Mentoring In Higher Education Research Articles

Can Peer-Mentoring be a Model for Retention in Higher Education?

Research highlights the benefits of peer mentoring in helping less experienced students understand their university roles and achieve academic goals. The current study aims to explore the perspectives of mentees and mentors, focusing on program expectations, challenges faced, and suggestions for improvement. This single-case study investigates a 12-week mentoring program at a foundation university using qualitative surveys, monthly reports, and focus group interviews. The findings suggest that both mentors and mentees have academic and social expectations, encompassing the enhancement of problem-solving, leadership, and communication skills and mentees’ adjustment to campus life. As for the challenges encountered, the key themes emerged, establishing boundaries/relationship, time management, meeting diverse needs and expectations and coping with a lack of information/miscommunication. Mentors and mentees reported that the effectiveness of the mentoring program was influenced by factors such as support from academic programs, a well-structured program, and the training provided to the mentors before the program started. The participants stated that they took advantages of the mentoring program, acquired personal, professional, and academic skills, facilitating a smooth transition to the campus life. The results are expected to inform future mentoring programs and promote peer mentoring in higher education.

Intergenerational Asian diaspora mentoring in the academy: mapping the terrain of allied political struggles through critical relational ethnography

ABSTRACT This paper investigates intergenerational Asian diaspora faculty mentorship within the context of higher education in North America. Drawing on intersectionality, rightful presence, and third-generation cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), the authors theorize across three activity systems—predominantly white academic institutions (PWI), a collaborative research project (LSP), and critical dialogue space (ADS)—to understand their collective work as part of a continuous arc of justice in the academy. The study explores the intersectional power dynamics and cultural conflicts that shape how junior and senior (South and East) Asian-identified authors negotiate reauthoring their rights in the pursuit of rightful presence within and across these activity systems. Through two vignettes, the findings illustrate the complexities of allied political struggles and intergenerational mentoring in higher education. In doing so, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how Asian diaspora faculty navigate can foster bidirectional intergenerational, critical, justice-oriented sociopolitical allyship within academia, advancing conversations on mentorship and equity in education.

Effectiveness of peer mentoring in the study entry phase: A systematic review

AbstractPeer mentoring is a widely employed strategy in higher education to foster student development and integration. However, the effectiveness of peer mentoring in higher education lacks well‐established statements. A systematic review was conducted to assess the efficacy of peer mentoring during the initial phase of academic studies. This review evaluated effectiveness based on four outcomes: intention to drop out, the sense of belonging, academic and social integration. It also scrutinised gender disparities and distinctions between digital and non‐digital, and group‐based and individual peer mentoring. The review revealed that peer mentoring is an effective support mechanism, yielding favourable impacts across various outcomes: social and academic integration, career benefits, emotional benefits, soft skills, university‐life balance, study dropout intention and sense of belonging to university. Gender disparities were generally inconspicuous in most studies. Digital peer mentoring proved effective, though students reported reduced levels of social support compared to non‐digital peer‐mentoring. Both individual and group‐based peer mentoring programmes were utilised, but specific outcomes distinguishing the two formats were not discerned. In summary, peer mentoring proves to be a valuable resource for first‐year students, particularly concerning academic and social integration. To holistically address the diverse needs of first‐year students additional approaches may be considered.

Institutionalization of Mentoring in Higher Education as a Problem of the Youth Policy of the Russian Federation

Institutionalization of Mentoring in Higher Education as a Problem of the Youth Policy of the Russian Federation

About mentoring in higher education

Mentoring has proved most successful in educational practice of the past years and in modern management as a form of increasing professionalism and a technology for effective management. The educational potential of mentoring is based on a person-oriented approach to a developing person, and subject-subject relationships with him. Thanks to mentoring activities, the personal professional competence of students and young specialists is increased through the internalization of positive experience, standards of excellence and values of professionalism. The article describes mentoring models implemented in the modern context. It presents the Mentoring Project developed by A. V. Mordovskaya, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor of the Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University. The practice of implementing mentoring programs in Russian universities is considered.

