Mentoring: A Convenience or Convergence?

The 27th Delphine Hanna Lecture presented at the 2018 NAKHE Annual Conference.     

Circle Time: A Much-neglected Resource in Secondary Schools?

Throughout this article, unless otherwise stated, the use of the term 'circle time' refers to a whole‐class meeting where everyone sits in a circle. It is a forum that is bound by strict groundrules to ensure emotional 'safety' and respectful listening. Different approaches to circle‐time are used at all levels of education. In this article 'Circle Time' (with initial capitals) refers to the Quality Circle Time Model and the strategies used within the circle as devised by Jenny Mosley (1989, 1993, 1996) as opposed to the many other circle‐time methods to be found in educational practice.     

Circle Time: A Much-neglected Resource in Secondary Schools?

Throughout this article, unless otherwise stated, the use of the term ‘circle time’ refers to a whole‐class meeting where everyone sits in a circle. It is a forum that is bound by strict groundrules to ensure emotional ‘safety’ and respectful listening. Different approaches to circle‐time are used at all levels of education. In this article ‘Circle Time’ (with initial capitals) refers to the Quality Circle Time Model and the strategies used within the circle as devised by Jenny Mosley (1989, 1993, 1996) as opposed to the many other circle‐time methods to be found in educational practice.     

A Theology of Inferiority: Is Christianity the Source of Kinesiology's Second-Class Status in the Academy?

What influence has Christianity had on kinesiology and physical education's status in the Academy? Conventional wisdom within kinesiology often seems to argue that the influence has been quite negative. These critics allege that Christianity is a fundamentally dualistic religion. They allege that, at its best, Christianity is suspicious of the body and that, at its worst, Christianity openly proclaims that the body is evil. Despite the popularity of such assertions, there is abundant evidence in both historical and contemporary theology to show that Christianity is a religion in which corporeality plays a central, defining, and positive role. From Saint Paul to Saint Augustine, from Saint Aquinas to the present day, it has been a central doctrine of Christianity that the human body is good and, furthermore, that corporeality plays a vital role in salvation. Consequently, any blanket assertion that Christianity is the source of physical education and kinesiology's ills is fundamentally misleading and mistaken.     

Mentoring in black and white: the intricacies of cross‐cultural mentoring

Cross‐cultural mentoring relationships can be sites of struggle around the issues of race, class and gender. In addition, the mentor/protégé relationship offers micro‐cosmic insight into power relations within western society. The authors of this paper, a black woman associate professor and a white male professor, use the example of their mentoring relationship to illustrate six common issues facing academicians involved in these relationships: (1) trust between mentor and protégé; (2) acknowledged and unacknowledged racism; (3) visibility and risks pertinent to minority faculty; (4) power and paternalism; (5) benefits to mentor and protégé; and (6) the double‐edged sword of ‘otherness’ in the academy. Literature is used for review and critique of mentoring in the academy while offering personal examples to illustrate the complexity and success of a 13‐year mentoring relationship between a duo who began their association as teacher/student.     

Nurturing Independent Learning in the Undergraduate Student in History: A Faculty–Student Mentoring Experience

Four undergraduates and a history professor planned for and carried out research in the Belgian State Archives in an attempt to answer the call from the Boyer Commission’s seminal report that identified the need for meaningful undergraduate research opportunities in the American higher education system. Our faculty–student mentoring experience provided an opportunity to develop practical skills for historical research. Success of the mentoring project was determined through ongoing dialog and through analysis of student reflective essays. While an international project of this scope may not be feasible for many institutions, mentoring projects in domestic or even local archives could be similarly beneficial.     

“Mentoring is Sharing the Excitement of Discovery”: Faculty Perceptions of Undergraduate Research Mentoring

Although an increasing number of studies have examined students’ participation in undergraduate research (UR), little is known about faculty perceptions of mentoring in this context. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate four aspects of mentoring UR, including how faculty define high-quality UR mentoring and operationalize it in practice; what the perceived benefits and challenges of UR participation are for mentors and students; how mentoring relates to faculty perceptions of their other roles (teachers, advisors, and scholars); and how participation in various communities of practice influences UR mentoring. Sixty faculty respondents at a private, midsized comprehensive institution completed an online survey. In a series of qualitative analyses, responses to open-ended questions were coded as instrumental, psychosocial, or blended. Analyses revealed that faculty perceptions of UR mentoring were impacted by faculty approach to UR mentoring and faculty rank. These findings may be helpful in the development of UR programs and faculty support programming.     

‘Ed Tech in Reverse’: Information technologies and the cognitive revolution

As we rapidly approach the 50th year of the much‐celebrated ‘cognitive revolution’, it is worth reflecting on its widespread impact on individual disciplines and areas of multidisciplinary endeavour. Of specific concern in this paper is the example of the influence of cognitivism's equation of mind and computer in education. Within education, this paper focuses on a particular area of concern to which both mind and computer are simultaneously central: educational technology. It examines the profound and lasting effect of cognitive science on our understandings of the educational potential of information and communication technologies, and further argues that recent and multiple ‘signs of discontent’, ‘crises’ and even ‘failures’ in cognitive science and psychology should result in changes in these understandings. It concludes by suggesting new directions that educational technology research might take in the light of this crisis of cognitivsm.     

