A positive postdoctoral experience is related to quality supervision and career mentoring, collaborations, networking and a nurturing research environment

For postdocs to have the best chances of achieving their career goals they need to not only acquire discipline-specific research experience, but also additional generic skills vital for future employment inside or outside academia. They also require access to information and mentoring that will help them strategically plan and make informed decisions about their future. Few studies have examined the variables that impact the postdoctoral experience or research productivity. Thus, a comprehensive survey was conducted to determine whether quality supervision, career mentoring, collaboration, networking and a nurturing research environment makes a positive difference in the experiences and productivity of postdoctoral researchers. Unsurprisingly, the survey revealed that job insecurity and lack of a career structure are ongoing concerns for postdocs. However, a clear association was shown between quality supervision, for example, in conveying the importance of taking responsibility for their future academic career by strengthening their track record, and the number of peer-reviewed publications produced. The findings also suggest that mentoring in non-academic career paths can be greatly improved. The results of this study have guided a research-intensive Australian University to implement initiatives and programs which enhance the postdoctoral experience. Finally this work raises awareness of the crucial contributions postdocs make to the research output and environment of universities.     

Toward a Holistic View of Undergraduate Research Experiences: An Exploratory Study of Impact on Graduate/Postdoctoral Mentors

Involvement in research has become a fixture in undergraduate science education across the United States. Graduate and postdoctoral students are often called upon to mentor undergraduates at research universities, yet mentoring relationships in undergraduate—graduate/postdoctoral student dyads and undergraduate—graduate/postdoctoral student—faculty triads have been largely unexamined. Here, we present findings of an exploratory case study framed by relational theory that identifies the motives, gains, and challenges reported by graduate/postdoctoral students who mentored undergraduates in research. Graduate/postdoctoral mentors experienced a wide range of gains, including improved qualifications and career preparation, cognitive and socioemotional growth, improved teaching and communication skills, and greater enjoyment of their own apprenticeship experience. Notably, graduate/postdoctoral mentors reported twice as many gains as challenges, neither of which were limited by their motives for mentoring. Indeed, their motives were fairly narrow and immediate, focusing on how mentoring would serve as a means to an end, while the gains and challenges they reported indicated a longer-term vision of how mentoring influenced their personal, cognitive, and professional growth. We propose that understanding the impact of mentoring undergraduates on the education and training of graduate/postdoctoral students may uncover new ideas about the benefits reaped through undergraduate research experiences.     

Mentoring as an Induction Tool in Special Education Administration

Mentoring is a widely used method of induction into a variety of professional roles, including educational leadership. However, little scholarly literature has focused on the role of mentoring in the career development of special education administrators. In this examination of 14 such mentoring relationships, the existence of career and psychosocial functions as theorized by Kram is explored and the perceived value of the functions to mentors and protégés in the career development of beginning special education administrators is identified. Evidence of coaching, a career function, and counseling, a psychosocial function, was found in all relationships studied and these two functions were ranked as most important to the career development of beginning special education administrators by both mentors and protégés. Recommendations include incorporating mentoring functions into mentor and protégé training to increase the positive effect of mentoring on the career development of beginning special education administrators.     

Becoming a PI: From ‘doing’ to ‘managing’ research

While achieving research independence by becoming a principal investigator (PI) is a key aspiration for many postdocs, little is known of the trajectory from PhD graduation to first PI grant. This interview-based study examined how 16 PIs in science, technology engineering, mathematics or medicine, in the UK and continental Europe, prepared for and dealt with this career transition. Individuals demonstrated commitment to lengthy periods of postdoctoral work in a range of institutions (often involving international mobility) to achieve PI-status. Their emotionally laden journeys required resilience and self-belief, since getting a grant was conceived as partly luck. Once individuals had their grant they faced new challenges that distanced them from actively researching. Still, individuals navigated their intentions in a sustained fashion to create a distinct intellectual profile in the face of challenging circumstances. The results highlight the centrality of emotion in the journey, as well as curricular imperatives for both doctoral and postdoctoral learning.     

