Education Commons^™

Effects Of A Mentorship Program On High Need College Students: Reflections From Mentors And Mentees, Stephen Miske, Olusegun Sogunro

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

On average, the college graduation rates for minority and/or high-need students are generally low. To address this situation, a Mid-Atlantic Consortium recently secured a grant to improve 4-year graduation rates of high-need students (i.e., new first-time students and transfer students who qualify as low-income students, first-generation college students, adult students, and/or students of color) by 20% over each selected college’s baseline. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of students and faculty mentors toward accomplishing this goal. Data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically. Some of the effects identified in this study included enhanced academic …

Faculty Of Color In The Academy: A Perspective On Cross-Cultural Mentoring, Sherrise Y. Truesdale-Moore

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Research has indicated that students’ race and their experiences and sense of belonging are associated with the racial characteristics of the faculty. This highlights the importance of recruitment and retention for faculty of color (FOC) in higher education. A formal faculty mentoring program is essential to providing an academic atmosphere that nurtures, supports, and develops faculty members’ teaching and research skills to assist them in feeling a sense of belonging within the university community is essential. However, finding the right mentoring program that addresses the daunting challenges among FOC is challenging. Upon reviewing the higher education faculty data and literature …

Embracing Resiliency: Practical Strategies To Minimize Teacher Burnout And Elevate Retention, Melissa D. Reed, Heather Caswell, Monica Wong-Ratcliff

The Advocate

Abstract

Teacher shortage constitutes a crisis in the U.S. and the education system at-large. In light of the crisis of teacher shortage and the severity of turnover rate, the purpose of this paper is to join in the dialogue to further the conversation regarding how believing or reinforcing stereotypes can contribute to burnout and unrealistic expectations teachers face in education. Suggestions for pre-service and in-service teachers to acquire a more realistic and resilient lens for themselves as educators and the profession is presented. The following themes will be explored: collaboration, embracing vulnerability, empowerment and agency, support and mentoring, and self-care …

Navigating The Unknown: A Black Faculty Member’S Journey In The Predominantly White University, Sherrise Y. Truesdale-Moore

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

The author provides a narrative of her faculty experience in a predominately white university. She depicts her academic journey through the lens of an African American woman motivated to teach in higher education, share expertise, become a role model, and offer new knowledge to the profession. In the essay, she shares challenges about navigating the workspace while successfully fulfilling contractual obligations. For faculty of color teaching in a predominately white university, she emphasizes the need for a sense of belonging and mentoring through a culturally responsive approach.

Intentional Mentoring: A Shared Journey Of Discovering And Supporting Diverse Talent In Academia, Barbara Holmes, Kent Willis

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Thriving in academe for faculty of color is difficult and challenging (Gasman, 2022). Faculty of Color face enormous odds of overcoming barriers such as an unwelcoming culture, isolation, lack of professional support, imposter syndrome and disengagement from the community of scholars. In recognition of these factors, intentional mentoring provides a strategy of support in facilitating successful persistence in the academy.

This autoethnographic paper explores the mentor-mentee relationship of a tenured faculty member whose contributions in mentorship and coaching produced notable professional growth for countless doctoral students and new faculty members. Sharing the experiences of one mentee and mentor may inform …

Creating, Implementing, And Redefining A Conceptual Framework For Mentoring Pathways For Education Doctorate Students, Rebecca D. Brown, Rachel Louise Geesa, Kat R. Mcconnell

Higher Learning Research Communications

Supporting the proficiencies scholar-practitioners need to be successful in Doctor of Education (EdD) programs typically differ from the needs of traditional doctoral students in other types of programs; however, EdD students may benefit from participating in a mentoring program during the progression of their academic career. Several theoretical and conceptual frameworks that influence mentoring programs exist at the doctoral level despite the lack of research conducted that is specific to EdD degrees. In this article, we review several frameworks that influenced the creation and redesign of the Mentoring Pathways Program, developed explicitly to address the needs of scholar-practitioners attending a …

Exploring The Mentoring Needs Of Early- And Mid-Career Urm Engineering Faculty: A Phenomenological Study, Sylvia Mendez, Jennifer A. Tygret, Valerie Martin Conley, Comas Haynes, Rosario Gerhardt

The Qualitative Report

While mentoring has been identified as a valuable resource in recruiting and retaining underrepresented minority (URM) faculty, little research has examined the difference in mentoring needs of early- and mid-career engineering URM faculty members. As these needs can change as they navigate academia and the tenure process, mentors can effectively provide guidance and support only when they have been identified. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine the mentoring needs and activities of early- and mid-career URM engineering faculty who participated in the IMPACT mentoring program and how their needs were met (Moustakas, 1994). The IMPACT program and …

Mentoring Processes In Higher Education: Perspectives Of Junior Athletic Training Faculty Members, Sara Nottingham, Stephanie M. Mazerolle

