Mentoring : Program Development, Relationships and Outcomes [1 ed.] 9781608767274, 9781606922873

Citation preview

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Mentoring : Program Development, Relationships and Outcomes, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Education in a Competitive and Globalizing World Series

MENTORING: PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, RELATIONSHIPS AND OUTCOMES

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained herein. This digital document is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, medical or any other professional services.

EDUCATION IN A COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZING WORLD SERIES Motivation in Education Desmond H. Elsworth (Editor) 2009. ISBN: 978-1-60692-234-7 The Reading Literacy of U.S. Fourth-Grade Students in an International Context Justin Baer, Stéphane Baldi, Kaylin Ayotte,Patricia J. Gree and Daniel McGrath 2009 ISBN: 978-1-60692-138-3

Rural Education in the 21st Century Christine M.E. Frisiras (Editor) 2009 ISBN: 978-1-60692-966-7 IT- Based Project Change Management System Faisal Manzoor Arain 2009. ISBN: 978-1-60741-148-2

Teacher Qualifications and Kindergartners Achievements Cassandra M. Guarino, Laura S. Hamilton, J.R. Lockwood,Amy H. Rathbun and Elvira Germino Hausken 2009 ISBN: 978-1-60741-180-2

Reading: Assessment, Comprehension and Teaching Nancy H. Salas and Donna D. Peyton 2009 ISBN: 978-1-60692-615-4

Effects of Family Literacy Interventions on Children's Acquisition of Reading Ana Carolina Pena (Editor) 2009 ISBN: 978-1-60741-236-6

Mentoring: Program Development, Relationships and Outcomes Michael I. Keel (Editor) 2009. ISBN: 978-1-60692-287-3

Nutrition Education and Change Beatra F. Realine (Editor) 2009. ISBN: 978-1-60692-983-4

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Learning in the Network Society and the Digitized School Rune Krumsvik (Editor) 2009. ISBN: 978-1-60741-172-7

Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America Rainer D. Ivanov 2009. ISBN: 978-1-60692-582-9 Evaluating Online Learning: Challenges and Strategies for Success Arthur T. Weston (Editor) 2009. ISBN: 978-1-60741-107-9

Education in a Competitive and Globalizing World Series

MENTORING: PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, RELATIONSHIPS AND OUTCOMES

MICHAEL I. KEEL

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

EDITOR

Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York

Copyright © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic, tape, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the Publisher. For permission to use material from this book please contact us: Telephone 631-231-7269; Fax 631-231-8175 Web Site: http://www.novapublishers.com NOTICE TO THE READER The Publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this book, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained in this book. The Publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers’ use of, or reliance upon, this material. Any parts of this book based on government reports are so indicated and copyright is claimed for those parts to the extent applicable to compilations of such works. Independent verification should be sought for any data, advice or recommendations contained in this book. In addition, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any methods, products, instructions, ideas or otherwise contained in this publication. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Keel, Michael I. Mentoring : program development, relationships, and outcomes / Michael I. Keel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-60876-727-4 (E-Book) 1. Mentoring. 2. Mentoring in business. 3. Employees--Coaching of. I. Title. BF637.M45K44 2009 658.3'124--dc22 2009011428

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.    New York

CONTENTS

Preface Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

vii Analysis of Mentee Factors in Learning Minimal Access Surgery, in Relation to Retroperitoneal Renal Surgery in Children Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem

1

Mentoring in Context: A Sociological Approach to the Study of Mentoring Relationships Steve McDonald, Lance D. Erickson and Derek Gatlin

21

Developing the Spectrum of Supportive Relationships Including Mentoring Jane Mills

39

Mid-career: The Proper Period for the Mentoring of Newly Appointed Principals Izhar Oplatka

51

Effective Mentoring of Student Teachers: Attitudes, Characteristics and Practices of Successful Associate Teachers within a New Zealand Context Lyn McDonald

63

Faculty Mentoring at a Distance: Coming Together in the Virtual Community David S. Stein and Hilda R. Glazer

75

Supporting Future Teachers Learning to Teach Through an Integrated Model of Mentoring Pi-Jen Lin

91

The Interface of Mentoring with Management and Human Resource Development in Today’s Organisations Charles Oaklief

109

vi Chapter 9

Contents Peer-Mentoring and Disability: Current Applications and Future Directions Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar

123

Short Communications A

B

Mentoring in Medicine Erin E. Tracy

C

Mentoring Relationships in the Counseling Field: A Multicultural Perspective Regine M. Talleyrand and Rita Chi-Ying Chung

Index

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

When “You’re Not the Boss of Me”: Mentoring across Generational Differences Janet Bickel

143 153

161 169

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

PREFACE This book examines the importance of mentoring relationships. Mentoring is important to individual career development. Thus, the potential benefits of mentoring on a professional scale are addressed, regardless of career stage. Findings from a constructivist grounded theory study, that examined rural nurses' experiences of mentoring, is presented in this book. Multicultural models of mentoring relationships are also examined, which are necessary given the changing demographics of our society. Recommendations for developing positive multicultural mentoring relationships and future directions in research and training are looked at as well. Furthermore, mid-career is the most appropriate period for taking on mentoring responsibilities. Thus, a conceptual analysis of the relationships between the mentor's career stage and the mentoring process are analyzed. This book also describes the attitudes, characteristics, and practices of effective mentoring of student teachers on students as well as the effect peer-mentoring has on disabled persons. Future directions of peer-mentoring and disability are addressed as well. Chapter 1 - Technical competence is a major component of surgical training and the methods of ensuring this, in the present context of shortened surgical exposure due to streamlined training and reduced working hours, are widely discussed in various surgical forums. The increasing use of laparoscopic surgery has further highlighted this as trainees need to acquire more and challenging technical skills to operate on a three dimensional operative field with the information gained from a two dimensional image, overcoming the limitations imposed by fixed instrument positions and reduced degree of instrument manipulation. The Paediatric Urology Department at the Manchester Children’s Hospital, undertakes over 50 laparoscopic renal procedures annually, and a trainee would spend about 6 months attached to the unit. The experience suggests that this intense exposure facilitates learning[1]. A retrospective study analysed the relevance of the mentee factors such as the length of surgical training, prior laparoscopic experience, and the extent of preparation by the trainees, relating these to the speed at which competence in laparoscopic renal surgery was acquired. The most important factor was shown to be the extent of preparation by the mentee. There are surgical curricula for each surgical speciality broadly specifying the knowledge and the skills that need to be acquired at different stages/years of training. These seem to convey to the trainees the impression that the acquisition of surgical skills is prolonged and that complex surgery e.g. laparoscopic nephrectomy, may only be done in the later stages of training. The study showed that the extent of prior open surgical and laparoscopic experience was less important than the amount of preparation made by the trainee for a specific procedure. This

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

viii

Michael I. Keel

would seem to reflect the trainee’s desire to learn. Trainees, who learned faster, seem to be motivated by the old philosophy of ‘See one, Assist one, Do one’. Other key factors, in addition to the mentee’s taking ownership for their training include a high case load, adequate theatre facilities, pressure-free operating room time, and an experienced laparoscopic surgeon well versed in training. It is the increasingly held belief that in this era of shortened surgical exposure, ‘See one, Assist one, Do one’ is the best way of providing training. Chapter 2 - Research on mentoring comes from a variety of disciplines and perspectives that are used to examine mentoring in specific social environments (e.g., adolescent mentoring, educational mentoring, workplace mentoring). In this chapter, the editor promote the need to synthesize the insights from each of these distinct research traditions by drawing from a sociological approach to understanding a lifetime of interdependent mentoring relationships. This involves situating mentoring within the context of the life course and thinking more broadly about the role that mentoring plays in society. The editor offer a series of specific recommendations for how researchers might expand scientific understanding by contextualizing mentoring relationships. Chapter 3 - Retaining nursing staff is a global issue in clinical practice with increasing attention being paid to pragmatic strategies that will help to achieve a stable workforce. This chapter will present the findings from a constructivist grounded theory study that examined Australian rural nurses' experiences of mentoring. Traditionally nurses speak of engaging in supportive relationships such as mentoring, clinical supervision, preceptoring and orientation. Participants in this study spoke of a spectrum of supportive relationships that moved outside of these mainstream definitions to include both accidental mentoring and deep friendship. How each of these types of relationships fit together will be illustrated. As well, guidelines relating to why, when and how leaders in nursing can both nurture and establish different types of supportive relationships will be outlined. The chapter will conclude with the potential outcomes from each of the spectrum of supportive relationships for both the individual nurse and the wider workplace. Chapter 4 - This chapter presents a conceptual analysis of the relationship between the mentor's career stage and the mentoring process. The main argument put forward here is that mid-career is the most appropriate period for taking on mentoring responsibilities while employees or managers at other career stages (early career, establishment, late-career) are less likely to meet the needs of the protégé, i.e. of the new employee. This argument is demonstrated through an analysis of potential mentoring relations between senior school principals and their newly appointed counterparts. Implications for further research on mentoring relationshps are suggested. Chapter 5 - This chapter reports on the findings of a research project which identified and described the attitudes, characteristics, and practices of four associate teachers within a New Zealand context. The purpose of the research was to investigate associate teachers’ supervision styles and to identify what makes them successful. Data were collected from associates, visiting lecturers, and student teachers. The findings indicate that to be effective, associate teachers need to motivate student teachers, find out about their learning needs, discuss their perceptions about teaching, and model effective teaching practice. Associate teachers should also provide regular feedback and ensure that their classroom supports student supervision. The findings confirmed the importance of the supervision practices of the associate teacher.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Preface

ix

Chapter 6 - This chapter explores how faculty and students in a virtual university experience the role of mentor working with graduate students at a distance. Faculty and student narratives from a study of online mentors and mentees help identify faculty actions that might be different from mentoring traditional students in a face-to-face program. The purpose of this chapter is to explore and describe the actions used by mentors in the virtual environment to support, direct, and encourage participation by adults in higher education. The chapter looks at the mentoring skills that online faculty need to develop in the virtual learning space and suggests how mentoring might occur in an online virtual learning space. Implications for institutions are presented. Chapter 7 - The purpose of this article is to introduce an integrated model of mentoring for supporting future teachers learning to teach under the impact of teacher education reform of Taiwan, particularly, in the internship. This article begins with the introduction of teacher education reform and is followed by the description of the impact of teacher education on quality control. Then, it includes a brief description of six integrated reach projects investigated by teacher educators. One of the integrated research projects that was designed to improve mentors’ competence of mentoring for supporting future teachers learning to teach is reported in detailed and an integrated model of mentoring is developed. Finally, the views of mentors and the future teachers are described briefly and the issues of mentoring are addressed. Chapter 8 - Previous chapters have introduced the concept of mentoring in business, industry and government organizations with specific emphasis upon training and learning in the workplace. It is imperative in today’s organizations that those who sponsor and initiate mentoring programs do so with the utmost care so that personnel engaging others in a mentoring relationship are equipped with the needed conceptual understandings and skills which make a difference in individual performance and also support organizational process and purpose. Thus equipped, mentoring programs should have a higher chance for success. Chapter 9 - Peer-mentoring involves a relationship in which two individuals share some common characteristic or experience and one provides needed assistance or support to the other. Research and theory have suggested that peer-mentoring has great potential for providing assistance to individuals struggling with challenging life experiences, while also benefiting the peers who are providing the assistance. Though highly relevant and applicable to the area of disability, peer-mentoring has been incorporated in the disability literature in a very limited way. This chapter will set the context for the construct of peer mentoring in the area of disability from a theoretical stance, and will then review the empirical and intervention literatures related to peer-mentoring and disability. Though limited, such interventions have been applied in employment, hospital, and community-based settings. The editor discusses the reported benefits and challenges of using peer-mentoring models, as well as how this approach benefits both the mentees who are involved. As demonstrated here, peer-mentoring has much to offer to the area of disability and should continue to be examined in the areas of program development and research. Short Communication A - Mentoring has never been so important to individual career development or to institutional health. With the intensifying competition for resources, young scientists’ ability to translate their “intellectual capital” into “career capital” depends more than ever on access to mentoring targeted at their needs. While mentoring has always been primarily between generations, with the mentor often serving in some senses in a parental role, generational differences are presenting more of a