Apartheid and mentoring: from silencing to re-centering previously marginalised voices in the chronicles of higher education mentoring

ABSTRACT The authors of this paper adopted a transformative framework in this article to examine how the legacy of apartheid continues to manifest within higher education in South Africa. In particular, the authors analyzed (a) how mainstream mentoring knowledge of ‘black’ and ‘marginalized’ people have influenced mentoring in post-apartheid South Africa; (b) varied ways in which mentoring initiatives and programs have been silenced and ignored previously marginalized voices through the application of apartheid mentoring knowledge, and (c) shared how the mentors/lecturers and students show and tell their stories about the demands of mentoring and the emphasis of contextual and responsive mentoring for the previously marginalized people in higher education in South Africa. The shortage of mentoring has been cited as a crucial reason for women’s lack of advancement in leadership. Implications for advancing transformation through mentoring in higher education in South Africa are also discussed.

Mentorship in Higher Education: a Concept, a Model and Development Prospects

The article examines the mentorship development in higher education. The need for a scientific reconsideration of the conceptual framework of mentorship in modern conditions, as well as its important practical significance for adapting students, improving the quality of education and professional activity are forming the relevance of this topic. The purpose of the article is to develop the concept of mentorship, to design a model and to plan the mentoring in higher education. An interdisciplinary approach was used to determine the essence of mentorship (consideration of the category in Psychology and Sociology, Pedagogy, Management), a model of mentorship in higher education has been developed with a structural-system analysis, as well as with graphical and statistical methods. The scientific novelty of the article is the development of the conceptual framework of mentoring and applied aspects of its implementation in higher education in Russia. The essential elements of mentorship were identified and considered, namely: the concept and approaches, purpose and objectives, principles and functions. The types of mentorship in higher education were classified according to key criteria: the number of mentees, formalization, period of interaction, method of implementation, direction of interaction, purpose. The main principles of mentoring in higher education are specified. A model of mentoring in higher education was proposed. A systematic analysis of successful practices and mentoring programs in higher education in Russia was carried out. The problems and prospects for mentorship development in modern conditions were identified. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using conceptual developments in the formation and development of the legal framework for the implementation of mentoring, as well as the development and implementation of a mentoring model in higher education institutions.

Intercultural Mentoring in Higher Education

Intercultural mentoring is increasing in higher education in response to diversification and globalization. While intercultural mentoring relationships experience unique challenges, it can be a development learning opportunity for both mentors and mentees. Therefore, the current article discusses the following aspects of intercultural mentoring relationships in higher education: benefits and challenges, recommendations for effective practice, the role of mentors and mentees in ensuring a successful relationship, and future research frontiers. Mentors and mentees in intercultural mentoring relationships, as well as formal mentoring programs with intercultural mentoring dyads, will benefit from the recommendations offered in the current article.

Introduction to Leading from the Middle in Higher Education: Mentoring

“Leading from the Middle in Higher Education: Mentoring” is a Journal of Leadership Studies Symposium dededicated to the significance of mentoring in higher education, emphasizing the role of mentoring in leadership development for undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty. To introduce the symposium, the current article provide insights into effective mentoring practices for mentors and mentees. The article delves into the definition of mentoring, both formal and informal, and discusses the benefits of mentoring within higher education. Additionally, it highlights crucial aspects of effective mentors and offers guidance on being an effective mentee.

Mentors Needed: Predictors of Self-Assessed Mentoring Competence in Agricultural Faculty

Despite an overwhelming amount of research in recent years on the importance of mentoring in higher education, little data exists on what factors predict faculty self-evaluations of mentoring competence in agricultural faculty. This is important because as research on mentoring has increased there has been a proliferation of different training programs for faculty in academia to improve mentoring outcomes, with little regard for what variables predict self-perceived mentoring skill. This study used a cross-sectional survey design to collect faculty self-evaluations of mentoring competence from a national sample of agricultural faculty. Regression analysis was used to determine what factors, identified as potentially important from prior research, predicted positive self-evaluations of mentoring competence. Results showed that discipline self-efficacy, feelings of impostorism, average mentoring frequency, and prior mentor training were all significant predictors, while gender was almost significant. The implications of these findings and avenues for future research for mentoring in higher education are discussed.