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Mentorship is a valuable mechanism of socializing faculty members to higher education, but understanding of how mentoring relationships develop is limited. The purpose of this study was to seek a more complete understanding of how mentoring relationships develop for junior faculty members, and how these effective mentoring relationships can be fostered. Method: A qualitative, phenomenological design was used to examine junior athletic training faculty members’ experiences with mentoring. Twenty athletic training faculty members: 14 women, 6 men, 32±3 years of age and averaged 2.4±2.1 years as a full-time faculty member in an accredited athletic training program participated in this …

Mentorship Experiences Of Women Leaders In Adventist Higher Education Institutions, Nadine A. Joseph-Collins

Journal of Research Initiatives

There has been an increase in the rate at which women are being chosen to serve as university presidents at Adventist Higher Education institutions worldwide within the past few years. Notwithstanding that increase, the overall representation of women in that position is still proportionately low. To date, about 22 women have served since we first began operating higher education institutions in 1874. At present, about nine women are serving as presidents of AHEIs; the largest number to be serving at any one time since 1874 when AHEIs were established. Having so few women serving in these top-level positions does not …

Becoming A Teacher Leader Within Your Classroom: A Dialogue, Jill Stacy, Nayantara Mhatre

Occasional Paper Series

Describes a spontaneous relationship that has equal measures of mentoring, peer coaching, and teaming.

Introduction: Teacher Leaders - Transforming Schools From The Inside, Gil Schmerler

Occasional Paper Series

Describes the issue's purpose, which is a "modest attempt to restore the issue of teacher leadership to the prominence it deserves and requires" -- author.

A Framework For Conceptualizing Models Of Mentoring In Educational Settings, Andrew West

International Journal of Leadership and Change

Although general conceptions regarding the nature of mentoring tend to coalesce around the idea that mentoring involves a more experienced and more knowledgeable individual providing some form of support to a novice, great variance exists in the way in which these goals are realized in mentoring programs. In order to bring greater clarity to various perspectives on mentoring, a framework of mentoring models was developed based on a review of the literature. The framework allows users to position models in one of four zones corresponding to the program’s views of teaching and learning and the number of aspects of teaching …

A Content Analysis Of Images Of Novice Teacher Induction: First-Semester Themes, Jennifer R. Curry, Angela W. Webb, Samantha J. Latham

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The powerful nature of novice teachers’ experiences in their first years of teaching has been well documented. However, the variance in novices’ initial immersion in the school environment is largely dependent on perceived personal and professional support as well as the environmental inducements that lend to novice teachers’ success in the classroom. For the purposes of this study, 72 participating novices, who were participants in an alternative certification program, drew representations of their current teaching environments. Of the 72 initial participants’ pictures, 58 were used in this content analysis. The interrater analysis involving multiple documentation of codes between and among …

Dissertation Journeys Of Scholar-Practitioners In An Educational Leadership For Social Justice Program, Ardella Dailey, Margaret Harris, Bobbie Plough, Bradley Porfilio, Peg Winkelman

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The task of guiding the development of scholar-practitioners as leaders for social justice is inherently challenging. The dissertation journey, unlike any other journey practitioner-based doctoral students face in urban school settings, provides a steep learning curve as they transition from practitioner to scholar-practitioner. This journey challenges doctoral students, particularly those who represent the marginalized students they serve, as they begin to understand their personal history, how they view themselves, how they view others, and the ethical and political issues (Creswell, 2013) they face as their thinking shifts from that of a mere practitioner to that of a scholar-practitioner. This collection …

Mentoring Beginning Teachers And Goal Setting, Peter Hudson, Sue Hudson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Australia has delineated a new direction for teacher education by embedding mentoring programs for teachers who support early-careers teachers as a system approach. This case study investigated how mentors after involvement in a mentoring professional learning program focused on goal setting with beginning teachers in their schools. Data were analysed from six mentors’ interviews using semi-structured questions and archival documents associated with the mentoring program. Findings revealed that negotiated goal setting facilitates potentially successful teaching practices that align to career stage standards. Other findings associated with goal setting are reported around: (1) mentor-mentee relationships, (2) roles, skills and responsibilities, (3) …

African American Women In Higher Education: Issues And Support Strategies, Cynthia C. Bartman

College Student Affairs Leadership

In recent years, the college graduation rates of African American women, a historically marginalized group, have increased. However, their graduation rates continue to lag behind those of White women, among other racial/ethnic groups. This paper reviews the related literature and identifies four major issues impacting the college graduation rates of African American women. Additionally, intervention strategies are suggested.