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

x

Michael I. Keel

challenge now than in previous eras. As life spans have increased, for the first time in history, four generations are now active in the workplace at once. Moreover the younger generations in the workplace are more diverse in terms of gender and ethnicity, so a great deal of heterogeniety is meeting a largely homogeneous pool of available mentors. As is discussed below, other characteristics of these generations and the accelerating pace of change mean that senior professionals are facing multiple mentoring situations unfamiliar to them, distracting them from having the most positive possible impact in the limited time available. At the same time, the complexities of all knowledge and skill domains are increasing in ways that senior professionals often do not appreciate. For instance, for physicians-in-training and junior clinical faculty, hospitalized patients are much sicker, the information flow is intensive, the response time is reduced, the regulatory and paperwork burden has tripled; every pressure has been ratcheted up a number of magnitudes from the previous era. With rising competition for funding and space, the challenges of career-building in science have also risen. Skills in collaboration, communication, organizational politics, negotiation and conflict management are no longer optional. The bar is set much higher now than when the Veterans and Boomers started their careers. These and other forces are driving the search for new ways of facilitating and structuring mentoring relationships. This Commentary examines this challenge in science and medicine, particularly in academia, and offers numerous recommendations to both individuals and to organizations on ways to maximize the potential of this critical bridge to the future. Short Communication B - The importance of mentoring has been recognized since ancient times. The term “mentor” originated in Homer’s Odyssey. In this epic, Ulysses asked Mentor to educate and guide his son, Telemachus, while his father went off to fight in the Trojan War. [1] Indeed Mentor nurtured and protected Telemachus in Ulysses’ absence, and introduced him to other leaders, helping him to understand his role in both the civic and vocational hierarchy. [2] Some of the pioneering work looking at mentoring in modern times was done by Levinson et al, who conducted interviews of 40 men, incorporating the following aspects in this concept of mentor, “teacher, sponsor, counselor, developer of skills and intellect, host, guide, and exemplar.” [3] Levinson also stated that “the mentor has another function, and this is developmentally the most crucial one: to support and facilitate the realization of the Dream.” [4] Erikson, decades earlier, cited the importance of the “psychosocial task for mildlife..to resolve the issue of generativity versus stagnation” (Generativity in this context is defined as a concern for and an interest in guiding the next generation.) [5] Short Communication C - Although the concept of mentoring has recently received increased attention in the counseling field, the intersection between multiculturalism and mentoring has not been formally addressed. This commentary examines the lack of multicultural models of mentoring relationships which are necessary given the changing demographics in the society. In addition, based on results from an exploratory study conducted by the authors of this commentary, key elements that may be important for Asian American, African American and Latina/o American counseling students who engage in mentoring relationships within an academic (e.g., professor/student) or clinical settings (e.g., supervisor/trainee) are provided. Finally, recommendations for developing positive multicultural mentoring relationships and future directions in research and training are discussed.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 1

ANALYSIS OF MENTEE FACTORS IN LEARNING MINIMAL ACCESS SURGERY, IN RELATION TO RETROPERITONEAL RENAL SURGERY IN CHILDREN Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Hospital Road, Manchester, United Kingdom

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

ABSTRACT Technical competence is a major component of surgical training and the methods of ensuring this, in the present context of shortened surgical exposure due to stream-lined training and reduced working hours, are widely discussed in various surgical forums. The increasing use of laparoscopic surgery has further highlighted this as trainees need to acquire more and challenging technical skills to operate on a three dimensional operative field with the information gained from a two dimensional image, overcoming the limitations imposed by fixed instrument positions and reduced degree of instrument manipulation. The Paediatric Urology Department at the Manchester Children’s Hospital, undertakes over 50 laparoscopic renal procedures annually, and a trainee would spend about 6 months attached to the unit. Our experience suggests that this intense exposure facilitates learning[1]. A retrospective study analysed the relevance of the mentee factors such as the length of surgical training, prior laparoscopic experience, and the extent of preparation by the trainees, relating these to the speed at which competence in laparoscopic renal surgery was acquired. The most important factor was shown to be the extent of preparation by the mentee. There are surgical curricula for each surgical speciality broadly specifying the knowledge and the skills that need to be acquired at different stages/years of training. These seem to convey to the trainees the impression that the acquisition of surgical skills is prolonged and that complex surgery e.g. laparoscopic nephrectomy, may only be done in the later stages of training. Our study showed that the extent of prior open surgical and laparoscopic experience was less important than the amount of preparation made by the trainee for a specific procedure.

2

Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem This would seem to reflect the trainee’s desire to learn. Trainees, who learned faster, seem to be motivated by the old philosophy of ‘See one, Assist one, Do one’. Other key factors, in addition to the mentee’s taking ownership for their training include a high case load, adequate theatre facilities, pressure-free operating room time, and an experienced laparoscopic surgeon well versed in training. It is our increasingly held belief that in this era of shortened surgical exposure, ‘See one, Assist one, Do one’ is the best way of providing training.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION The first laparoscopy in a human being was done in 1910 by Jacobaeus, a Swedish physician[2]. This was a diagnostic procedure that was then embraced by gynaecologists initially as a major diagnostic tool in assessing subfertile women, and those with lower abdominal pain and other gynaecological symptoms, and subsequently for actual surgical interventions such as contraceptive fallopian tube ligation. Since the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 1988[3], every surgical speciality has found a use for this minimally invasive technique. Laparoscopic nephrectomy in an adult was first done in 1990 and the first paediatric laparoscopic nephrectomy followed in 1994. Laparoscopic diagnostic and ablative then led on to laparoscopic reconstructive operations. Key-hole surgery (the layman’s term) is synonymous with ‘Minimally Invasive Surgery’ (MIS) and involves minimal cutting of skin and muscles with less scarring and a more rapid, relatively pain-free recovery. It has now become apparent that MIS offers the added advantages of a higher magnification, more precise dissection and least disturbance to surrounding structures. Thus it seems reasonable to suggest that both established surgeons and those in training should become competent in MIS. MIS competence and proficiency requires a greater degree of training when compared to open surgery, because the operator needs to acquire the ability to elicit information about the 3 dimensional operation field from a 2 dimensional image seen on a monitor, excellent handeye coordination and significant bimanual dexterity. The learning curve is much steeper and longer for trainees. The intention of this chapter is to analyse the mentee factors that influence the learning curve based on the author’s personal experience and an assessment of the speed of learning of the trainees. Acquisition of knowledge and skills to perform MIS would be discussed in some detail. Subsequently, the second author, who is a senior trainee, would provide a broad view about the mentor-mentee relationship and the other factors that influence training in MIS.

PART 1- TRAINER’S PERSPECTIVE My Journey I vividly remember my first laparoscopic nephrectomy. This was performed mentally, late on a dark November evening in 2003 as I returned from Leeds to Manchester on the busy M62 motorway. I was concentrating on both driving and methodical performance of the operation but other thoughts competed for my attention. There was the recent loss in tragic

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Mentee Factors in Learning Minimal Access …

3

circumstances of a dear friend and colleague whose funeral I had part organized, and the need for support for his devastated wife and young son. Serious family illness also weighed heavily on my mind, and the situation was not helped by an increasingly painful toothache that constantly disrupted any attempt at concentration but ironically was beneficial in keeping me awake during the tedious drive home. The persistent dull ache allowed for no rest for a few nights such that I benefited by studying the video recordings of laparoscopic operations, loaned to me by a trainer at the laparoscopic course. It was crucial that I study them carefully, memorising each and every step and hand movement, in preparation for my first solo laparoscopic nephrectomy a few days later. I had had two previous experiences when I assisted my now departed colleague and I felt that I knew all the steps of the procedure fully. I was familiar with ‘open’ nephrectomy through an abdominal incision and the challenge was to do it laparoscopically, by the key-hole technique. This involved making only three tiny cuts, rather than one big cut. The first cut is for a small telescope to see inside the body, and the other two are for two instruments with which to perform the operation. The image from the telescope is seen on a TV monitor in two dimensions, but the dissection inside the body has to be done in three dimensions and for this I needed to acquire the particular visual and motor skills. Having studied the video recordings of the laparoscopic operations, I had been putting in many hours of practice on the laparoscopic trainer, which simulates the visual environment encountered during the operation. I tried to imagine that I was actually doing the operation, by manipulating objects, by cutting pieces of paper and by attempting to stitch them back together. The persistent pain from my tooth kept me awake long enough for me to acquire some essential basic skills! At this time I was one of four consultant paediatric urologists at the Manchester Children’s Hospital. As a result of the tragic loss of my dear colleague Shanker, I had now reluctantly inherited the onus of developing Laparoscopic Urology within our Unit. After one year of intensive training in laparoscopic surgery in Australia, Shanker obtained the necessary funding for instrumentation and equipment, and had set up the service. For the previous 6 months he had been performing about one laparoscopic removal of damaged kidney every 2 weeks. Before his tragic accident Shanker had planned to go to Leeds for the advanced laparoscopic urology course to present new aspects to laparoscopic surgical technique. Now, there were patients, already listed for laparoscopic removal of a troublesome or irreversibly damaged kidney and no surgeon to do the operations! The next on the list was an eighteen month old child troubled with urine infections whose mother was a major fund raiser for our laparoscopy service. Postponing the operations was not a good option, neither was referral to another of the few paediatric laparoscopic centres in the country since this would involve delay in treatment for these children. The situation was openly and frankly discussed with the children’s parents who were given the option of ‘open’ surgery or of an attempt at laparoscopic surgery with the option of conversion in the event of any concerns during operation. They indicated their preference for participation in the development of experience with the laparoscopic approach in Manchester and were not averse to conversion to open technique if necessary. I decided to accept the challenge of achieving competence in laparoscopic nephrectomy within the space of 10 days. I wasn’t a stranger to such challenges. Rewinding the clock by 12 years, I was working as the senior resident at a thoracic surgery unit in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Wimal, a long-term patient in the thoracic unit, was a 20 year old farmer from a rural idyllic village in the North

4

Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem

Central Province of the country. He was the breadwinner of the family and he had 4 much younger siblings. One scorching day, while working in the fields, he went into a hut for a drink of water. After one gulp from the bottle he felt a severe burning sensation inside his chest and realized that he had accidentally drunk a caustic solution that was also stored inside the hut. As a result of the severe chemical burn to his gullet he became very ill and required intensive care management. He was unable to swallow and had to be fed via a tube passed into his stomach. His gullet eventually healed with a significant narrowing- a stricture had developed. He had frequent dilatations of the stricture by the senior thoracic surgeon, but to no avail. Replacement of the whole of his gullet had to be considered to allow him to get back home and also to remove the future risk of malignancy in the burned tissue. Mr Alwis, the thoracic surgeon, indicated that he required an experienced abdominal surgeon with whom he could jointly undertake the gullet replacement operation. Heavy work load and other commitment made it difficult to find an abdominal surgeon and I eventually volunteered:

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

“I’ve seen and assisted for this operation once before, and I think that I can do it”.

This was definitely the culture of training in that era- ‘see one, assist one, do one!’. I studied the operative surgery books and the notes that I had made about the operation, and then went ahead with the operation. I prepared the loop of bowel intended as the new gullet and the thoracic surgeon removed the damaged tissue and placed the new segment in position between the throat and the stomach. Wimal made an excellent recovery and, within 3 weeks, eating normally, he was able to go back to his village and to his work. Fast forward 12 years, and once again I was faced with a similar decision - to do an operation that I wasn’t much familiar with. Every surgeon faces such situations. Indeed there has to be a first time for everything. Only this time I was going to have to do it alone from the beginning to the end, with no one to guide me or take over in case of difficulty. I had to be my own mentor and guide. I worked extremely hard. I read the standard textbooks and journal articles about the anatomy, the laparoscopic technique and the potential problems. I spoke to another paediatric surgical consultant who was doing such procedures in a different part of the country. The 3-day advanced course in Leeds was held at just the right time and it was extremely helpful. I practiced for hours on the trainer to acquire the essential laparoscopic skills. I believed that I could do it. I had a great desire to learn and it was a positive challenge to learn the procedure. I wanted to do it very well, to the best of my ability The operation was a success. There were no surprises and all was as I had prepared for and expected. It took quite a long time to do and I found it to be a very tiring experience. There were no intra-operative problems or complications and the patient made an excellent recovery. This and subsequent operations were always followed by careful and critical analysis and many lessons were learnt. Within a short while, I could clearly say that I felt confident to undertake laparoscopic nephrectomy. This gave me the will and confidence to steadily take on increasingly more complex procedures. Each time I would prepare carefully by reading about the procedures, practicing the techniques on the simulator, speaking to other experienced surgeons and sometimes travelling to see them operate. I was surprised by how quickly all the operations could be mastered by concentrated effort and great attention to the learning process.

Analysis of Mentee Factors in Learning Minimal Access …

5

After a while, I was very keen to teach the technique to my trainees. I expected a short learning curve as I could clearly demonstrate the optimum technique to them, including all the tricks that I learned over time, and I would be there to assist and guide them. But it was not to be and that took me by surprise. There were trainees at different stages of paediatric surgical training from year one to consultant level and with different degrees of laparoscopic experience. It was disappointing to see senior trainees and those with significant laparoscopic experience struggling to do laparoscopic nephrectomy procedures, which seemed quite straightforward to me and it led to the following study.

The Study The Manchester Children’s Hospital in the United Kingdom caters for a population of >4.8 million. Over 50 laparoscopic renal ablative procedures (removing a kidney and its ureter) are performed annually by or under the supervision of one urologist[1], providing trainees with a one-to-one intensive exposure. Retrospective review analysed trainee specific factors that might influence the speed of training.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Method All the laparoscopic nephrectomies and nephro-ureterectomies done from March 2004 to February 2008 were included. The trainees worked with the author for an average of 6 months. Data were obtained from detailed prospective records that included the number of years in surgery(6 years), the extent of previous experience in laparoscopic surgery(40cases), and ‘subjective assessment of the effort made by trainee in preparation for any operation’ (poor, fair, good). The main criterion used to compare the trainees was ‘the number of cases assisted before performing a major part of the first procedure’. The amount of dissection performed by the trainee, their confidence and competence, and the complications encountered were also recorded. Unavoidably some of the criteria were subjective. Results There were 223 laparoscopic renal procedures. Major procedures such as heminephrectomies, pyeloplasties and adrenal surgery were excluded and only the 181 nephrectomies and nephroureterectomies were assessed. There were 8 trainees who assisted in 107(59%) procedures and actually performed a major part in 20(11%) procedures. The number of cases that a trainee assisted before performing a first procedure ranged widely from 3 to 20. Interestingly, this did not correlate positively with the number of years in surgery and neither with the extent of previous experience in laparoscopic surgery. Preparation and application to the procedure seemed to be the most important criterion. Conclusion All trainees seemed to require a much longer period of observation and assisting at laparoscopic procedures before they were able to undertake procedures themselves. However, those who performed the procedure sooner, had prepared themselves mentally and practically for the task. They observed and assisted keenly, questioning principles and actual practice.

