Abstract
The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine professors’ and Master of Education (MEd) students’ well-being, support, academic self-efficacy and mentorship in Canada and Croatia. Overall, 118 professors and 98 MEd students from three universities in Canada and three universities in Croatia completed the online surveys in English and Croatian, respectively. The frameworks of self-determination theory and relational cultural theory informed interpretation of our findings. Results suggest that for professors in both countries, personal support, professional support and academic self-efficacy predict professional well-being. Only personal support predicts personal well-being in Canadian professors, while personal support and academic self-efficacy predicts personal well-being in Croatia. Personal and professional support was also associated with positive mentorship practices in Canada. Students in both countries, who felt supported professionally and personally, reported greater professional and personal well-being respectively. Self-efficacy may make a difference for Croatian students but seemed to have little unique impact on Canadian students. Studying part-time in Canada was associated with higher personal and professional well-being but was associated with lower personal well-being in Croatia. Mentorship practices seemed to have little effect on well-being in either country. Overall, professors reported higher well-being and support than M.Ed. students. We conclude with recommendations that would be informative for university administrators, graduate programs, and services interested in the well-being of professors and graduate students.
Highlights
Higher education holds a critical role in the global economy (Larson et al, 2019; Seipel & Larson; 2018)
We explored the relationships between subjective reports of well-being, personal and professional support, and mentoring among professors and Master of Education (MEd) students in Canada and Croatia
The findings reported here represent the first wave of data emerging from a comparative explanatory mixed-methods investigation of perceptions of well-being and graduate mentorship in Faculties of Education in Canada (Ontario) and Croatia
Summary
Higher education holds a critical role in the global economy (Larson et al, 2019; Seipel & Larson; 2018). Effective graduate education enhances the development of students’ critical, empirical, and creative thinking skills; academic skills (e.g., research and teaching skills); transferable skills (e.g., personal, interpersonal, and career-related skills); and induction into the professions (Rose, 2013). Master’s level studies have been recognized as critical prerequisites for pursuing advanced academic and professional careers. Enrollment demographics, field offerings, and delivery formats of master’s degree programs have changed radically in the last decade, creating new challenges and new opportunities for policymakers, curriculum developers, staff, faculty, and students in graduate education (Blagg, 2018). Many higher education institutions offer course-based, part-time, flex-time, distance and blended programs, with increasing numbers of working, mature, and minority students enrolled in graduate studies (Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, 2018)
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