Raising an Indigenous academic community: a strength-based approach to Indigenous early career mentoring in higher education

This paper reports on Indigenous early career researchers’ experiences of mentoring in Australian higher education, with data drawn from a longitudinal qualitative study. Interviews were conducted with 30 Indigenous participants. A consistent theme in the findings and contemporary critical literature has been a reaction against institutionalised and hierarchical cloning and investment models of mentoring that reinforce the accumulation of White cultural capital, in favour of strength-based relational models tailored to build Indigenous cultural wealth in parallel with career development. We write from an equity-based standpoint addressing mentoring as a complex and raced space where individual Indigenous ECRs articulate a desire and will to develop a successful and meaningful career, rich in cultural wealth and with their identity intact. It is our intent that these findings will also have global significance and support the more sustainable and ethical career development of First Nation early career academics in relationally like colonised contexts.

Cross-cultural mentoring in higher education: the use of a cultural identity development model

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to examine the role that cultural identity development plays in understanding cross-cultural mentoring encounters between White faculty and faculty of color. The authors apply a theory adaptation to present the components of a conceptual framework for developing mentoring approaches that consider a person’s cultural identity stage of development. Using a systematic approach, the authors consider the fundamental principles of cultural identity development theory combined with higher education contextual conditions, resulting in an approach by which mentors and protégés could govern their interactions. We conclude with implications for mentoring program administrators, faculty, and leaders in higher education.

Benefits and motives for peer mentoring in higher education: an exploration through the lens of cultural capital

ABSTRACT Despite the large and diverse cohorts recruited annually across the globe to university sport programmes, few studies have assessed the value of peer support within sports education settings. Even more surprising is the lack of research to have explored the encounters of peer mentors who help deliver these schemes and the impact it had on their professional development. Conducted at a post-92 English university, this study explored the benefits and motives of students volunteering to become peer mentors in their second year of university. Drawing on Bourdieu’s key concepts as the guiding theoretical framework, the study suggests that participants, who were predominantly first generation to attend university, engaged in peer mentoring to develop cultural capital for their chosen professional field, but also to give back and support the development of social and cultural capital for mentees. Practical implications for developing future peer support programmes are presented, as are future research avenues and limitations.

Mentors Needed: Predictors of Self-Assessed Mentoring Competence in Agricultural Faculty

Despite an overwhelming amount of research in recent years on the importance of mentoring in higher education, little data exists on what factors predict faculty self-evaluations of mentoring competence in agricultural faculty. This is important because as research on mentoring has increased there has been a proliferation of different training programs for faculty in academia to improve mentoring outcomes, with little regard for what variables predict self-perceived mentoring skill. This study used a cross-sectional survey design to collect faculty self-evaluations of mentoring competence from a national sample of agricultural faculty. Regression analysis was used to determine what factors, identified as potentially important from prior research, predicted positive self-evaluations of mentoring competence. Results showed that discipline self-efficacy, feelings of impostorism, average mentoring frequency, and prior mentor training were all significant predictors, while gender was almost significant. The implications of these findings and avenues for future research for mentoring in higher education are discussed.

On Mentoring in Higher Education

On Mentoring in Higher Education

Faculty mentoring in higher education: results from a pilot program at Jammu, India

ABSTRACT Mentoring and coaching are established best practices across the corporate world. These are designed to support leadership development, career progression and engaging select employees with a view to enhancing performance and achievement at the individual, group and organization level. However, such practices have not found wide adoption across the higher education sector, especially in developing countries such as India where it is still an alien concept. We present early results from a year-long mentoring program for 12 faculty members at a higher education institution in Jammu, India. Mentoring was found to have the best outcomes for early and mid-career faculty especially women and resulted in attainment of significant individual and institutional outcomes. This paper makes a strong case for the wide-adoption of faculty mentoring across higher education institutions in India subject to some caveats.

Ethical Questions Raised by AI-Supported Mentoring in Higher Education.