6

Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem

They had read about the condition and the surgical technique and were more aware of possible pitfalls and complications.

Learning to Perform a New Operation

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Surgical operations can be broadly classified as diagnostic, ablative, and reconstructive. Laparoscopy is commonly used for diagnostic and ablative procedures. Examples of ablative surgery include appendicectomy, cholecystectomy and nephrectomy. The abnormal/diseased organ is clearly identified, separated from adjacent structures without causing any damage, the organ’s blood supply is carefully controlled and it is removed intact without spillage of its contents. The surgical steps are straightforward and there are clear textbook descriptions providing the trainee with an account of relevant anatomy, pathology, potential pitfalls and complications, and how to avoid them or manage them. Most of the surgical skills used in ‘open’ operations, such as dissection of tissues, controlling blood vessels and dealing with bleeding are transferable to other ‘open’ operations as also to laparoscopic surgery. Similarly specific laparoscopic skills, such as establishing a space to carry out the dissection, positioning ports for laparoscopic instruments, and manipulating the instruments are also transferable to other laparoscopic procedures. Therefore, it is justifiable to expect that those with prior surgical and laparoscopic experience would learn to perform a new laparoscopic operation faster. However, a greater number of years in surgery does not necessarily translate into greater surgical skills. The same relates to the number of laparoscopic operations with which a surgeon may have already been involved. This study highlighted that more experience did not necessarily mean faster learning. Prior experience arms the trainee with know-how and skills to deal with similarities in surgical procedures, but differences require specific preparation and understanding by the trainee. This would seem to explain why those who prepared for the procedure did better than some experienced trainees. On the other hand the trainer might have unintentionally favoured the more enthusiastic trainee, opening up the potential impact of the ‘mentor-mentee relationship’. ‘Specific preparation’ is driven by the trainee’s desire to learn and this involves obtaining relevant theoretical knowledge and practical skills. In my situation a lack of other surgeons created a ‘need to learn’.

The Desire to Learn and the Need to Learn Most learning is driven by a positive desire to achieve rather than by compulsion. It is often a response to a desire to conform with peers and to be ‘acceptable’. Thus even an unpleasant event e.g. a child injuring himself when learning to ride a bicycle, does not inhibit the desire to learn and to achieve. It seems that the yearning, the great desire to learn, is one of the most important ingredients for successful learning. The person who is keener will work harder and is likely to learn faster. In ‘Weekend’ magazine of The Guardian newspaper on the 3rd May 2008[4], Mary, the wife of Joe Burnside who had a heart transplant by surgeon Magdi Yacoub, gave an insight into the drive of a surgeon who pioneered major heart surgery in the United Kingdom. The

Analysis of Mentee Factors in Learning Minimal Access …

7

night Joe Burnside had his heart taken out at Harefield Hospital near London, surgeon Magdi Yacoub flew in from Liverpool by helicopter. Howling wind and rain made landing difficult, so Yacoub had to jump from the aircraft as it hovered outside the hospital, with Joe’s replacement heart, harvested from an 18yr old athlete, in a cardboard box clutched tightly to his chest. In 1979 the UK heart transplant program was still in its infancy and transplant surgeons were hungry to establish a transplant service. As Yacoub made his way to the operating theatre holding the precious box, Mary writes, “He was running with the box and then kicked his legs to one side in joy and I thought to myself: Why is this man carrying on like that?” That little joyful action captures the drive, the desire, and the yearning of that great surgeon. He had already been in action for several hours; travelling to Liverpool to harvest the heart and then journeying back to London by helicopter in high winds. But that was only the start! There was a long operation ahead to transplant the heart into Joe’s chest, meticulously joining up all the major blood vessels to the new heart and ensuring a smooth recovery. He was really enjoying what he was doing. His heart was in his work. Joe made a dramatic recovery and became a different man, full of energy. He celebrated 28 years with his new heart in February 2008 and is officially the longest-living heart transplant survivor in the UK. That miraculous transformation was possible because of the great desire, preparation and hard work of surgeon Yacoub. The history of surgery is inundated with such people with drive and yearning to perfect surgical techniques who willingly work hard to achieve their goal.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The Need to Learn - Creativity Similar to ’desire’, ‘need’, is also a major driving force stimulating thinking and creativity. Pioneering surgeons were forced to devise new operations because there were surgical problems that required more satisfactory solutions. Adrian Bianchi, a senior surgeon working at the Manchester Children’s Hospital in UK, was faced with a difficult problem in 1995. He was in consultation with a young couple whose newborn baby girl was very sick with multiple congenital problems. Unfortunately genetic factors determined that she would die in a few days. Although accepting of the inevitable the parents were quite distressed by the sight of their little girl’s abdomen. She had a condition known as ‘gastroschisis’ where most of the bowel extrudes from the umbilical area such that the baby looks eviscerated. This is an ugly and unhappy sight in particular for laypersons and parents. Traditional management dictated that the child be given a general anaesthetic for return of the bowel into the abdominal space. This was major surgery for a small child and this baby was definitely not up for it. No anaesthetist was going to anaesthetize her as there was no hope of recovery. But, the parents were desperate. They wanted her to look normal with a normal belly, not with a tangled mass of bowels popping out of it. More especially they wanted to hold her, to hug her and to comfort her as they would a normal child. This was the challenge that Bianchi was faced with. He understood and sympathized with them in their desperation. “Let us try to do it without any anaesthesia in the neonatal ward itself. I will gently push the bowel loops through the small defect into the abdomen without upsetting or

8

Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem

hurting the baby. I will take my time and do it slowly. If there is any difficulty or if the baby gets distressed, I will pause for some time, but I’ll persevere. Let’s do it”, he said. All the monitoring equipment was set up and the staff got ready to deal with any crisis. He started replacing the bowel loops, so very slowly, and the baby seemed to tolerate it well. Steadily more and more loops were replaced into the abdominal cavity until all were in and the hole in the abdomen was closed. The baby now looked relatively normal without even a surgical scar to show for the procedure. The parents were thrilled when they were given their baby to hold without fear of causing her pain or injury. There was disbelief and joy at the same time. It could be done! All the bowel loops could be pushed in. They could hug, cuddle and comfort their sweet little girl for those few hours before they would lose her for ever. It was a great discovery. The traditional operation for ‘gastroschisis’, generally, makes the babies quite ill for several days, due to the anaesthetic and surgical trauma. But not this new method, which is done on the neonatal ward itself, without anaesthetic in a child who was awake and participated with the surgeon in the surgical event. This was reported in the medical literature and surgeons far and away started doing it such that it has become recognized and widely practiced. I was practicing in Sri Lanka at the time and I had a very ill baby with a similar problem, who was not fit to undergo anaesthesia. The operation described by surgeon Bianchi was my only option and I performed it in the way he described. It was a success and the baby made an excellent recovery. ‘Need’ is a powerful driving force for creativity and learning. There are numerous stories about surgeons carrying out operations of which they have limited or no experience. Such instances are common on the battlefield, but also happen in operating theatres all over the world, largely determined by the needs of the patients and the will and enterprise of the surgeon towards making a real difference for their patients. In general, surgeons do not undertake new and unfamiliar operations lightly. They weigh the advantages and disadvantages, consider the potential problems and complications, and assess the potential benefit when compared to other surgical and non-surgical options. Once they are convinced of the suitability of the procedure, they make every attempt to hone their skills towards the best possible outcome.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The Importance of Knowledge Riding a bicycle, is largely a skill, but driving is a more complex task requiring both skills and substantial knowledge about ‘equipment’, rules of the road, the law etc. More complex tasks therefore involve a greater input and commitment. Some people have natural abilities and there are different styles of learning, but one factor that is common to those who do well in any task is the possession of in depth knowledge about that task. I clearly remember at the beginning of my medical course in 1981, when I was exposed to dissections of the human body and to amazing human anatomy. I went to the anatomy block to meet the professors and make my first acquaintance with ‘our body’. This tall majestic building contained long corridors with laboratories on either side containing formalin baths to keep the bodies from rotting, and theatre-style seminar rooms with benches stacked in ascending rows to allow every person a view of the centre of the room with its metal table on which lay a dead body. We all filed into one of these seminar rooms and took our positions in the benches. We were instructed, within an 18 month period, to learn and to

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Mentee Factors in Learning Minimal Access …

9

familiarize ourselves with the anatomy of the whole human body through appropriate meticulous dissections as described in the ‘Cunningham’s Anatomy’. I loved the dissections and volunteered for most of the cutting on our ‘body’. It wasn’t difficult to find the various muscles as these were obvious. However finding all the branches of blood vessels and nerves was quite a different matter and not too infrequently, I would miss some vital structure. Raveen, another member of our group, was nicknamed the ‘brains’ because in addition to our basic text he made extensive notes and summaries from a heavier textbook called ‘Gray’s Anatomy’. He had a knack for assisting us out of any difficulty that we encountered and would annunciate the ‘relations’ of a body structure such that it then became more obvious to us. Clearly good hand skills at dissection needed to be backed up by a mental map of the anatomy that could only be acquired by reading and meticulous observation. Absolute preparation was the key to success in anatomical dissection, and even more so when undertaking surgery on a live patient. Dr Yoheswaran, an eminent surgeon, was greatly respected and loved by his patients, by ward and theatre staff and by his trainees. He was meticulous and it was highly unusual for him to encounter problems, which in any event he knew how to handle confidently. Everyone knew that even though he had performed a procedure often, he would still consult his anatomy book and surgical text prior to commencing a major procedure. He would locate and control even small blood vessels thereby reducing blood loss and he would preserve nerve branches wherever possible so as to preserve tissues in the best state for healing, to avoid unnecessary complications, and for a return to normality. Most intra-operative complications relate to poor surgical technique, which in turn are the result of inadequate understanding and poor skills. It is therefore vital that the surgeon has an excellent grasp of the surgical anatomy of the operative site and of alternative surgical approaches and techniques relevant to the surgical problem. Newer techniques not as yet in the textbooks are to be found in surgical journals and it is always best to find the original descriptions, since these often give details of the author’s thinking process, the nature of the problem requiring a solution and an unadulterated description of the surgical technique. The aim is to understand the principles behind actual surgical practice and not simply to attempt to copy the steps of the operation. This understanding and knowledge would help the surgeon to deal with slight variations of anatomy and pathology in the early stages of learning and would enable him to take on more complex problems later on. In addition, it is vital to know about the patient and his problem in some detail because every patient is an individual with a unique problem. Thus the surgical technique for a ‘laparoscopic nephrectomy’ would vary with the age and size of the patient, the size and position of the kidney and the nature of the pathology. A trainee who is keen to learn would give due consideration to all of this information and set himself a clear and well developed plan. In addition to reading and other self tuition, discussion with an experienced mentor is invaluable for understanding and retention of knowledge. Observing and assisting the mentor and recording operative detail in written and diagrammatic form would also help the mentee preparing for his/her first operation. Furthermore, rehearsing the procedure mentally prior to the actual operation is highly recommended.