A Preliminary Study Comparing the Attitudes of Trainee Doctors and Their Mentors to Compulsory Educational Supervision in Postgraduate Medicine

Two mentors in a teaching hospital medical department undertook this study to determine whether a pilot group, introduced to a new system of compulsory educational support, felt the system useful and to see whether there were differences of opinion that could be related to the grade of the group member. Five mentors and 17 trainees in the first three years of the new system were asked to complete a questionnaire on termination of their mentoring period. The response rate was 100%. Twenty-one (95.4%) respondents were keen that the system should continue and felt it was useful. Both the mentors and trainees had similar opinions also of ideal frequency, on whom should be the onus of arranging meetings and whether the mentor should be of consultant grade. These preliminary data support the view that compulsory allocation of mentors is supported, both by trainees and mentors, in a system of educational supervision in medicine.     

The Role of Student-Advisor Interactions in Apprenticing Undergraduate Researchers into a Scientific Community of Practice

Among science educators, current interest in undergraduate research (UR) is influenced both by the traditional role of the research apprenticeship in scientists’ preparation and by concerns about replacing the current scientific workforce. Recent research has begun to demonstrate the range of personal, professional, and intellectual benefits for STEM students from participating in UR, yet the processes by which student-advisor interactions contribute to these benefits are little understood. We employ situated learning theory (Lave and Wenger, Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge in 1991) to examine the role of student-advisor interactions in apprenticing undergraduate researchers, particularly in terms of acculturating students to the norms, values, and professional practice of science. This qualitative study examines interviews with a diverse sample of 73 undergraduate research students from two research-extensive institutions. From these interviews, we articulate a continuum of practices that research mentors employed in three domains to support undergraduate scientists-in-training: professional socialization, intellectual support, and personal/emotional support. The needs of novice students differed from those of experienced students in each of these areas. Novice students needed clear expectations, guidelines, and orientation to their specific research project, while experienced students needed broader socialization in adopting the traits, habits, and temperament of scientific researchers. Underrepresented minority students, and to a lesser extent, women, gained confidence from their interactions with their research mentors and broadened their future career and educational possibilities. Undergraduate research at research-extensive universities exemplifies a cycle of scientific learning and practice where undergraduate researchers are mentored by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, who are themselves apprentices to faculty members. As such, research mentors of undergraduate students should be aware of the dual scientific and educational aspects of their advising role and its significance in shaping students’ identities and career trajectories.     

A mentor’s aid in developing the competences of teacher trainees

The induction period is a very important time in the career of a teacher and has a long‐term influence on the teacher’s professional development, efficacy, job satisfaction and the length of his/her career. One of the key roles in this period is played by the trainee’s mentor. This paper presents the results of the extensive project ‘Partnership of Faculties and Schools’, carried out at the Pedagogical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, with the financial support of the European Social Fund and the Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. We studied an induction project involving 361 teacher trainees and 331 mentors. The study reveals the trainees’ expectations towards their mentors and the mentors’ and trainees’ evaluations of how the mentor aids a teacher trainee in developing their competences.     

Exploring mentoring in the context of team science

Despite increased research into team science and collaboration, little is known about postdoctoral scholars’ pathways to becoming independent researchers, particularly as it relates to the mentoring relationship. The purpose of our study was to explore if and how the team science framework promotes collaboration and the development of independent researchers from mentees’ and mentors’ perspectives. A convenience sample of faculty mentors and postdoctoral mentees, participated in semi-structured interviews. The analysis revealed three themes for the mentees: working with others, evaluating mentoring, exploring resources, and five themes for the mentors: elaborating on scholarly productivity, mentoring style, setting team culture, strategies to develop T32 scholars, and evaluating program qualities. The findings showed that scholars were engaged in an atmosphere of collaboration fostered by their mentors and that mentors encouraged scholars’ capacity for scientific thinking. Future studies should acquire the perspectives of all team members to examine how teams function.     

Learning to Play the Game: Professional Development and Mentoring

ABSTRACT

During the course of a career, community college administrators are engaged in activities that are believed to enhance their skills, knowledge, and abilities. Career-related activities such as furthering one's education, participating in professional development activities, and cultivating mentoring relationships may impact the career advancement of administrators. They may also provide opportunities for administrators to grow and develop as leaders. Using social and human capital as a theoretical lens, this article provides an increased understanding of the types of formal and informal activities that senior community college administrators participate in, as well as their perceptions of whether these activities are important for career advancement and development. It also further explores the role that mentors play in the lives of administrators. Findings reveal that administrators in this study participated in a variety of professional development activities both off- and on-campus, and a majority of administrators indicated that they had a mentor in higher education. Implications and areas for future research are discussed.     

