Characteristics and Correlates of Supportive Peer Mentoring: A Mixed Methods Study

In this mixed methods study, we employed thematic analysis (TA) to examine peer mentors’ perceptions of benefits, challenges, and roles they experienced as mentors, as well as benefits and challenges experienced by first-year college students. We also utilized quantitative student ratings to classify mentors as highly, moderately, or minimally supportive in order to determine whether any subthemes from the TA appeared more or less frequently across the three groups. Highly supportive mentors reported greater camaraderie among their seminar students and fewer unmotivated students, but also fewer opportunities to provide support to students. Moreover, mentors’ and students’ perceptions in the minimally supportive group were discrepant; mentors in this group consistently reported providing more support than was perceived by mentees.     

Nurse managers’ perceptions of barriers to the mentoring of early career nurses

ABSTRACT

Mentoring is a unique educative workplace relationship which holds the potential to support the skill, knowledge, social and emotional needs of both new and experienced staff members. As promotion of mentoring in the nursing workplace can improve workforce retention and cohesion, understanding of nurse managers’ perceptions of the barriers to the mentoring of early career researchers in hospitals can offer insights that enhance the efficacy of mentoring in these dynamic contexts. In-depth interviews with 20 nurse managers were conducted to identify these barriers, with interpersonal conflict, competing priorities for time and financial resources, and lack of training emerging as recurring themes raised by participants. We explore how these barriers can be mitigated to strengthen the contemporary mentoring quality and opportunity in acute care hospitals.     

Genuine conversation: the enabler in good mentoring of pre-service teachers

This study confirms the role of genuine conversation as the enabler in good mentoring of pre-service teachers. The practicum plays an essential role in moving the pre-service teacher beyond learning about teaching to the practice of teaching. Yet the benefit of the practicum is often constrained by relational tensions, disappointment and frustrations for both the pre-service teacher and the mentor. The authors report on the findings drawn from stories and experiences of pre-service teachers and mentors as they participated in a final practicum in a range of Australian secondary schools. This paper uses social learning theory as a framework for understanding the key aspects of pre-service teacher mentoring: specifically, Wenger’s three interrelated concepts of mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire. Conversation plays a critical role in these areas and hence enables successful practicum experiences. Recommendations to enhance professional conversations focus on strengthening the relationship through considered pre-service teacher placement, close school/university partnerships, mentor programmes and the selection of appropriate mentors.     

An analysis of three different approaches to student teacher mentoring and their impact on knowledge generation in practicum settings

Mentoring in Teacher Education is a key component in the professional development of student teachers. However, little research focuses on the knowledge shared and generated in mentoring conversations. In this paper, we explore the knowledge student teachers articulate in mentoring conversations under three different post-lesson approaches to mentoring: dialogue journaling, regular conferences and stimulated-recall conferences. Propositional discourse analysis identified 4534 propositions that were subsequently classified into four types of knowledge: recalls, appraisals, rules and artefacts along with the precision of arguments therein. Additionally, log-linear analyses were conducted to search for differences among the three mentoring approaches. The results indicate that dialogue journaling demonstrated more appraisals of practice, regular conferences emphasised rules and artefacts, and stimulated-recall favoured more precision in the type of the arguments stated. The three mentoring styles favour different but complementary understandings of practice and point to the impact of various approaches to mentoring on the sort of knowledge shared and generated in post-lesson mentoring conferences.     

The Development and Design of a Framework to Match Mentees and Mentors Through a Systematic Review andThematic Analysis of Mentoring Programs Between 2000 and 2015

ABSTRACT

The need for longitudinal and holistic support of medical students throughout their training has led to the development of formal mentoring programs. Whilst success of formal mentoring programs has been attributed to (a) pairing mentees with trained and experienced mentors (matching), (b) the quality of mentoring interactions and (c) the presence of a nurturing environment, little attention has been attributed to establishing an effective matching process in medical school. We sought, in this review, to redress this gap within the context of matching medical students for mentoring. Modified PRISMA guidelines were followed to guide the review process. PubMed, ERIC, Cochrane Database, OVID and ScienceDirect databases were searched for articles on matching in medical schools and in allied health specialities published between 2000 and 2015.     

The problematic context of mentoring: evidence from an English language teaching department at a Turkish university

‘Mentoring’ has become the central issue of the ‘restructuring programme’ in education faculties in Turkey since 1998. This study aims to explore the participants’ perceptions and experiences about the concepts of ‘mentor’ and ‘mentoring’. A mentor and six English Language Teaching Department (ELT) students, who were in the final year of their training programme, participated in the study. A qualitative case study methodology was employed and data were collected through semi‐structured interviews with faculty students and mentors, semi‐structured journals kept only by the faculty students and debriefing notes kept only by the researcher. The findings demonstrate important issues about the nature, functions, benefits, and problems of the mentoring experienced by the faculty students at the particular department such as the need for developing selection criteria and training programmes for mentors and organising regular meetings and seminars about the partnership programme for mutual understanding and sharing opinions. Drawing on the data, recommendations and implications are suggested.     