10

Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem

ACQUISITION OF SURGICAL SKILLS The Need for Practice The practice of surgical training at the University Hospital in Minneapolis, in the United States in 1950s and 1960s was to perform surgery on humans during the day and practice surgical procedures on animals in the evenings[5]. Surgeons quickly became familiar with intricate specialist skills and they were able to perform the first open heart surgery under hypothermia in 5 minutes! Five minutes was all that was required from closing off the blood flow from the heart to make an opening in the heart, to find and repair the hole between two chambers of the heart, to close off the opening made in the heart and to finally re-establish the circulation. In ‘King of Hearts’ G. Wayne Miller gives an excellent account of the surgeon C. Walton Lillehei, the maverick who pioneered open heart surgery. With his expertly trained team he introduced number of new surgical procedures and major innovations to facilitate heart surgery such as the ‘pump’ for heart-lung by-pass surgery and the ‘pacemaker’. Repeated and painstaking animal experimentation helped him and his team to become familiar with the anatomy of the heart and the new surgical interventions well before they applied them to patients. However, animal experimentation is not always appropriate or indeed practical. Nowadays, in training for ‘open’ surgery, surgeons practice their craft almost entirely on their patients starting with simple tasks under supervision and gradually progressing to more complex procedures entirely on their own. For each and every operation, the trainee learns to undertake the operation in a stepwise manner, observing and assisting for quite a while and then learning to do smaller parts of the operation before finally doing the whole operation. In a surgical unit, having a high case load of ‘open’ operations, this seems to be an acceptable method of providing training. However, it may not be appropriate to training in laparoscopic surgery, because most surgical units do not have a high case load of laparoscopic operations and also due to the specific limitations and challenges in laparoscopic surgery.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Acquision of Minimal Invasive Surgical Skills There are major differences between open and minimal invasive surgery (MIS) in their performance. In an open abdominal operation, the access is wide and the surgeon simultaneously observes his/her hands, the instruments, and the operative field. In MIS, an image of the operating environment is obtained by inserting an endoscopic camera into the body cavity, which is displayed on a video monitor. The surgeon views his/her operating environment indirectly and performs the surgical tasks bimanually using laparoscopic instruments extended into the patients. Changes in the laparoscopic image views are controlled by an assistant. This particular setup, poses many limitations and challenges to the trainee surgeon as follows[6]: • •

The challenge to elicit information about the three dimensional operation field from a two dimensional image seen on a monitor The challenge to acquire hand-eye coordination to perform the surgical procedure

Analysis of Mentee Factors in Learning Minimal Access … •

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

•

11

The ability to overcome the limitations imposed by the reduced degrees of freedom due to fixed instrument positions and impaired manoeuvring ability of single hinged instruments The ability to use dominant and non-dominant hands equally well

Consider the process of learning to ride a bicycle. My elder daughter got a tricycle for her first birthday from her grandmother and she practically lived on it, riding it everywhere. Later on, she tried to ride a bicycle, but wobbled and crashed a few times, and was distraught. I explained that she only had to learn to balance, but this eluded her because she couldn’t teach it to herself the way she learnt to peddle, turn and break the tricycle. Stabilizers helped her to use the bicycle and with time facilitated the acquisition of ‘balance’. Consider the process of learning to drive a car. The driver can actively learn to use the steering wheel, handbrake, gears, peddles, mirrors and other controls. All of this on its own is insufficient and must be integrated with an awareness of the external environment. The driver needs to know, the position and movements of pedestrians and other vehicles, indeed of events occurring all around him. This must then be rapidly analysed and processed by the brain for the driver to navigate a safe course at an appropriate speed. Until the driver acquires all of these skills and integrates them with spatial awareness it is necessary for him to practice under the supervision of a driving instructor who acts as a ‘stabilizer’ preventing ‘crashes’. There are similarities here to learning laparoscopic surgery. Acquisition of ‘balance’ in riding and ‘awareness’ in driving, is comparable to achieving ‘hand-eye co-ordination’ in laparoscopic surgery. Inserting ports into the abdomen, getting instruments in through the ports and using telescope for diagnostic work could be learned quickly. But it takes time and practice to acquire the skills of orientation and depth perception to allow the operator to convert a two-dimensional image seen on a monitor to a three-dimensional concept necessary for work inside the abdomen. This is called hand-eye co-ordination and it requires visiospatial translation and perception that are acquired skills rather than taught. This acquisition happens automatically at a psycho-motor level as lot of time is spent manipulating instruments in a laparoscopy set up. A high degree of bi-manual dexterity and intensive active learning is required for laparoscopic suturing and knotting. A study by Gupta et al showed that it takes 30-40 hours of suturing practice and 10-20 hours of writing with the left hand to perform laparoscopic knots competently[7]. Trainee surgeons tend to use the dominant hand mostly rather than perform two-hand dissections. I intentionally performed most of the day to day tasks and laparoscopic drills with the left hand during early stages of my training to overcome this. As the ports are in fixed positions dictating the direction of approach of instruments to the tissues, it is essential to learn to perform any task with either hand. Through basic and advanced courses trainees learn the basic skills of handling instruments, dissecting tissues, suturing and knotting. However no course will make a master surgeon out of a surgical trainee, and such teaching sessions are designed to provide guidance and incentive by passing on proven knowledge and skills. As these courses are not sufficient to provide the necessary coordination and skills for laparoscopic surgery, it is vital for trainees to work on simulators. If there is no ready access to a simulator at work, a simple laparoscopic training simulator could be set up at home using a box with a camcorder on the top to function as a camera, which is connected to a television to simulate an actual operative setup. Training materials are

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

12

Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem

kept inside the box and these are manipulated by two instruments passed into the box while looking at the images on the television monitor. I used this type of a home-made simulator extensively in all stages of my laparoscopic training. It has been shown that motivated trainees could acquire the appropriate skills rapidly with regular practice on such simulators[8]. Various interesting drills could be practiced in these and one of the best drills to be performed is stitching as this requires deliberate and precise movements in picking the thread and the needle and in knotting. These drills would help the trainee acquire visio-spatial translation and perception with time. In surgical units, where laparoscopic operations are not performed regularly, it makes sense to train in laparoscopic simulators, so that hand-eye coordination, depth perception and bi-manual dexterity could be acquired prior to performing actual operations. Surgeons who are motivated to become skilled in laparoscopic surgery, understands the need for such practice. My own experience confirms the need for application, hard work and sacrifice to achieving the necessary level of ability and awareness. When eventually such skills become automatic and second nature, it is appropriate to progress to work with patients. It has been shown that repetitive deliberate practice of a skill moves it into long-term memory where it is embedded, integrated, retained, and easily recalled. In fact, core technical skills, once mastered, become automatically available when called upon. The advantage of specific preparation compared to prior surgical experience was clearly shown in a study performed at the University of Texas Health Science Centre at San Antonio, Texas, USA[9]. Simulators were used to train 11 fourth-year medical students with no previous suturing experience to perform intracorporeal suturing and to successfully tie a freehand intracorporeal knot. Students' skills were assessed by the performance of the fundal suturing portion of a Nissen fundoplication in a porcine model. Their operative performance was evaluated for time, needle manipulations, and total errors. Results were compared to those of 11 senior-level surgery residents performing the same task. The study concluded that trainees could learn advanced technical skills such as laparoscopic suturing and knot tying by using simulation exclusively. The trainees and senior level surgery residents had a similar number of needle manipulations. Therefore, it appears, that even a novice could overcome the limitations of laparoscopic surgery by adequate, specific and well-directed training. This fact is of utmost importance in paediatric surgery and in adult urology, where trainees are exposed to laparoscopic surgery for short periods only; thereby, limiting the time available for slow, step-wise and gradual learning. It shows that by mastering the skills in advance in a simulator supported by appropriate theoretical knowledge, the trainee might be able to undertake the laparoscopic procedures earlier in the laparoscopic surgery placement, so that by the time they rotate to another placement they would have had enough practice, with or without supervision, to become competent and confident. This practice would essentially be like ‘See one, Assist one, Do one’ philosophy and studying of unedited footage of video-recordings would greatly enhance the ‘See one’ step of the philosophy. Those who practiced that philosophy were prepared to perform procedures by thorough study and practice of skills. As trainees, they took on the ownership of their training experience and became self mentors through reflection, deliberation and practice. They were driven by their great desire to learn and strive for excellence, believing in the value of and the need for learning. Because of the limited opportunity to learn, the harder the trainee would have to practice and similar to any other task requiring skill, there are no short-cuts to success in laparoscopy

Analysis of Mentee Factors in Learning Minimal Access …

13

surgery. Jack London, a literary genius in the early 20th century had this to say for impatient novices who were looking for short-cuts to success[10]. “You want some short cut that, I have no knowledge exists. If I could short-cut men to success, I’d quit writing for a living and go out and make millions at teaching it. I’d put all the universities out of business if I only had such a magic formula for short cutting.” He pointed out that each and everyone had to serve their apprenticeship of hard work and learning.

Mentor Despite the trainee’s motivation and hardwork a period of apprenticeship and supervision is essential to learning and safe practice. The relationship between mentor and mentee is a two way process that is influenced by each other’s attitude and behaviour and also by the working environment. As with Dr Lillehei at the University Hospital in Minneapolis, high quality mentoring was a major factor in leading to pioneering achievements[5]. Dr Lillehei, who was called ‘King of Hearts’ due to his pioneering heart surgery, always had a lot of trainees working with him in the theatres and in the laboratories. A great number went on to have illustrious careers all over the world, and one such was famous South African heart surgeon, Christian Barnard who performed the first heart transplant in 1967. Some years previously, following an unfortunate experience when a child died of bleeding on the operating table, Dr Barnard had considered giving up heart surgery. Dr Lillehei asked the distraught Barnard if he had learnt from this unfortunate experience. “Yes”, said Barnard who was surprised by the question. And what did you learn? Asked Lillehei. “That you control the bleeding with your finger” answered Barnard. “Okay”, said Lillehei. “You open the patient tomorrow”. Lillehei was a great mentor, whose support at a critical moment in Barnard’s residency kept him from abandoning open heart surgery altogether.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Learning is clearly a two way process; with the mentors teaching, encouraging, challenging and guiding, and the mentees preparing appropriately and willingly applying themselves to learning.

Conclusion There is always a learning curve in mastering any technique and this is steeper in laparoscopic surgery. It appears that trainees expect a long learning curve and that they keep their sights too low. However, analysing the progress made by different trainees in this study, it appears that thorough preparation and practice in the laboratory shorten the path to mastery. It has been particularly interesting to observe that the attitude of the young trainees who learnt faster was similar to that of the older generation of surgeons based on the philosophy of ‘See one, Assist one, Do one’. Determination, persistence and stubbornness are essential qualities

14

Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem

of great surgeons, but the greatest of all are the desire and willingness to listen and to learn, and the application to achieve perfection. Laparoscopic surgery has more technical challenges, but with adequate study and practice in simulators, those skills are still within easy reach of the determined trainee.

PART 2- TRAINEE’S PERSPECTIVE The advent of laparoscopic surgery has had a great impact on surgical training. The feasibility of minimal invasive surgery as an alternative to open surgery in most surgical procedures has enforced a need amongst surgical trainees to acquire laparoscopic skills. Patient choice of procedure has also re-enforced that need amongst surgical trainees.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Present Concepts The concept of mentoring was developed to ensure that trainees get adequate laparoscopic training during their training period. Several methods have been developed. These include intensive courses using mechanical simulators and animal models. These have become quite popular in recent times. Some of these courses offer training at several levels of competency. Several methods have been employed during these courses. Hedican and Nakada (11) recently published on the use of videotape mentoring and surgical simulation in laparoscopic courses. They concluded that laparoscopic simulators can improve not only the psychomotor skills needed to perform laparoscopy but also the intraoperative efficiency. In another research by Rassweiler et al (12), they concluded that mechanical simulators were important tools not only in training laparoscopic surgeons but also maintaining already acquired skills. A formal mentoring programme has also been implemented in some centers. Birch et al (13) analyzed the impact of a formal mentoring programme for laparoscopic surgery on surgeons’ practice and patient outcome. They demonstrated that a formal mentoring programme is an effective strategy for introducing advanced laparoscopic surgery into practice. Further research into the impact of comprehensive courses on surgeon practice has also been studied (14). The researchers found that attendees are more likely to introduce new laparoscopic techniques into their surgical practice after such courses. Similar results were reported by Pareek G et al (15). A 2004 survey of the Canadian Urologic Association members with regards the status of urologic laparoscopy showed that recent graduates were more likely to perform all types of laparoscopic procedures compared to older graduates (16). Advanced procedures were also performed more frequently by recent graduates. The most common method of acquiring laparoscopic skills was with animal laboratory experience. The survey also showed that a trip to a centre of excellence and training from an urologist at the same institution were commonly reported as methods of acquiring skills. However, 48.8% reported beginning laparoscopic procedures without a mentor. Marguet CG et al (17) examined the role of mentoring after hand assisted laparoscopic training for postgraduate urologists. They found that the majority (93%) of those mentored reported that they were still performing laparoscopic procedures at 6 months of follow up. However, only 44% of the surgeons who were not mentored were performing laparoscopy at 6 months. They concluded

Analysis of Mentee Factors in Learning Minimal Access …

15

that mentoring provides a useful adjunct to postgraduate urological training. Telementoring has also been a recent development where surgeons are supervised by more experienced laparoscopists via a telecommunications system. Micali S et al (18) found that international telementoring is a feasible technique that can enhance surgeon education and decrease the likelihood of complications attributable to inexperience with new operative techniques. A similar report by Moore RG et al (19) came to the same conclusion. The above publications highlight the importance of mentoring and laparoscopic courses in achieving competency in laparoscopic surgery. However there are practical problems at trainee level which most publications do not address. Most surgical trainees would attend at least 2 laparoscopic courses during their training period. During their training they would have been attached for a variable period of time in a laparoscopic unit. In the UK, such attachments are usually for a minimum of 6 months. Some centers have offered laparoscopic fellowships where senior trainees about to finish their specialty training are attached to a laparoscopic unit for a minimum of one year. In this section a trainee’s point of view will be presented. This trainee is a senior trainee and has been trained in 2 major laparoscopic centers in the UK. The problems and suggested solutions are highlighted.