Mentoring is a highly personal and individual process, in which mentees take advantage of expertise and experience to expand their knowledge and to achieve individual goals. The emerging use of AI in mentoring processes in higher education not only necessitates the adherence to applicable laws and regulations (e.g., relating to data protection and non-discrimination) but further requires a thorough understanding of ethical norms, guidelines, and unresolved issues (e.g., integrity of data, safety, and security of systems, and confidentiality, avoiding bias, insuring trust in and transparency of algorithms). Mentoring in Higher Education requires one of the highest degrees of trust, openness, and social–emotional support, as much is at the stake for mentees, especially their academic attainment, career options, and future life choices. However, ethical compromises seem to be common when digital systems are introduced, and the underlying ethical questions in AI-supported mentoring are still insufficiently addressed in research, development, and application. One of the challenges is to strive for privacy and data economy on the one hand, while Big Data is the prerequisite of AI-supported environments on the other hand. How can ethical norms and general guidelines of AIED be respected in complex digital mentoring processes? This article strives to start a discourse on the relevant ethical questions and in this way raise awareness for the ethical development and use of future data-driven, AI-supported mentoring environments in higher education.

Mentoring Approaches for Various Learning Behaviors of The Future Engineers in Professional Education: Competency and Commitment Development

Mentoring in higher education facilitates students to enhance the confidence level, improves the probability of academic accomplishment, and reduces chances of failure. Students depend on the expertise and involvement of mentors to support them graduate in a well-timed manner and guide on them to their best possible career. The mentoring significance is not always distinctly understood in education. Researchers are becoming gradually more sensible of its complexity. Choosing a mentor is critical in any career field, and engineering is no different. Mentors can offer future engineers� an instrumental guidance and assistance early in their careers.This research study explores the different learning patterns of the engineering students and recommends the new approaches required for the successful mentoring of these millennial students. Project-based course �Product Design Studio� is considered, and total strength of 50 students classified into 4 groups based on their competency and commitment levels. At least one student from each of these 4 groups combined and 11 project teams formulated for the execution of the project. Competency levels identified through a test based on the skillset required for the project execution. Four different training models are proposed in this paper for each of the groups formulated and these approaches successfully implemented by the mentors. The learning reflections of the mentors and mentees are presented in this paper. The final product demonstration by the students reflected the success of the novel approaches implemented by the mentors. Competency and Commitment are the key factors to be considered for analyzing the performance of the students. in addition to the mentoring students for improving their competency levels, the role assigned during the project execution promoted the 21st century skillset among the students. There is a huge scope to research and develop the appropriate mentoring strategies for the human resource management and development in the project-based courses.

Career Mentoring in Higher Education: Students’ Perceptions and Experiences

Nowadays, the process of building the career of emerging adults is embedded in the need for meaningful paths, connection, creativity and autonomy. Thus, the support services universities offer for students should incorporate subjective aspects of individual experiences such as targeting relevant goals, building meaningful learning experiences, promoting personal resources of adaptability. One of the most effective mechanism for positively influencing students’ career paths is mentoring, by helping them to successfully face the academic and life challenges and to build meaningful careers. The current study aims to investigate perceptions and experiences of seven undergraduate students, in order to understand the mentoring role in the development of a calling orientation in their career trajectory. Data was collected through one-to-one semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis was conducted. The findings revealed a mentoring approach that includes a career construction theory and calling-infused elements has positive effects on self-reflection, self-knowledge, proactive experiences and behaviours that maintain and strengthens the perception of the presence of calling. In other words, the support of a mentor facilitates the activation of personal resources and values the self-directed career oriented towards individualized results in the context of an uncertain and dynamic work environment.

Mentoring reality: from concepts and theory to real expertise and the mentor’s point of view

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the reality of mentoring in higher education from the mentor’s point of view. The goal is to elaborate best practice of mentoring on issues such as advanced training, professionalization, experience exchange, networking, de facto tasks and levels of interaction with mentees. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the gap between theoretical mentoring methods, for example, with regard to timely planning and the reality of being a mentor. Data were generated by qualitative interviews of up to 45 min with mentors with several years of experience. The qualitative findings will help interested people to get a feel for what it means to be a mentor. Findings The findings showed that each mentor found his or her individual way of mentoring and that each was eager to personally improve. The paper shows influencing factors beyond project planning, such as emotional involvement, dealing with student denial and the time it actually takes to be a good mentor beyond office hours. Research limitations/implications As matriculation numbers must not be documented due to German data protection law, the de facto effectiveness of mentoring was close to impossible to measure. Social implications Text. Originality/value This work is original because the Aachener Mentoring Modell entails 35 professional mentors working in all but one faculty of RWTH Aachen University; it is an entire schooling concept, with technical documentation especially implemented for this project.