“Students Should not be Your Friends”: Testimonio by a Latina on Mothering One's Own,Othermothering, and Mentoring Students in the Academy

This article is an autoethnographic account of how I negotiated intersectional identities as a Latina, mother, and professor, mentoring students of color. Specifically, I examine the ways mothering shaped my relationships with the students I mentored. I engaged in “othermothering” and utilized “pedagogies of the home” by creating reciprocal relationships of caring and nurturing. Utilizing critical race theory (CRT) and testimonio, I argue that my identity as a mother of color successfully negotiating the tenure track impacted the ways in which I mentor(ed) students of color.     

African–American Mentoring Program (AAMP): addressing the cracks in the graduate education pipeline

In this conceptual article, we focus on mentoring as a strategy to mend the cracks in the education pipeline for African American graduate students. Our article highlights the African American Mentoring Program (AAMP) model and examines the unique methods it uses to support the retention and graduation of African American graduate students from a university and their transition to the workforce. AAMP operates from a Transitional Cultural Framework and strives to bridge the gap between the students’ culture and the culture of the university. AAMP’s uniqueness is harnessed in its deep roots in culture, history, collectivism, and inter-generational sharing of knowledge. We end with implications and recommendations for universities and future research.     

The Future of the Academy: Who’s Looking for Whom?

Individuals seeking academic employment opportunities often do so by exploring hiring announcements that are advertised online through Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, American Society of Criminology, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Because limited educational resources and budget constraints can impact hiring decisions that are made at institutions of higher learning over time, it is important for candidates to consider exactly what employers are looking for in prospective professionals and to see how they measure up to the demands brought on by academic job searches. Using quantitative content analyses of recent job postings on popular academic job search websites, this study explores recent trends in the hiring of criminology and criminal justice professionals, paying particular attention to exactly which positions are being sought after by colleges and universities and how the presence of online technology has changed hiring trends within our field.     

Mentoring the non‐coping teacher: a preliminary study

Mentoring has traditionally focused on trainees and newly qualified teachers (NQTs). There is no established, effective mentoring procedure to help teachers who have worked for longer periods of time (one or more years in the classroom) and who are still not coping after all available help has been offered. This study shows that as a result of effective intervention, in such cases, useful change can occur. When Intensive Mentoring (IM) takes place over a period of two weeks, the Intensive Mentor works throughout the day in the classroom with the teacher. Teachers are encouraged to improve their practices through discussion and reflection and by example. During IM, teachers experience a series of emotional stages that involve coming to terms with the loss of old habits, ideas and notions.     

Whose Knowledge? Whose Opportunities? The Demise of the Critical Academy?

This paper explores the emotional and social dynamic of girl's friendship groups in the primary phase of schooling. Previous research by one of the authors suggests that some primary head teachers viewed the particular groupings of girls as providing mutually supportive contexts for group members. Through discussion, interviews and observations of girls and their teachers in years 2, 4 and 6 of three inner city primary schools we aim to provide an insight into the organization of the groups, the rules which govern group membership, and the role groups play in defining the quality and nature of the girls relationships and their social networks at school. We further explore the impact that such social networks have for learning and the role the girls' teachers play in this process.     

Editor’s Overview: A 20-Year Content Review of Research on the Topic of Developmental Mentoring Relationships Published in the Mentoring & Tutoring Journal

Abstract

Empirical work from both sides of the Atlantic has been developed which attempts to bring the generations together in the context of school‐based projects and curriculum development. Against this background this article will seek to explore the impact that older people can have in an educational setting and examine the mutual effect this has in developing and promoting intergenerational understanding. This action‐research study (for The Beth Johnson Foundation, Stoke‐on‐Trent) elicited the views and experiences of children, older mentors and teachers involved in an intergenerational mentoring scheme. The study reveals that there have been significant gains for the children, older mentors (people over 50) and teachers involved in the intergenerational mentoring scheme. This article reports only the concise summary findings from a selected representative mix of the data gathered for the original action research. Evidence suggests that the mentors have become a wise advisor and friend to identified individuals and groups of children in the class setting, and that old and young people enjoy and value working together in an educational environment for the mutual benefit of each other. The study concludes that this evaluation should act as a base‐line towards some extended research into the sustainability of older mentors working in schools, and the humanising effect this has at whole‐school level in terms of improving intergenerational perception and cooperation and developing ‘active citizenship’ in schools.     

Mentoring Undergraduate Scholars: A Pathway to Interdisciplinary Research?

Interdisciplinary research is a valuable approach to addressing complex real-world problems. However, undergraduate research mentoring is discussed as an activity that happens in disciplinary silos where the mentor and student scholar share a disciplinary background. By transcending traditional academic divisions, we argue that mentors can train a new generation of scholars who think innovatively and create integrative research questions. We examined a sample of undergraduate students and their faculty mentors to determine the extent to which interdisciplinary research teams exist at George Mason University. Results indicated that interdisciplinary research teams are rare and faculty rank was their main predictor. University administrations can make specific choices regarding recognition and support for interdisciplinary undergraduate research mentoring that also advance institutional mission and values.     

Mentoring “Inside” and “Outside” the Action of Teaching: A Professional Framework for Mentoring

This study seeks to contribute to the research on mentored induction by investigating the practices mentors employ in their work with new teachers in two high-need, high-poverty urban elementary schools. Informed by Schwille’s (2008) temporal framework of “educative” mentoring practices occurring “inside” and “outside” the action of teaching, this study investigated the range of practices mentors employed, new teachers’ perceptions of the practices, and if the practices contributed to new teachers’ professional learning. Participants included six new teachers and two induction mentors. Results indicate that “inside” and “outside” mentoring practices are complementary and should be conceived as assisted performance and judiciously selected to promote productive changes in new teachers’ practice. Recommendations for mentoring programs are provided.