Exploring perceived support of postgraduate medical science research students

There is still much to learn about the support required by postgraduate research students, across academic disciplines, to facilitate successful completion of a research degree. The primary aim of this study was to explore postgraduate medical science research students’ perceptions of academic and mentoring support at different stages during their degree programme. A second aim was to explore the feasibility and acceptability of peer mentoring as a strategy to enhance student support in this population. A mixed method study design was used. Students first completed an online questionnaire, which was then supplemented with focus group discussion to explore emergent findings in greater depth. The main results indicated that the nature and quality of academic supervision support have a significant influence on research student training and development. ‘Functional’ and ‘relationship development’ concepts of supervisory styles were highlighted as important aspects to perceived support in this research population. The main facilitators to enhance academic support were effective communication, project planning and timely feedback. There was a high degree of acceptability for a peer mentoring programme as a complementary approach to enhance student support. Peer mentoring psychosocial functions such as friendship, counselling and career guidance were considered potentially beneficial to enhancing student support. Students also discussed peer coaching as central to their learning and research skill development. This work is a useful starting point to explore perceptions of research student support in the target population. Further work is required to develop strategies to enhance student support in academic practice.     

The Development of a Scale on Assessing Peer Mentoring at the College Level

The purpose of my study was to develop and validate a scale to assess peer mentoring practices that aim to enhance learning. In the development process, 4 focus group interviews were conducted with 10 mentors and 12 mentees who participated in 8 weeks of peer mentoring. In addition to the literature, the findings from interviews were used to develop items. The 11-item form was administered to 126 college students. After the confirmatory factor analysis, the scale took on its final form with 10 items in 3 factors as Contribution to Mentee, Mentor Characteristics, and Peer Relationships. The results of confirmatory analysis were: GFI .92, CFI .99, NNFI .98, RMSEA .080, and Cronbach α coefficient was found to be .954.     

Exploring the links between mentoring and work-integrated learning

The role of work-integrated learning (WIL) is a popular focus at many universities, including among academics in the business disciplines in Australia. This article explores whether a mentoring programme provided for female business and law students results in similar benefits as those reported for WIL activities and, hence, provides career- and study-related benefits for the participating students. While research into mentoring is not a new phenomenon, this qualitative study focuses on mentees as students who are assigned mentors from a range of organisations, rather than the typical studies which have both parties employed in an organisational context. The study explores the career-related and psycho-social benefits reported by students in a mentoring programme, including increased confidence, improved knowledge about their chosen profession, stronger career focus/understanding and, for some, opportunities leading to employment post-study. These benefits are then considered in relation to how they mirror the outcomes of WIL. While the sample size is small, the findings have implications for academics and career development professionals in higher education seeking to better integrate theoretical knowledge with the realities of the workplace, thereby helping to prepare students more effectively for their careers.     

Exploring the dyad: the relationship establishment between a novice physical education teacher and his mentor

The retention of new teachers is a noteworthy issue among physical education teachers. One way to combat attrition is with the implementation of induction programs that have a strong emphasis on mentoring. Mentoring creates a growth-in-connection for the novice physical education teacher as well as the mentor. The relational cultural theory (RCT) develops relationships based in situational boundaries between the mentor and the mentee. RCT explores the nature of human development based on the individuals involved in these relationships. The purpose of the study was to explore the perception of the relationship between a novice physical education teacher and his mentor and to determine if the mentoring relationship between the participants reflected the RCT model. Observations, interviews, and the researcher’s journal were used as a means for data collection. In this study, meaningful relationships occurred in the working relationship, as well as the personal relationship. It was indicated that when meaningful relationships are established, novice physical education teachers are more confident in their teaching abilities and are more likely stay in the profession.     

Exploring pedagogical relationships in the context of free play

Early childhood advocates agree that positive teacher–child relationships are critical to classroom quality. Much research has emphasized quantifiable teacher characteristics and child outcomes without fully capturing the complexity of these relationships. Drawing on extensive classroom observations, two video-recorded free play sessions and teacher interviews, this study explored some of the ways that preschool teachers create and maintain positive relationships, with emphasis on how they care for the children: their ways of being with and for them. The results of this study provide practical examples for building and sustaining teacher–child relationships, help delineate the complexity of the relationships that exist in preschool classrooms and demonstrate the everyday ways in which those relationships are foundational for children’s learning and development.     

