to achieve the same level of success.

Highlights

Per the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Guidelines on Intercultural Education [1], higher education is the last phase of the academic learning process
The preparation obtained from higher education is either professional or academic and falls into one of four categories: technical, focusing on providing immediate solutions to social needs and demands related to the production, distribution, and use of goods and services; undergraduate, resulting in a university degree; graduate, resulting in a higher-level university degree obtained after undergraduate work, which further develops knowledge and deepens the theory learned in a specific field; and doctorate, where a student obtains tools to exercise as a researcher of a specific area
Teacher to student and student to peer e-mentoring has grown in popularity in higher education over the last decade [7,8,9] with social media, mobile messaging, and virtual communications serving as major routes of communication [10]

Summary

Introduction

Per the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Guidelines on Intercultural Education [1], higher education is the last phase of the academic learning process. The preparation obtained from higher education is either professional or academic and falls into one of four categories: technical, focusing on providing immediate solutions to social needs and demands related to the production, distribution, and use of goods and services; undergraduate, resulting in a university degree; graduate, resulting in a higher-level university degree obtained after undergraduate work, which further develops knowledge and deepens the theory learned in a specific field; and doctorate, where a student obtains tools to exercise as a researcher of a specific area. Mentoring can help students overcome difficulties in mastering several subjects in higher education while reducing failure rates and lowering dropout rates. Teacher to student and student to peer e-mentoring has grown in popularity in higher education over the last decade [7,8,9] with social media, mobile messaging, and virtual communications serving as major routes of communication [10]

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