The Development Of Faith Leadership In Novice Principals, Barbara Stacy Rieckhoff

Journal of Catholic Education

This article describes the Catholic School Principal Support Program (CSPSP), a mentoring program for first and second-year Catholic school principals in a large urban diocese, and identifies key challenges, impacts and influences on decision-making. Ten school leaders describe their work and provide the lens by which they reflect on their role as faith leaders. The challenges these principals face along with the various roles they play are discussed. Based on the perceptions and insights of their roles as faith leaders and how that role is situated within other leadership roles, this study seeks to better understand how the faith leadership …

Developing Teacher Leaders In Math And Science: Content Coaches Mentoring Teacher Leaders, Andrea Kent, Andre Green, Phillip Feldman

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The AMSTI (Alabama Math Science Technology Initiative)-USA Fellows program, a collaboration between a university College of Education and Arts & Sciences, State Department of Education, and local school district, was created to develop Teacher Leaders in AMSTI Mathematics and Science. The specific focus of this research was to examine the mentoring provided to the Teacher Leaders Fellows, and to determine if the professional development provided to the teacher leaders helped them develop mentoring skills to mentor and coach the AMSTI teachers with whom they worked. At the completion of their Fellowship, these AMSTI-USA Fellows returned to become teacher leaders at …

The “Glass-Ceiling” In The Church Organization: Can E-Mentoring Be A Panacea To Women Desiring Leadership Positions?, John Ekukndayo

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

In leadership studies, mentoring has been in practice for a long time be it in local and national governance, organizational development (especially as part of a systematic leadership succession plan) or even for personal/professional development of individuals or groups. It seems that in organizations today many desire to be mentored but unfortunately not all are finding appropriate mentors that will cater for their personal and professional needs especially in meeting with their psychosocial needs (Kram, 1983). This is the case with many women in many male-dominated workplaces known for the preserving of “male prejudices, male values and creations” (Woodd, 1997), …

Lessons Learned About Mentoring Junior Faculty In Higher Education, Hersh Waxman, Tracy Collins, Scott Slough

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Mentoring junior faculty in higher education is often thought of as an easy task that every tenured faculty member and college administrator thinks they can effectively do. Most tenured faculty think they know the “tricks of the trade” because they have successfully gone through the process themselves. Most administrators also think they know what to do because they have seen or gained “insight” from viewing the successful and unsuccessful tenure applicants over the last few years. This “lived experience” of tenured faculty and administrators, however, may not be the current “lived experience” of junior faculty in higher education today.

Peer Mentor Leadership Training: Theory And Implementation, James Rubin

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

College is a time of major transition for young adults. It presents a unique opportunity as decisions regarding a wide variety of options unfold for the first time without being under the guidance and eye of a guardian. Chosen paths offer a glimpse into the inner motivations behind one’s character and the interest that many students have shown for peer mentoring exemplifies traits of benevolence and leadership. In addition to providing peers with a positive role model, there are opportunities for mentors to expand on many interpersonal qualities that are important for success in a multitude of contexts. Integral to …

Principals As Mentors In Teacher Education: How Preservice Teachers’ Voices Informed Practice, Anita Varrati, Amy Smith

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Principals in today’s schools clearly have their work cut out for them. The job has never been easy and the addition of accountability for state standards and assessments just adds to the load. The implications of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for principals involve spending significant amounts of time on the development of effective classroom teachers. The content of induction programs for new teachers now includes federal and state requirements for licensing and recertification (Highly Qualified Teachers) in addition to aligning new teacher needs with school mission and goals. As a result, the principal’s role with beginning teachers has never …

A Mentoring Process To Support Teachers’ Growth And Retention, David Bell, Earl Thomas

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

As educational consultants one of the pressing needs that we find administrators often recognize is the need for mentoring new and veteran teachers. Despite their concerns mentoring is often not part of the school system or it is executed in a haphazard manner. For example, when principals are asked to describe the current teacher mentoring system they often report that they just assign new teachers with veteran teachers who are willing to take on an additional responsibility. This suggests there is a lack of attention given to the importance of the quality relationship that must be established between mentor teacher …

A Case Study, Initiating A Peer Mentoring Program At A State University With A Diverse Student Body, Frank Andrews

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The focus of this paper is on leading and guiding the change process as it applies to a Peer Mentoring Program begun this semester in the College of Management (CoM) at U.Mass Lowell (UML). Specifically, this paper will discuss the fieldwork with respect to the initiation and adoption of the program. A second case paper will look at the actual implementation and hopefully institutionalization of the program.

Faculty Learning Communities And Teaching Portfolios As A Mentoring Model, Andrea C. Wade

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Beginning a career in college or university teaching can be a terrifying exercise in trial and error. Unlike elementary and secondary school teachers, many college faculty members begin their teaching careers with little or no formal preparation in pedagogy. Despite being well-versed in the content discipline, faculty members in their first few semesters of teaching often lack access to the kind of frequent assessment and mentoring that would shorten the learning curve and enhance the experience for both instructor and student. Through the years, a number of different strategies have been proposed to foster interactions between college faculty members. Typically, …

Academic Duty By Donald Kennedy: A Review By Cody Arvidson, University Of North Texas, Cody Arvidson

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

A book review of Academic Duty by Donald Kennedy.