Abstract
Extensive research has shown the benefits of mentoring, including peer mentoring, for higher education students, especially in their first year. However, few studies have focussed exclusively on the outcomes for the mentors themselves. This paper reports the findings of data gathered over three years about a university-wide peer mentoring program. Benefits identified by 858 mentors were coded inductively and four major categories emerged: altruistic, cognitive, social and personal growth. The findings have implications for the promotion of mentor programs to administrators and to prospective mentors. The study provides evidence that university-wide peer mentoring programs offer multiple positive outcomes for the mentors involved, and potentially for higher education institutions administering and supporting such programs.
Highlights
This paper reports on an institution-wide co-curricular approach to supporting first year students where all new students are offered a peer mentor who has already completed the first year of the same course
The aim of this study was to examine in more depth benefits for the mentors in an Australian university-wide peer mentoring program for first year students
The majority of the 1285 responses fitted into four major categories: Altruistic (47.0% of all benefits), Cognitive (17.8%), Social (14.7%) and Personal Growth (14.0%)
Summary
This paper reports on an institution-wide co-curricular approach to supporting first year students where all new students are offered a peer mentor who has already completed the first year of the same course. Supporting students in their first year in higher education has become even more of a priority with the Australian Government’s commitment to expanding the university sector and increasing the number of graduates (Australian Government, 2009). Peer mentoring programs have assisted first year students to successfully transition to university and be retained, to gain a sense of belonging, and to develop communication and organisational skills (Glaser, Hall & Halperin, 2006).
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