Emeriti faculty as mentors: the benefits and rewards of mentoring the next generation

ABSTRACT

This holistic single-case study reports on the benefits mentors derived from participating in the Increasing Minority Presence within Academia through Continuous Training (IMPACT) mentoring program. The IMPACT program was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Office for Broadening Participation in Engineering 15–7680 (awards #1542728 and #1542524). In this program, emeriti faculty were matched with underrepresented minority faculty in the engineering professoriate for career-focused mentorship. The conceptual framework of the Benefits of Being a Mentor grounded this study. Findings indicate mentors appreciate the opportunity to give back and remain engaged in the field, to relive past academic career experiences, and to support the next generation of engineering professors while adjusting to retirement. These findings aligned with the conceptual framework on three factors: rewarding experience, improved job performance, and generativity. Implications for administrators and faculty, as well as additional research areas, are discussed.     

Experiences of Mentors Training Underrepresented Undergraduates in the Research Laboratory

Successfully recruiting students from underrepresented groups to pursue biomedical science research careers continues to be a challenge. Early exposure to scientific research is often cited as a powerful means to attract research scholars with the research mentor being critical in facilitating the development of an individual''s science identity and career; however, most mentors in the biological sciences have had little formal training in working with research mentees. To better understand mentors’ experiences working with undergraduates in the laboratory, we conducted semistructured interviews with 15 research mentors at a public university in the Midwest. The interviewed mentors were part of a program designed to increase the number of American Indians pursuing biomedical/biobehavioral research careers and represented a broad array of perspectives, including equal representation of male and female mentors, mentors from underrepresented groups, mentors at different levels of their careers, and mentors from undergraduate and professional school departments. The mentors identified benefits and challenges in being an effective mentor. We also explored what the term underrepresented means to the mentors and discovered that most of the mentors had an incomplete understanding about how differences in culture could contribute to underrepresented students’ experience in the laboratory. Our interviews identify issues relevant to designing programs and courses focused on undergraduate student research.     

Beyond Community College Accountability: Using Data to Investigate Best Practices for Institutional Improvement

The Voluntary Framework of Accountability (VFA) launched in 2011 is the first national system of community college accountability. Sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in collaboration with the Association of Community College Trustees and the College Board, the VFA will shortly report to the public on measures of student progress and learning outcomes and on measures of workforce, economic, and community development. The author of this paper proposes that AACC move beyond community college accountability toward creating and sustaining, among college administrators, a common culture of VFA data use to investigate best practices for institutional improvement. To advance this proposition, the discourse presented centers on a proof-of-concept model. The study uses longitudinal data to illustrate its potential for community college administrators to identify best practices for improving institutional performance in first-year college retention.     

Anatomists debate the value of a teaching credential

Fewer and fewer programs are training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the classical anatomical disciplines. Nonetheless, there remains a need at all levels of clinical and basic science education for skilled instructors of anatomy, histology, and embryology. Two sessions at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Association of Anatomists (AAA) explored whether a system of accreditation would benefit students, institutions, and training programs. Although the value of accreditation was controversial, three challenges for the various anatomical societies emerged from these discussions: (1) To identify the skills and knowledge that should be shared among all anatomists, and the more specific skills and knowledge needed for the diverse settings in which anatomists work. (2) To address the historical inattention of institutions to the training of educators. (3) To develop strategies to lobby institutions and national organizations to support the training and work of educators in the anatomical sciences. One approach to meeting these challenges would be to develop guidelines for training programs. These guidelines would help graduate students seek the training they need, provide institutions with a benchmark to assess or develop training programs, and provide the basis for focusing lobbying efforts targeted at institutions or existing accreditation bodies. Anat Sci Ed 1:60–67, 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.     