Practical Problems Faced by Trainees Availability of Experienced Laparoscopic Surgeons in the Training Programme Whilst most centers now have dedicated laparoscopic surgeons, the level of experience of these surgeons is variable. Trainees who work for experienced laparoscopists are more likely to get to do more minimal invasive surgery than their counterparts who work for less experienced surgeons as these surgeons are still in the process of getting past their learning curve.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Availability of Adequate Theatre Time Procedures done by trainees usually take longer than those performed by trainers. This is also true in open surgery. However, length of time plays an important role as it affects anaesthesia and general theatre logistics and can cause considerable frustration amongst operating room staff. In many cases, these factors lead to a premature “take over” by the experienced surgeon with a resultant frustrating effect on the trainee. Trainee – Mentor Relationship Training in laparoscopic surgery is highly dependent on the trainee – mentor relationship. There are few laparoscopic trainers and in many cases a trainee is dependent on one trainer for his training and supervision. The case is not the same with training in open surgery where the trainee rotates through several instructors and the short comings of one instructor maybe compensated by others. Such luxury is mostly unavailable in laparoscopic training. Thus if the trainer – trainee relationship is not optimal, no matter how experienced the trainer may be, it seriously jeopardizes the trainee’s potential of acquiring adequate training. This leads into a vicious cycle as when the trainee finally qualifies, he is still to complete his learning curve which further jeopardizes new trainees working under his supervision.

16

Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem

Case Load Numbers play a pivotal role in attaining expertise in laparoscopic surgery. Trainees working in centers with high case loads are more likely to complete their learning curve faster than those working in centers with fewer numbers. Breaks in Training The present training schemes do not provide a continuation of laparoscopic training. Once a trainee finishes a particular 6 month attachment in a laparoscopic unit, it may take considerable time before the trainee gets a further opportunity in another unit. Unfortunately by that time, the trainee needs to refresh his previous skills and that considerably slows his progress.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Suggested Solutions Defined Training Programmes These should include the number of operations and their complexity that a trainee should perform before completing their training. Training programmes could be divided into two; a general training programme and a specialist training programme. The general training programme should be designed for trainees who need to acquire basic laparoscopic surgical skills for diagnostic purposes and minor procedures. The Specialist programme should be designed for trainees that wish to be full time laparoscopic surgeons. These should be in a designated fellowship programme and must be in centers with experienced laparoscopic surgeons to avoid potential “Trainer – trainee” competition for cases. It would also enhance the passing over of experience from trainer to trainee. A specific number of cases must be agreed upon and their complexity clearly defined before a trainee is certified as an independent laparoscopic surgeon. The current number of major procedures performed by trainees in major centers ranges between 10% - 20%. Most trainees feel this is inadequate. As a parallel for instance, in open surgery, senior trainees would be performing most of the major procedures under supervision prior to completing their training. The statistics do not show the same figures in laparoscopic training. Previously it was thought that the reason was that the trainers were themselves still in their learning curve. However, statistics show that even in centers where the lead laparoscopic surgeon has performed a particular laparoscopic procedure hundreds of times, the trainee case load is still a meager 10% - 20% of cases. Trainees often wonder how many procedures their trainers have to perform before handing over cases to them. It is clear that there is a lack of a systematic training in laparoscopic surgery as opposed to open surgery and this has to be addressed. The main aim of laparoscopic training is to produce a fully trained laparoscopic surgeon prior to his appointment as a consultant. This implies that the greater part of his learning curve would have been overcome by the time he finishes his training. Training the Trainer Courses To improve the trainee – mentor relationship, trainers must be trained on the various methods of training their trainees. The final goal is to achieve confident and competent laparoscopic surgeons who in turn will provide optimum training for future trainees. Such

Analysis of Mentee Factors in Learning Minimal Access …

17

courses should be focused on the various coaching skills needed to achieve the required standards of a laparoscopic trainer. These skills include interpersonal and communications skills as well as team working strategies. Trainers should be taught how to assess the development of their trainees objectively and identify reasonable and practical targets for their trainees. Trainers should also be taught to identify the specific needs of their juniors and must strive to provide the necessary set up in their institutions to provide an optimal atmosphere for training. Trainers should also be taught on the various methods of inculcating motivation and interest in their juniors. Most specialists in medicine today would have been influenced by a particular trainer in their field at some point during their junior training. The author himself never thought of being a paediatric surgeon but was greatly motivated to take up paediatric surgery whilst on ward rounds as a first year resident in a paediatric surgical unit headed by a consultant paediatric surgeon who successfully motivated his trainees.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Adequate Equipment In future it may be possible to centralize laparoscopic training to certain centers that can provide adequate facilities in training laparoscopic surgeons. Such centers should be equipped with advanced laparoscopic equipment and up to date facilities. Unfortunately this is not always the case in the UK. The author is aware of centers in Britain that have the latest equipment in laparoscopic surgery supported by training equipment for the trainees. Some of these centers however do not have a high case load in laparoscopy for the simple fact that their service population is small. On the other hand, the author is aware of centers in the UK that have a high laparoscopic case load with highly experienced laparoscopic surgeons but the advent of new equipment is slow and trainees who rotate to such centers from well equipped institutions find themselves starting from the basic training of using the “old equipment”. This can be one of the most frustrating moments for an otherwise experienced trainee. As such two suggestions are put forward here. Centers with a high case load and experienced surgeons should be refurbished with the latest equipment for service and training. If the management in such institutions is incapable of providing such facilities, then centers who already have a modern set up but are handicapped due to small service populations should be allowed to expand their population area to increase the case load status. Adequate Training Time Depending on the level of the trainee, selected cases with adequate training time should be provided in centers with a laparoscopic training program. It is possible to apply the principle of “trainee lists” already in use in training in open surgery to laparoscopic surgery. In the UK, most general surgical institutions have the so-called “Senior House Officer (SHO) lists” and “Specialist Registrar lists” for training in open general surgery. These lists are targeted at the trainees. They are usually simple cases and there is adequate theatre time. The Consultant is usually present to assist the trainee perform the cases. Most of us as junior trainees looked forward to those lists as we regarded them as “ours” and we did not have the pressure of time on us. Unfortunately in all centers that the author has worked in – there are no designated trainee lists for Laparoscopic surgery and trainees get to perform bits and pieces of laparoscopic procedures “as they move along”. This haphazard way of training is in great need of development and we can certainly “borrow a leaf” from the open surgical training programs.

18

Supul Hennayake and Basem Kaleem

Training Courses and Simulators These should be easily available to all trainees. It is proposed that centers with high case load of laparoscopic procedures should have a designated laboratory centre with mechanical simulators. Designated teaching by mentors on a regular basis would as already discussed facilitate a faster rise on the learning curve and improve intraoperative performance. Virtual simulators are excellent but expensive. However, in the long run, the more the trainee practices, the faster he can perform the procedure in real life and this would in turn reduce the theatre operating time and cut down costs. The principle of “invest more, get more” can be applied to training in laparoscopic surgery. Conclusions This view point highlights that the success of laparoscopic mentoring is dependent on various factors. These factors have to be taken into consideration when setting up a training scheme. It is hoped that laparoscopic training and mentoring would improve in the coming years with increased patient choice and expectations.

REFERENCES

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

[1]

Hennayake, S; Jayawardhena, D; Kumara, S; Sakelaris, D. Training in laparoscopic renal surgery, in a few weeks of intense exposure. Journal of Pediatric Urology. August 2005 Vol. 1, Issue 4, Pages 295-299 [2] Jacobaeus HC. Uber die Moglichkeit, die Zystokipie bei Untersuchung seroser Hohulungen anzuwenden. Munch. Med. wochenschr 57:2090-2092, 1910 [3] E.J. Reddick and D.O. Olsen, "Laparoscopic laser cholecystectomy: a comparison with mini-lap cholecystectomy," Surg. Endosc, vol. 3, pp. 131-133, 1989. [4] Aitkenhead, D. At the cutting edge, The Guardian Weekend, London, 3rd May 2008. pp 28-33. [5] Miller, GW. King of Hearts, New York, Crown Publishers, 2000 [6] Breedveld P, Wentink M. Eye-hand coordination in laparoscopy - an overview of experiments and supporting aids. Minim. Invasiv. Ther, vol. 10, pp. 155-162, 2001. [7] Gupta, R ; Guillonneau, B ; Cathelineau, X; Baumert, H ; Vallencien, G. In Vitro Training Program to Improve Ambidextrous Skill and Reduce Physical Fatigue During Laparoscopic Surgery: Preliminary Experience. Journal of Endourology. June 1, 2003, 17(5): 323-325. [8] Griffin S, Kumar A, Burgess N, Donaldson P. Development of Laparoscopic Suturing Skills: A Prospective Trial. Journal of Endourology. February 1, 2006, 20(2): 144-148. [9] Van Sickle KR, Ritter EM, Smith CD. The pretrained novice: using simulation-based training to improve learning in the operating room. Surg. Innov. 2006 Sep;13(3):198204. [10] Walker DL. Jack London, No mentor but myself. New York/London. Kennikat Press Corp; 1979. [11] Hedican SP, Nakada SY. Videotape mentoring and surgical simulation in laparoscopic courses. J. Endourol. 2007 Mar;21(3):288-93

Analysis of Mentee Factors in Learning Minimal Access …

19

[12] Rassweiler J, Klein J, Teber D, Schulze M, Frede T. Mechanical simulators for training for laparoscopic surgery in urology. J. Endourol.. 2007 Mar;21(3):252-62 [13] Birch DW, Asiri AH, de Gara CJ. The impact of a formal mentoring program for minimally invasive surgery on surgeon practice and patient outcomes. Am. J. Surg. 2007 May;193(5):589-91; discussion 591-2 [14] Birch DW, Sample C, Gupta R. The impact of a comprehensive course in advanced minimal access surgery on surgeon practice. Can. J. Surg. 2007 Feb;50(1):9-12 [15] Pareek G, Hedican SP, Bishoff JT, Shichman SJ, Wolf JS Jr, Nakada SY. Survey from skills-based hands on learning courses demonstrates increased laparoscopic caseload and clinical laparoscopic suturing. Urology. 2005 Aug;66(2):271-3 [16] Pace KT, Ghiculete D, Harju M, Honey RJ. Status of urologic laparoscopy in 2004: a survey of CUA members. Can. J. Urol. 2006 Jun;13(3):3147-52 [17] Marguet CG, Young MD, L'Esperance JO, Tan YH, Ekeruo WO, Preminger GM, Albala DM. hand assisted laparoscopic training for postgraduate urologists: the role of mentoring. J. Urol. 2004 Jul;172(1):286-9 [18] Micali S, Virgili G, Vannozzi E, Grassi N, Jarrett TW, Bauer JJ, Vespasiani G, Kavoussi LR. Feasibility of telementoring between Baltimore (USA) and Rome (Italy): the first five cases. J. Endourol. 2000 Aug;14(6):493-6. [19] Moore RG, Adams JB, Partin AW, Docimo SG, Kavoussi LR. Tele mentoring of laparoscopic procedures: initial clinical experience. Surg. Endosc. 1996 Feb;10(2):10710

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Reviewed by Mr Adrian Bianchi Consultant Paediatric Surgeon Royal Manchester children’s Hospital Hospital Road, Manchester M27 4HA, United Kingdom

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 2

MENTORING IN CONTEXT: A SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS Steve McDonald1, Lance D. Erickson2 and Derek Gatlin3∗ 1. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA 2. Brigham Young University< Provo, UT, USA 3. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

ABSTRACT

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Research on mentoring comes from a variety of disciplines and perspectives that are used to examine mentoring in specific social environments (e.g., adolescent mentoring, educational mentoring, workplace mentoring). In this chapter, we promote the need to synthesize the insights from each of these distinct research traditions by drawing from a sociological approach to understanding a lifetime of interdependent mentoring relationships. This involves situating mentoring within the context of the life course and thinking more broadly about the role that mentoring plays in society. We offer a series of specific recommendations for how researchers might expand scientific understanding by contextualizing mentoring relationships.

INTRODUCTION Mentoring research has undergone a tremendous expansion. Figure 1 illustrates the change over time in research articles with the keyword “mentor*” from 1977-2007 (drawn from the Social Science Citation Index). The trend shows a dramatic increase in the number of articles written in the last 20 years. During this time, scholars from a variety of disciplines have published a number of reviews of the mentoring research literature (Hamilton and Darling, 1989; Jacobi, 1991; Noe, 1988; Ragins, 1999), meta-analyses (Allen et al., 2004; ∗

The first two authors contributed equally to this chapter. Please direct correspondence to Steve McDonald ([email protected]), Box 8107, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8107.

22

Steve McDonald, Lance D. Erickson and Derek Gatlin

DuBois et al., 2002), special issues of journals (Rhodes et al., 2002; Russell and Adams, 1997) and handbooks (Allen and Eby, 2007; DuBois and Karcher, 2005; Ragins and Kram, 2007). Scholarship on mentoring covers a broad range of substantive topics. Figure 2 shows the distribution of subjects in the social sciences covered by mentoring research over the last 30 years. Three areas stand out as the primary outlets for research on mentoring: psychology, education, and business.1 The psychological literature focuses on community-based mentoring in adolescence. Studies in education examine how teachers mentor students in educational settings. Research in management and business administration has explored the process and effectiveness of mentoring early in the work career within business organizations. Together, these three subject areas account for close to two-thirds of all social science research on mentoring. The scope of the mentoring literature is a testament to the salience of mentoring relationships in many spheres of social life. Unfortunately, scholarship on mentoring has remained more multidisciplinary than interdisciplinary. The distinct literatures focus on different periods of life and different domains of functioning. Consequently, these traditions have tended to operate as intellectual silos. Mentoring researchers have built a wealth of theoretical and empirical insights, but cross-fertilization of the findings and perspectives across the various research domains is difficult to identify. 300

250

200

150

100

07 20

05 20

03 20

01 20

99 19

97 19

95 19

93 19

91 19

89 19

87 19

85 19

83 19

81 19

79 19

77

0

19

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

50

Source: Social Science Citation Index. Figure 1. Number of mentoring articles, 1977-2007.