The Experiences of Selected Mentors: A Cross-cultural Examination of the Dyadic Relationship in School-based Mentoring

To address comprehensive program services that are self-sustaining and systemic in nature, school counselors and educational leaders have increasingly implemented school-based mentoring to impact student and school success. In this qualitative case study, we examined the experiences of 11 selected mentors and their respective dyadic relationships in school-based mentoring with at-risk elementary school students to understand ways mentors might better form closer dyadic bonds yielding longer mentoring relationships. Four metathemes emerged: (a) encouragement, (b) relating style, (c) time and presence, and (d) language nuances. Specific components within these metathemes increased both synergy in the dyad and satisfaction for the mentors. Ethnic and cultural dyad characteristics are discussed and presented via proposed effective practices for cross-cultural, cross-age mentoring.     

Factors contributing to the retention of natural mentors among underrepresented students across the first year of college

The current study examined characteristics of natural mentoring relationships (NMRs; i.e. mentoring relationships that develop organically with adults in one’s pre-existing social network) among underrepresented college students as contributors to NMR retention across the first year of college. The sample consisted of 209 underrepresented college students (73% female; mean age = 18.1, SD = .35) who reported having a natural mentor during the first semester of college. Each participant could report up to five natural mentors and a total of 550 NMRs were reported. We found that more frequent contact and greater relational closeness with natural mentors during the Fall semester of mentees’ first year of college increased the likelihood that NMRs were retained through the Spring semester of the first year. These findings shed light on aspects of NMRs that may be most central to fostering their duration during difficult transitional spaces.     

Overlooked aspects in the education of science professionals: Mentoring,ethics, and professional responsibility

Science as profession is generally defined narrowly as research. Science education as preparation for a profession in research is usually perceived as course work and laboratory training, even though the necessary knowledge and skills to pursue a research career are more extensive and diverse and are learned in one-on-one interaction with mentors. A complete education of science professionals includes the values, ethical standards and conventions of the discipline since they are fundamental to the profession. Mentoring and education in the responsible conduct and reporting of research and in the ethical dimensions of science are among the professional responsibilities of scientists and need to be discussed as part of science education. Moreover, science as an enterprise is much more than research and includes a number of other components, including science teaching, science journalism, and science policy. Each of these contributes to the nature of science and its role in society.     

校企协同创新背景下的研究生导师团队建设研究与实践

近年来,随着高校持续扩招,在校研究生人数不断增加,而研究生导师人数增加相对缓慢,同时由于导师在承担人才培养工作的同时还担负大量的科研任务,导致自身无法及时进行知识的更新。构建由校企双方知名专家组成跨学科专业的研究生导师团队,有利于团队研究生学术水平的提高和知识面的拓宽,是培养复合型创新性人才,满足社会需求的最为有效的途径。     

中国博士后制度的发展与创新

20年来的中国博士后制度,经历初步创建、快速与全面发展、稳定发展三个阶段后,正走向提高质量与创新发展。博士后制度在培养人才、促进学科建设与发展、产学研结合和科研成果方面取得显著成绩的同时,在管理制度、博士后科学基金资助、流动站和工作站的关系方面仍存在着制约因素。新时期的博士后制度需要在管理制度、培养制度、经费筹措、资助制度和评价制度等方面创新。     

The development of elementary teacher identities as teachers of science

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the contributions of pre-service teachers’ memories of science and science education, combined with their experiences in a STEM-focused teacher preparation programme, to their developing identities as elementary school teachers of science. Data collected over three years include a series of interviews and observations of science teaching during elementary teacher preparation and the first year of teaching. Grounded within a theoretical framework of identity and using a case-study research design, we examined experiences that contributed to the participants’ identity development, focusing on key themes from teacher interviews: memories of science and science instruction, STEM-focused teacher preparation programme, field experiences, first year of teaching, and views of effective science instruction. Findings indicate the importance of exposure to reform strategies during teacher preparation and are summarised in main assertions and discussed along with implications for teacher preparation and research.     

Mentoring as a learning tool: enhancing the effectiveness of an undergraduate business mentoring program

Mentoring can be used as a pedagogical alternative both to extend and augment the educational experience of business students. This article addresses a gap in the literature regarding the use and effectiveness of mentoring in undergraduate business education by examining improvements to an existing mentoring program. After reviewing the mentoring literature and identifying four critical elements for program success (matching, preparation, interaction and outcome assessment), the researchers used a cohort design and developed a survey to assess baseline participant satisfaction with these elements. Interventions were developed to enhance the mentoring program, and a second cohort allowed the authors to assess the benefits of these interventions. With statistically significant improvements in two out of four program elements (and a third showing marginally significant differences), the results demonstrate that the authors’ approach to evaluating and enhancing mentoring program effectiveness is useful in business education.