Building National Capacity for Research Mentor Training: An Evidence-Based Approach to Training the Trainers

Research mentor training (RMT), based on the published Entering Mentoring curricula series, has been shown to improve the knowledge and skills of research mentors across career stages, as self-reported by both the mentors engaged in training and their mentees. To promote widespread dissemination and empower others to implement this evidence-based training at their home institutions, we developed an extensive, interactive, multifaceted train-the-trainer workshop. The specific goals of these workshops are to 1) increase facilitator knowledge of an RMT curriculum, 2) increase facilitator confidence in implementing the curriculum, 3) provide a safe environment to practice facilitation of curricular activities, and 4) review implementation strategies and evaluation tools. Data indicate that our approach results in high satisfaction and significant confidence gains among attendees. Of the 195 diverse attendees trained in our workshops since Fall 2010, 44% report implementation at 39 different institutions, collectively training more than 500 mentors. Further, mentors who participated in the RMT sessions led by our trained facilitators report high facilitator effectiveness in guiding discussion. Implications and challenges to building the national capacity needed for improved research mentoring relationships are discussed.     

Mentoring as a tool to engage Aboriginal youth in remote Australian communities: a qualitative investigation of community members,mentees, teachers,and mentors’ perspectives

Sport-based mentoring programs have been used across many contexts to engage young people in education. In this research, we explored the influence that an Aboriginal controlled organisation’s youth mentoring program has on three remote Aboriginal communities in Northern Territory, Australia. We used a composite set of culturally sensitive methods by including artefacts from the community members and mentees, informal interviews with community, and semi-structured conversations with mentors and schoolteachers. The findings demonstrate the positive feelings, many benefits, and relationships that had been established between mentors and mentees, the organisation and community over time. However, participants also suggested that it would be beneficial to engage mentors in activities with students not in the school system, and adults in the broader community. Despite some identified challenges, the mentoring program was perceived to be successful in engaging remote Aboriginal children in school and developing future career aspirations.     

Factors of success: building and sustaining teaching professional development opportunities for doctoral students and postdocs

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the key issues and elements to consider in developing and sustaining teaching development programs for doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars in connection to a large multi-institutional, higher education reform network. Based on interviews with 47 participants at eight member institutions and the central administration of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), we found five major components: campus culture, the program’s organizational placement, program leadership, program logistics, and the benefits acquired from adopting and adapting network ideas, knowledge, and resources.     

Entry points when undergraduate research mentors reflect on their role: a qualitative case study

Abstract

Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are increasingly taking on mentoring roles in undergraduate research (UR). There is, however, a paucity of research focusing on how they conceptualize their mentoring role. In this qualitative interview study, we identified three entry points that mentors reflect on to define their role: (1) What are the goals of UR? (2) What do the students expect from me? and (3) How should I use my expert knowledge? We discuss how academic developers can use these entry points together with a set of reflective lenses to stimulate critical reflection on the mentoring role and help the mentors to define their role and help the mentors to define their role.     

Job Satisfaction and Withdrawal Cognition among Preservice Teachers

This study attempts to survey the different levels of job satisfaction among 350 preservice teachers who had experienced their first teaching practicum at the end of their first year of training. Four scales for job satisfaction (perception of the work environment, intrinsic reward, career prospects and career commitment) and a scale for withdrawal cognition were administered to the preservice teachers. A study of their attitude profiles revealed that a high proportion of the preservice teachers experienced negative feelings about various aspects of career prospects, particularly, salary and career advancement. In the area of career commitment, nearly 37% of the trainees felt that the teaching profession was not always their ambition. Despite the less‐than‐expected commitment level and perception of career prospects, trainees had positive feelings for the work environment and intrinsic reward for the profession in many aspects. A multiple‐regression model fitted to the data gave the result that perception of career prospects and career commitment were highly significant predictors of withdrawal cognition.     

Predictors of outside funding for research among AASCU institutions

A summary of a survey concerning external funding for research of the 338 member institutions of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is presented. Results indicate that AASCU institutions which have been successful in obtaining outside funds for research purposes tend to place more emphasis, in both policy and resource allocation, on graduate teaching and internally and externally funded research. This information might prove useful to AASCU or similar institutions examining policies aimed at increasing the amount of external funding for research.Presented at the Twenty-First Annual Forum of The Association for Institutional Research, Minneapolis, May 1981.