1

A substantial set of mentoring research exists in the medical field and nursing in particular. These articles are not included as part of the discussion because these topics are peripheral to the core social science disciplines. Mentoring articles from the physical sciences (such as engineering, chemistry, and biology) were also excluded.

Mentoring in Context: A Sociological Approach to the Study …

23

Psychology Education Business Interdisc. Soc. Science Info/Computer Science Gerontology Leisure Family/Women's Studies Social Work Law Philosophy/Humanities Political Science Geography/Planning Sociology Economics History Communication Environmental Studies Anthropology

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Criminology 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Source: SSCI. Figure 2. Distribution of subject areas covered by mentoring articles.

The primary goal of this essay is not to review these literatures, but rather to identify potential areas for synthesis and expansion. In doing so, we advance a sociological perspective on mentoring as a way of developing a more holistic understanding of mentoring processes and outcomes across multiple contexts. More specifically, we direct attention to sociological theories, concepts, methods, and substantive issues that might facilitate the development of linkages between mentoring literatures.

24

Steve McDonald, Lance D. Erickson and Derek Gatlin

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

LIFE COURSE PERSPECTIVE The life course perspective offers a useful framework for understanding the role of mentors in the lives of youth. This approach has been explicated through the work of Glen Elder and colleagues (see Elder, 1994; Elder and Shanahan, 2006) and is common in sociological research on aging and the family (e.g., MacMillan and Copher, 2005; Settersten, 2006). Below we outline some of the general principles of the life course. First and foremost, a life course approach recognizes that aging is a life-long process. Human development is not confined to the early decades of one’s life, nor is aging operative only for the aged. As such, mentoring processes are relevant for all phases of life. Moreover, aging processes are path dependent and cumulative in nature (Elder and Shanahan, 2006; O'Rand, 2006). Aging is manifest through life course trajectories—i.e., sequences of related events or experiences in individual lives—that set individuals on specific paths in life, ultimately structuring future opportunities and decision making. Second, life course research also highlights the role of agency in human development (Hitlin and Elder, 2007). Individuals construct their own life courses through the choices and actions they take within the opportunities and constraints of the social contexts in which they live. In doing so, individuals are capable of changing the trajectories that they are on. Distinct events in life that denote changes in life course trajectories are referred to as transitions. Any given transition in a person’s life—such as the development of a mentoring relationship— needs to be understood within the context of these broader life course trajectories. Third, the developmental impact of life transitions depends on timing (Elder and Shanahan, 2006). The establishment of mentoring relationships can be a life altering event when experienced at a pivotal time in a person’s life. For example, adolescence is a critical period in the life course, as young people exert greater control over their lives and take steps toward achieving their goals. Prior research has demonstrated the importance of mentoring during this stage in life (McDonald et al., 2007). Fourth, lives are lived interdependently. Individual opportunities are linked to the fortunes of others. Mentors also have the potential for keeping individuals on the right path and for expanding opportunities. In some instances, mentors can keep protégés from reaching their full potential. Finally, life course research is sensitive to historical context (Elder, 1999). Individual biographies intersect with historical circumstances (Mills, 1959). People traverse life as part of a convoy of social relationships (Antonucci and Akiyama, 1987), with history making its own indelible mark on each cohort. Consequently, mentoring relationships can only be understood within historical context. As transitions to adulthood become increasingly variable (Shanahan, 2000) and working lives become increasingly contingent and tenuous (Kalleberg, 2000), mentoring relationships gain greater salience in people’s lives. In sum, the life course approach offers the promise of contextualizing mentoring relationships (cf., Hamilton and Hamilton, 2004). It directs attention to the linkages between mentoring relationships in multiple contexts. For example, how do mentoring relationships in one context (e.g., education) influence the chances of mentoring or effectiveness of mentoring in another context (e.g., employment)? Life course research on mentoring might also consider the connection between mentoring relationships across time. Does mentoring in adolescence lead to a lifetime of developmental relationships? Mentors should also be examined as part of a larger set of social relationships. Mentors serve as merely one set of social resources that

Mentoring in Context: A Sociological Approach to the Study …

25

individuals may draw upon. Understanding the processes and influence of mentoring requires attention not only to the mentoring relationship, but also to the broader constellation of available resources (Higgins and Thomas, 2001). Finally, life course research emphasizes the importance of historical context for understanding mentoring. What are the different forms that mentoring might take or the impact might mentoring have on protégés in distinct historical environments? Many of these issues will be revisited later in the chapter.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

FORMAL VERSUS INFORMAL MENTORING Understanding mentoring relationships in context requires that one distinguish between formal and informal mentoring relationships. Formal mentors are explicitly matched with protégés via some sort of organizational environment. These organizations therefore sanction and provide a context for the development of formal mentoring relationships. In the adolescent context, formal mentors are often adults that the staff of mentoring programs (e.g., Big Brothers Big Sisters) match with youth and then provide a venue and/or schedule for their interaction (Rhodes, 2002). Formal mentoring is also a common feature in work organizations that link new hires to senior members of firms (Ragins et al., 2000). Educational organizations may also encourage formal mentoring by assigning students to faculty or administrators for one-on-one guidance and advice (Hurley and Lustbader, 1997). Formal mentoring may exceed the boundaries of traditional mentor-protégé relationships. For example, peer mentors are older students paired with younger students through school-based programs (Karcher, 2005; Linnehan, 2001), e-mentors interact primarily with their mentees electronically (Hamilton and Scandura, 2003), and group mentors interact in settings involving more than one youth (Hall, 2006). Much of the research on adolescent mentoring examines relationships with formal mentors. Fewer studies exist on informal mentoring—or naturally occurring mentoring—even though most youth report a relationship with an informal mentor (Beam et al., 2002; McDonald et al., 2007). Informal mentors encompass influential relationships with older individuals who are part of their naturally occurring social networks. They have been variously operationalized as important unrelated adults (Darling et al., 2003), individuals outside of the immediate family (Zimmerman et al., 2002), very important persons (Beam et al., 2002), or role models (Bryant and Zimmerman, 2003). Informal mentors may serve a variety of social roles—such as grandparents, friends, teachers, clergy, or supervisors. However, what distinguishes a teacher from a teacher mentor, for example, is that the mentor takes a special interest in the protégé and far exceeds the responsibilities of their specific social role. Mentors also fill a functional role for protégés. Prior research has identified three key mentoring functions: 1) the provision of guidance and advice, 2) the provision of emotional support, and 3) role modeling (Darling et al., 2003; Jacobi, 1991; Scandura, 1992). Much remains unknown about variation in the functions provided by and the relative effectiveness of formal and informal mentoring. Research on adolescent mentoring has tended to focus on formal mentoring programs. In the management literature, mentoring relationships have traditionally developed informally, though many formal mentoring programs have been implemented by work organizations (Ragins and Cotton, 1999). The formal/informal distinction is fuzzier in the educational context—since mentors serve a single

26

Steve McDonald, Lance D. Erickson and Derek Gatlin

social role (teacher), which leaves little room for differentiation—and is therefore rarely invoked. However, mentoring could have both formal and informal components in particular educational environments (e.g., graduate school). Overall, few comparisons of formal versus informal mentoring relationships have been undertaken (but see Chao et al., 1992; Ragins and Cotton, 1999; Ragins et al., 2000). Future research should explore in greater detail the similarities and differences between formal and informal mentoring relationships because of the different contexts in which these relationships develop and operate.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

SELECTION VERSUS CAUSATION Selection and causation are often pitted against each other as competing explanations for observed phenomenon. Typically, social scientists concern themselves with causal factors and attempt to obtain estimates of causal effects that are unpolluted by selection effects. For example, quasi-experimental methodologies in the study of mentoring program effectiveness (e.g., Tierney et al., 1995) are designed to eliminate the contagion of selection into experimental and control groups through randomization. Experimentation is obviously a foundational tool for isolating nomothetic causation. This is an essential endeavor, since selection effects can often be misconstrued as causation (cf., Mouw, 2006). However, life course researchers recognize that both causation and selection processes are important if the goal of research is to gain a holistic understanding of behavior over long periods of time (Caspi, 2004; George, 2003). Ignoring how mentoring relationships develop and which individuals develop them obscures an important part of a causal story of mentoring. Selection processes can undermine the overall effectiveness of mentoring. Prior research on naturally occurring mentoring relationships has found that youth who are most likely to need mentors are less likely to have them (Erickson et al., 2008). Consequently, the benefits of informal mentoring are largely confined to advantaged individuals. Selection can be a problem for formal mentoring programs as well. Future research needs to focus greater effort on identifying the extent to which these interventions are effectively targeting the most disadvantaged populations. Moreover, selection and causation processes can work in conjunction with one another. For example, in a study of the relationship between mentoring and employment (McDonald et al., 2007), we found that youth employment increases the opportunity for developing mentoring relationships by increasing the contact they have with potential mentors (Selection: employment mentors). At the same time, the guidance and advice provided by workrelated mentoring promotes attachment to the labor force and increases the odds of employment later in life (Causation: mentors employment). In this way, selection into social environments conducive to the formation of mentoring relationships can result in greater commitment to that environment. Each process is essential to the understanding of work-based mentoring. Future research on mentoring should explicitly model both processes and collect panel data in order to disentangle the issues of timing that may conflate selection with causation.

Mentoring in Context: A Sociological Approach to the Study …

27

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INEQUALITY A unique feature of sociological inquiry is that it has a long history of examining inequality. Research on mentoring would profit from efforts to understand the role that mentoring plays in reducing or perhaps even perpetuating social inequality. In some segments of the mentoring literature, issues of inequality have been largely ignored. When these issues have been addressed, biased sample selection serves as an impediment to understanding the role of mentoring in social inequality. Ironically, the problem of sample selection bias within the mentoring literature moves in opposite directions. Studies of mentoring in adolescence focus on disadvantaged populations, whereas studies of employment often focus on successful workers in professional and managerial occupations. Risk and resilience represents the most common approach taken from a developmental psychology standpoint. The essence of this perspective is that even in the face of serious threats to development (e.g., neighborhood disadvantage, childhood poverty, abuse, etc.), youth often are able to become competent, well-adjusted adults (Luthar et al., 2000; Masten, 2001). This approach is particularly relevant for studies of formal mentors considering youth mentoring programs are designed as interventions for those who experience significant risk for developmental difficulties. However, studies of informal mentoring have also frequently taken this perspective (e.g., Ahrens et al., 2008; Werner and Smith, 1982, 2001). Nonetheless, between 75 and 80 percent of all youth develop relationships with informal mentors (Beam et al., 2002; McDonald et al., 2007). On the one hand, research from the risk and resilience perspective demonstrates that mentoring improves functioning for disadvantaged youth. This implies that mentoring helps disadvantaged youth compensate for a lack of other resources from which to draw. On the other hand, sociological researchers have identified extensive patterns of “cumulative advantage” in society (DiPrete and Eirich, 2006; O'Rand, 1996), whereby advantaged individuals continually profit from selection into advantaged social milieus. Consequently, the inequality gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged expands as cohorts age. Following this argument, mentoring might be seen as a complementary resource which provides further advantage to those with a wealth of other resources. If advantaged individuals are more likely to have mentors or are more likely to benefit from their assistance, then informal mentoring may actually contribute to inequality (Erickson et al., 2008). By contrast, foundational research on mentoring in the management literature tended to focus on the role of career advice and sponsorship among high achievers in the business world (Levinson et al., 1978; Roche, 1979). Subsequent research, however, has frequently addressed issues related to inequality in access to and effectiveness of mentoring relationships (e.g., Dreher and Dougherty, 1997; Ragins, 1989). Nonetheless, this line of research remains subject to sample selection bias. First, respondents are selected on the basis of employment. The samples are therefore biased against individuals with discontinuous work histories (i.e., women and low-skill workers). Second, the emphasis on employment in white collar, professional, and managerial occupations limits the generalizability of the findings and masks the potential heterogeneity of mentoring processes across the occupational spectrum. Rather than targeting specific organizations and/or occupations, researchers need to focus on the entire working age population. This can be achieved by using nationally representative

28

Steve McDonald, Lance D. Erickson and Derek Gatlin

samples to question individuals about the mentoring that that they have received throughout their careers.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS The explicit focus on inequality in sociological research has led to the development of a variety of useful conceptual tools. Two such concepts—habitus and social capital—are particularly relevant for the study of mentoring because they highlight the ways that individuals draw from their cultural and social resources in order to survive and thrive in their social environments. Habitus. Pierre Bourdieu’s ideas of habitus and field (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992) provide a foundation for understanding if, when, and how mentors might provide youth with their particular needs (Colley, 2003). Habitus refers to the dispositions individuals develop in response to their experiences in life. The types of experiences individuals have depend on their position in various fields. A field represents the social environment in which an individual interacts with others, including social structure (e.g., institutions) and culture (e.g., values and beliefs). Within a particular field, some individuals occupy positions that grant them distinct advantages or power over others while some remain disadvantaged. For example, students in the school system (i.e., field) occupy different positions than administrators, teachers, staff members, as well as other students. Experiences within this field serve to shape student dispositions (i.e., habitus), which provides an orientation for future behavior in educational trajectories (e.g., Lucas and Berends, 2002). Both informal and formal mentors and their protégés interact within a field but bring with them a habitus that is a product of their previous life experiences. When a formal mentor is paired with a protégé, they engage in a field defined by the mentoring organization. Mentoring might be most helpful if homophily (i.e., social similarity) in habitus operates in the development of relationships, since this similarity would contribute to shared understanding. When mentor and protégé have developed their habituses in disparate fields, a protégé may misunderstand or even reject a mentor’s attempts to teach them useful skills. Or mentors may fail to provide the most helpful form of advice if they fail to identify the impediments faced by their protégés. Indeed, mentoring relationships that exist among people with same race or gender tend to result in more comprehensive support and better career outcomes than cross-race and cross-sex mentorships (Ragins, 1997). Conversely, mentors that are located in different fields are often the most helpful. Following the strength of weak ties theorem (Granovetter, 1973), connections with individuals that exist outside of close-knit social circles can provide access to non-redundant information and advice. The unique worldview of the mentor can add value to the life of their protégés by helping them to exceed common aspirations and to identify and carve out alternative paths toward successful lives. This type of mentoring is particularly important among individuals from disadvantaged social environments. Social capital. Social capital’s usefulness as a metaphor is demonstrated through its incredible proliferation throughout the social sciences. Based on citation counts from the Social Science Citation Index via Web of Science, social capital was cited as a keyword twice in 1991 compared to 397 times in 2007. The term has taken on a number of

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Mentoring in Context: A Sociological Approach to the Study …

29

conceptualizations, all of which share an emphasis on the properties of social relationships. As Portes (1998: 7) has noted, “Whereas [financial] capital is in people’s bank accounts and human capital is inside their heads, social capital inheres in the structure of their relationships.” Many have touted the norm-enforcement and social control functions that social capital may provide. Research on educational institutions has emphasized the importance of social capital as “intergenerational closure” (Coleman and Hoffer, 1987). In other words, the most successful students are those whose parents have greater awareness of their activities (Carbonaro, 1998; Sandefur et al., 2006). Parental surveillance helps keep youth “on the right track,” intervening prior to the experience of adverse risk events such as teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and other forms of deviance. For others (Bourdieu, 1986; Lin, 2001), social capital is considered to be a resource that individuals can appropriate in order to gain other kinds of resources. For example, individuals may draw on their social capital to receive help in school, to gain entry into an elite university, to find employment, or to simply help with daily tasks. Still others have focused on the extent of social capital at the community level of analysis (Putnam, 2002). The existence of tightly-knit communities based on strong social bonds can have important consequences for the activities of participants. The consequences of high levels of community social capital can be both positive and negative (Portes, 1998). For example, kin-based networks of social interaction can help individuals survive harsh urban environments by providing instrumental and social support (Stack, 1974). However, these strong tied networks can also isolate individuals from opportunities outside of the community and heavy-handed norm-enforcement can provide a serious disincentive to pursuing such opportunities (Portes, 1998). Mentoring research has tended to highlight only a small part of the social capital functions that can be provided by mentors. First, research in the risk and resilience tradition (e.g., Werner and Smith, 1982) has tended to focus on the norm-enforcement elements of mentoring that help keep disadvantaged youth from falling prey to the many dangers that accompany the transition to adulthood. Less research has been conducted on the horizonexpansion functions of adolescent mentoring and how mentors serve as a springboard for successful life course trajectories. Second, mentoring often takes place in the context of community environments that facilitate or constrain the actions of individuals. Little is known about how distinct normative environments structure the experience and effectiveness of mentoring relationships. Third, mentoring is almost always conceived of as having positive effects for both individuals and societies. Yet, not all mentoring is “good” mentoring (Feldman, 1999; Morselli et al., 2006) and access to quality mentoring is uneven across society (Erickson et al., 2008). Future research on mentoring would profit from exploring these issues in greater detail.

MULTIPLE SOURCES OF MENTORING People frequently report multiple mentoring relationships (Burke, 1984; Riley and Wrench, 1985) as they are unlikely to receive all of their mentoring support from a single person (Higgins and Kram, 2001; Kram, 1983; Scandura, 1992). This suggests that the mentor-protégé dyadic relationship may not be complex enough to understand the full range

30

Steve McDonald, Lance D. Erickson and Derek Gatlin

of support that may contribute to career success (Higgins and Kram, 2001). Rather, researchers need to focus on a constellation of relationships (Higgins and Thomas, 2001) to gain a better understanding of the broad scope of social network resources accessible to each individual, which provide indirect links to successful outcomes (Seibert et al., 2001). Mentoring relationships are often described as hierarchical: a young protégé with an older and more experienced mentor (Eby, 1997). But lateral relationships with peers provide similar career enhancing and psychosocial functions as hierarchical relationships (Kram and Isabella, 1985). Hierarchical and lateral mentors need not be confined within the same work organizations as protégés; mentors can still provide guidance, support, and sponsorship to their protégés and peers without working for the same employer. In fact, these alternative mentoring relationships are likely becoming more important sources of mentoring for younger workers, given the changing employment context and increasing mobility among today’s workers (Eby, 1997; Higgins and Kram, 2001; Whitely et al., 1991). Moreover, mentors operate as part of an interlocking nexus of relationships that can affect behaviors in complicated ways across a variety of different domains. The effect of mentoring depends not only on who the mentor is or what they have to offer, but also on other social resources available to individuals. Having a mentor unlocks latent resources within one's social network (Rhodes, 2002) regardless of whether they associate with other individuals within the network. The effect of a mentor may also be enhanced by existing resources. However, it is possible that a tandem effort of mentor and parent (or other individual) is more beneficial than when each operates in isolation. Additionally, mentoring may be accomplished by more than just "Mentors." Mentoring behavior is characteristic of many relationships. Using a function-oriented definition of mentoring, Darling and colleagues (2002) found that parents, adult relatives, unrelated adults, siblings, cousins, and peers all have an important influence on youth and that mentoring functions were part of each relationship. The subsequent implication is that more than one of these individuals can provide salient support simultaneously. In other words, an individual may have a number of mentors at any particular time. It is also possible that processes inherent in organizational structures or group dynamics can provide mentoring functions even in the absence of mentoring relationships with specific individuals (Dansky, 1996).

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS Understanding mentoring within the larger social context requires a more sophisticated set of methodological strategies than have previously been employed to study mentors. Social network analysis, in particular, provides a useful tool for contextualizing mentor and protégé relationships. Most mentoring research has analyzed the mere presence or absence of mentoring relationships (e.g., Bozionelos, 2004). Other researchers have studied key features of the mentor and protégé dyad (e.g., Thomas, 1993). Future research can expand upon these standard practices by simultaneously examining multiple relationships. This could involve an analysis of (1) multiple mentoring relationships, (2) multiple protégé relationships, or (3) mentoring relationships in the context of other social relationships. Network data come in two main forms (Marsden, 1990). Ego-centric network data contain information on a focal individual (ego) and others with whom that focal person is

Mentoring in Context: A Sociological Approach to the Study …

31

acquainted (alters). Holistic network data contain information on all of the relationships within a social collectivity (such as a firm or school). Network data offer opportunities for the examination of a variety of relational features. First, the attributes of alters (e.g., gender, race, age, occupational status) can be explored. Second, researchers might analyze the properties of dyadic relationships. This would include the social role of the alter (e.g., parent, coworker, teacher, friend), the functional role of the alter (what does the alter do for the ego), the strength of ties between ego and alters, frequency of contact, and duration of relationship. Third, the structural positioning of mentor and protégé can be identified. Measures of positioning would include network size, the centrality of ego within the network, popularity, transitivity (closure among alters), and range of contacts within a hierarchically structured network. Fourth, features of the network (such as density, homophily, and number of cliques) might also be examined. With network data, researchers would be able to address a number of important questions. What characteristics or antecedents lead to unique mentor network configurations? Which mentor network configurations are most effective for various outcomes? Answering these questions will require detailed data on social networks (preferably holistic network data) and expertise regarding the techniques used to analyze network data, which tend to be mathematically intensive (see Wasserman and Faust, 1994 for a detailed description of these techniques). Despite the challenges, research on mentoring would benefit from the application of these methodological alternatives.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

MENTORING IN COMPARATIVE AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Researchers should also focus their attention on how specific social contexts influence the characters of mentoring relationships and their effectiveness. To this end, comparative research on mentoring is essential. The U.S. context, for example, offers few institutional arrangements to facilitate the transition from education to employment (Kerckhoff, 2003) and provides much weaker social insurance programs than other advanced industrialized countries (Esping-Andersen, 1990). Informal mentoring relationships should therefore be more important in America than in other countries that provide formal mechanisms for making life course transitions. Much remains unknown about how these contexts influence mentoring, since few researchers have conducted cross-national comparisons of mentoring relationships (but see Darling et al., 2002). Mentoring relationships should also be examined within and across specific historical contexts. Mentoring research rarely contains a historical component, as mentoring tends to be viewed as independent of larger historical circumstances. However, a number of societal changes are likely to have important consequences for the prevalence, character, and effectiveness of mentoring. First, over the last 30-40 years, youth have experienced a substantial lengthening of adolescence. Today’s young people take longer to move away from home, finish education, get married, have children, and settle into a career (Furstenberg et al., 2004). This expanded transition period serves as a formative moment in the lives of young people in which life course trajectories of advantage and disadvantage are rooted. The greater disruption and discontinuity experienced by contemporary youth makes access to quality mentoring relationships all the more important.

32

Steve McDonald, Lance D. Erickson and Derek Gatlin

Changes in the educational process play a central role in the expansion of adolescence. Educational expectations and attainment have increased dramatically over the last 30-40 years (Brown, 2001). Women’s educational attainment now exceeds that of men (Buchmann and DiPrete, 2006). People have a greater set of options for education and training, such as community college programs and vocational training. Employer demands for highly educated workers have also increased (Berg, 1970; Bills and Wacker, 2003) as have the economic returns to education (Murphy and Welch, 1992). Despite the increased demand, greater proportions of workers remain overeducated for the work that they do (Vaisey, 2006). Consequently, educational options have never been more numerous and educational decisions have never been more important. Over the same period, the role that guidance counselors have played in helping young people make decisions about educational pathways has diminished radically (Rosenbaum, 2001). Unfortunately, little remains known about the changing role of mentoring in the educational decision-making process. Work-related trends are also consequential for mentoring relationships. The second half of the 20th century saw an increase in female labor force participation (Brewster and Rindfuss, 2000) along with a substantial decline in manufacturing as employers shifted production facilities overseas (Harrison and Bluestone, 1988). Workers experience more job changes and greater employment discontinuity across their careers. The present day employment context—with declining rates of unionization, increased layoffs, contingent work, job insecurity, and declines in employer-provided pension and health insurance coverage (Clawson and Clawson, 1999; Even and Macpherson, 2000; Fullerton and Wallace, 2007; Gould, 2008; Kalleberg, 2000)—is far more precarious than that of a generation ago. The recent “jobless” economic recoveries are especially detrimental to young people (Sum et al., 2005). Mentoring should have greater importance under these conditions of uncertainty (de Janasz et al., 2003; Eby, 1997). Researchers have begun to examine the role of social networks and mentoring in the wake of job dislocation (e.g., Corzine et al., 1994; Shah, 2000), but much remains unknown about the relative utility of mentoring in the context of job insecurity.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

CONCLUSION Sociological theories and methodologies provide a unique set of opportunities and challenges to the study of mentoring. A life course approach to understanding mentoring helps bridge the gap between disparate literatures on mentoring across multiple social contexts. We also encourage researchers to think more broadly about the interplay between society and mentoring. In doing so, researchers should examine the role of the social environment in affecting mentoring relationships and the role that mentoring plays in altering the social structure. Attending to these issues will significantly improve upon our current understanding of mentoring processes and outcomes.

Mentoring in Context: A Sociological Approach to the Study …

33

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Ahrens, K. R., DuBois, D. L., Richardson, L. P., Fan, M. Y., and Lozano, P. (2008). Youth in foster care with adult mentors during adolescence have improved adult outcomes. Pediatrics, 121(2), E246-E252. Allen, T. D., and Eby, L. T. (2007). The blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Poteet, M. L., Lentz, E., and Lima, L. (2004). Career benefits associated with mentoring for protégés: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(1), 127-136. Antonucci, T. C., and Akiyama, H. (1987). Social networks in adult life and a preliminary examination of the convoy model. Journals of Gerontology, 42(5), 519-527. Beam, M., Chen, C., and Greenberger, E. (2002). The nature of adolescents' relationships with their "very important" nonparental adults. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 305-325. Berg, I. (1970). Education and jobs: The great training robbery. New York: Praeger. Bills, D. B., and Wacker, M. E. (2003). Acquiring credentials when signals don't matter: Employers' support of employees who pursue postsecondary vocational degrees. Sociology of Education, 76, 170-187. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). Westport: Greenwood Press. Bourdieu, P., and Wacquant, L. J. D. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Bozionelos, N. (2004). Mentoring provided: Relation to mentor's career success, personality, and mentoring received. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64, 24-46. Brewster, K. L., and Rindfuss, R. R. (2000). Fertility and women's employment in industrialized nations. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 271-296. Brown, D. K. (2001). The social sources of educational credentialism: Status cultures, labor markets, and organizations. Sociology of Education, 19-34. Bryant, A. L., and Zimmerman, M. A. (2003). Role models and psychosocial outcomes among african american adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 18(1), 36-67. Buchmann, C., and DiPrete, T. A. (2006). The growing female advantage in college completion: The role of family background and academic achievement. American Sociological Review, 71(4), 515-541. Burke, R. J. (1984). Mentors in organizations. Group and Organization Studies, 9(3), 353372. Carbonaro, W. J. (1998). A little help from my friend's parents: Intergenerational closure and educational outcomes. Sociology of Education, 71, 295-313. Caspi, A. (2004). Life-course development: The interplay of social selection and social causation within and across generations. In P. L. Chase-Lansdale, K. Kiernan and R. J. Friedman (Eds.), Human development across lives and generations: The potential for change (pp. 8-27). New York: Cambridge University Press. Chao, G. T., Walz, P. M., and Gardner, P. D. (1992). Formal and informal mentorship: A comparison on mentoring functions and contrast with nonmentored counterparts. Personnel Psychology, 45(3), 619-636.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

34

Steve McDonald, Lance D. Erickson and Derek Gatlin

Clawson, D., and Clawson, M. A. (1999). What has happened to the us labor movement? Union decline and renewal. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 95-119. Coleman, J. S., and Hoffer, T. (1987). Public and private high schools: The impact of communities. New York: Basic Books. Colley, H. (2003). Engagement mentoring for socially excluded youth: Problematising an 'holistic' approach to creating employability through the transformation of habitus. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 31(1), 77-99. Corzine, J. B., Buntzman, G. F., and Busch, E. T. (1994). Mentoring, downsizing, gender and career outcomes. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 9(3), 517-528. Dansky, K. H. (1996). The effect of group mentoring on career outcomes. Group andamp; Organization Management, 21(1), 5-21. Darling, N., Hamilton, S., Toyokawa, T., and Matsuda, S. (2002). Naturally occurring mentoring in japan and the united states: Social roles and correlates. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 245-270. Darling, N., Hamilton, S. F., and Shaver, K. H. (2003). Relationships outside the family: Unrelated adults. In G. R. Adams and M. D. Berzonsky (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of adolescence (pp. 349-370). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. de Janasz, S. C., Sullivan, S. E., and Whiting, V. (2003). Mentor networks and career success: Lessons for turbulent times. Academy of Management Executive, 17(4), 78-91. DiPrete, T. A., and Eirich, G. M. (2006). Cumulative advantage as a mechanism for inequality: A review of theoretical and empirical developments. Annual Review of Sociology, 32. Dreher, G. F., and Dougherty, T. W. (1997). Substitutes for career mentoring: Promoting equal opportunity through career management and assessment systems. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51, 110-124. DuBois, D. L., Holloway, B. E., Valentine, J. C., and Cooper, H. (2002). Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: A meta-analytic review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 157-197. DuBois, D. L., and Karcher, M. J. (Eds.). (2005). Handbook of youth mentoring. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Eby, L. T. (1997). Alternative forms of mentoring in changing organizational environments: A conceptual extension of the mentoring literature. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51, 125-144. Elder, G. H., Jr. (1999). Children of the great depression: Social change in life experience, 25th anniversary edition (2 ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Elder, G. H., Jr. (1994). Time, human agency, and social change: Perspectives on the life course. Social Psychology Quarterly, 57, 4-15. Elder, G. H., Jr., and Shanahan, M. J. (2006). The life course and human development. In W. Damon and R. M. Lerner (Eds.), The handbook of child psychology (6th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 665-715). New York: Wiley. Erickson, L. D., McDonald, S., and Elder, G. H., Jr. (2008). Informal mentors and educational achievement: Complementary or compensatory resources? Unpublished manuscript. Brigham Young University, Provo, UT. Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism: Princeton University Press.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Mentoring in Context: A Sociological Approach to the Study …

35

Even, W. E., and Macpherson, D. A. (2000). The changing distribution of pension coverage. Industrial Relations, 39(2), 199-227. Feldman, D. C. (1999). Toxic mentors or toxic protégés? A critical re-examination of dysfunctional mentoring. Human Resource Management Review, 9(3), 247-278. Fullerton, A. S., and Wallace, M. (2007). Traversing the flexible turn: Us workers' perceptions of job security, 1977-2002. Social Science Research, 36(1), 201. Furstenberg, F. F., Jr., Kennedy, S., McLoyd, V. C., Rumbaut, R. G., and Settersten, R. A. (2004). Growing up is harder to do. Contexts, 3(3), 33-41. George, L. K. (2003). Life course research: Achievements and potential. In J. T. Mortimer and M. J. Shanahan (Eds.), Handbook of the life course (pp. 671-680). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. Gould, E. (2008). The erosion of employment-based insurance: More working families left uninsured. International Journal of Health Services, 38(2), 213-251. Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78, 1360-1380. Hall, H. R. (2006). Mentoring young men of color: Meeting the needs of african american and latino students. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Education. Hamilton, B. A., and Scandura, T. A. (2003). E-mentoring: Implications for organizational learning and development in a wired world. Organizational Dynamics, 31(4), 388-402. Hamilton, S. F., and Darling, N. (1989). Mentors in adolescents' lives. In K. Hurrelman and U. Engel (Eds.), The social world of adolescents: International perspectives (pp. 121139). New York: DeGruyter. Hamilton, S. F., and Hamilton, M. A. (2004). Contexts for mentoring: Adolescent-adult relationships in workplaces and communities. In R. M. Lerner and L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (2nd ed., pp. 395-428). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Harrison, B., and Bluestone, B. (1988). The great u-turn: Corporate restructuring and the polarizing of america. New York: Basic Books. Higgins, M. C., and Kram, K. E. (2001). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 264-288. Higgins, M. C., and Thomas, D. A. (2001). Constellations and careers: Toward understanding the effects of multiple developmental relationships. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22, 223-247. Hitlin, S., and Elder, G. H., Jr. (2007). Time, self, and the curiously abstract concept of agency. Sociological Theory, 25(2), 170-191. Hurley, L. P., and Lustbader, L. L. (1997). Project support: Engaging children and families in the educational process. Adolescence, 32(127), 523-531. Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic-success - a literature-review. Review of Educational Research, 61(4), 505-532. Kalleberg, A. L. (2000). Nonstandard employment relations: Part-time, temporary and contract work. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 341-365. Karcher, M. J. (2005). The effects of developmental mentoring and high school mentors' attendance on their younger mentees' self-esteem, social skills, and connectedness. Psychology in the Schools, 42(1), 65-77.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

36

Steve McDonald, Lance D. Erickson and Derek Gatlin

Kerckhoff, A. C. (2003). From student to worker. In J. T. Mortimer and M. J. Shanahan (Eds.), Handbook of the life course (pp. 251-267). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. Kram, K. E. (1983). Phases of the mentor relationship. Academy of Management Journal, 26(4), 608-625. Kram, K. E., and Isabella, L. A. (1985). Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development. Academy of Management Journal, 28(1), 110-132. Levinson, D. J., Darrow, C. N., Klein, E. B., Levinson, M. H., and McKee, B. (1978). The seasons of a man's life. New York: Knopf. Lin, N. (2001). Social capital: A theory of social structure and action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Linnehan, F. (2001). The relation of a work-based mentoring program to the academic performance and behavior of african american students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 59, 310-325. Lucas, S. R., and Berends, M. (2002). Sociodemographic diversity, correlated achievement and de facto tracking. Sociology of Education, 75(4), 328-348. Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., and Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71(3), 543-562. MacMillan, R., and Copher, R. (2005). Families in the life course: Interdependency of roles, role configurations, and pathways. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(November), 858879. Marsden, P. V. (1990). Network data and measurement. Annual Review of Sociology, 16, 435463. Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227-238. McDonald, S., Erickson, L. D., Johnson, M. K., and Elder, G. H., Jr. (2007). Informal mentoring and young adult employment. Social Science Research, 36(4), 1328-1347. Mills, C. W. (1959). The sociological imagination. London: Oxford University Press. Morselli, C., Tremblay, P., and McCarthy, B. (2006). Mentors and criminal achievement. Criminology, 44(1), 17-43. Mouw, T. (2006). Estimating the causal effect of social capital: A review of recent research. Annual Review of Sociology, 32, 79-102. Murphy, K. M., and Welch, F. (1992). The structure of wages. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(1), 285-326. Noe, R. A. (1988). Women and mentoring: A review and research agenda. Academy of Management Review, 13(1), 65-78. O'Rand, A. M. (1996). The precious and the precocious: Understanding cumulative disadvantage and cumulative advantage over the life course. Gerontologist, 36(2), 230238. O'Rand, A. M. (2006). Stratification and the life course: Life course capital, life course risks, and social inequality. In R. H. Binstock, L. K. George, S. J. Cutler, J. Hendricks and J. H. Schultz (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (6th ed., pp. 146-162). Burlington, MA: Academic Press. Portes, A. (1998). Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 1-24.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Mentoring in Context: A Sociological Approach to the Study …

37

Putnam, R. (2002). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of american community. New York: Simon and Schuster. Ragins, B. R. (1989). Barriers to mentoring: The female manager's dilemma. Human Relations, 42(1), 1-22. Ragins, B. R. (1997). Diversified mentoring relationships in organizations: A power perspective. Academy of Management Review, 22(2), 482-521. Ragins, B. R. (1999). Gender and mentoring relationships. A review and research agenda for the next decade. In G. N. Powell (Ed.), Handbook of gender and work (pp. 347-370). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Ragins, B. R., and Cotton, J. L. (1999). Mentor functions and outcomes: A comparison of men and women in formal and informal mentoring relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(4), 529-550. Ragins, B. R., Cotton, J. L., and Miller, J. S. (2000). Marginal mentoring: The effects of type of mentor, quality of relationship, and program design on work and career attitudes. Academy of Management Journal, 43(6), 1177-1194. Ragins, B. R., and Kram, K. E. (2007). The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research, and practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. Rhodes, J. E. (2002). Stand by me: The risks and rewards of mentoring today's youth. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Rhodes, J. E., Bogat, G. A., Roffman, J., Edelman, P., and Galasso, L. (2002). Youth mentoring in perspective: Introduction to the special issue. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 149-155. Riley, S., and Wrench, D. (1985). Mentoring among women lawyers. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 15(4), 374-386. Roche, G. R. (1979). Much ado about mentors. Harvard Business Review, 57(1), 14-and. Rosenbaum, J. E. (2001). Beyond college for all: Career paths for the forgotten half. New York: Sage. Russell, J. E. A., and Adams, D. M. (1997). The changing nature of mentoring in organizations: An introduction to the special issue on mentoring in organizations. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51, 1-14. Sandefur, G. D., Meier, A. M., and Campbell, M. E. (2006). Family resources, social capital, and college attendance. Social Science Research, 35(2), 525-553. Scandura, T. A. (1992). Mentorship and career mobility: An empirical investigation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13, 169-174. Seibert, S. E., Kraimer, M. L., and Liden, R. C. (2001). A social capital theory of career success. Academy of Management Journal, 44(2), 219-237. Settersten, R. A., Jr. (2006). Aging and the life course. In R. H. Binstock, L. K. George, S. J. Cutler, J. Hendricks and J. H. Schultz (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (6th ed., pp. 3-19). Burlington, MA: Academic Press. Shah, P. P. (2000). Network destruction: The structural implications of downsizing. Academy of Management Journal, 43(1), 101-112. Shanahan, M. J. (2000). Pathways to adulthood in changing societies: Variability and mechanisms in life course perspective. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 667-692. Stack, C. B. (1974). All our kin: Strategies for survival in a black community. New York: Harper and Row.

38

Steve McDonald, Lance D. Erickson and Derek Gatlin

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Sum, A., Khatiwada, I., McLaughlin, J., and Palma, S. (2005). The paradox of rising teen joblessness in an expanding labor market: The absence of teen employment growth in the national jobs recovery of 2003-2004. Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University. http://www.nyec.org/Teen_Employment_jan_2005.pdf. Thomas, D. A. (1993). Racial dynamics in cross-race developmental relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38, 169-194. Tierney, J. P., Grossman, J. B., and Resch, N. L. (1995). Making a difference: An impact study of big brothers/big sisters. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures. Vaisey, S. (2006). Education and its discontents: Overqualification in america, 1972-2002. Social Forces, 85(2), 835-864. Wasserman, S., and Faust, K. (1994). Social network analysis: Methods and applications: Cambridge University Press. Werner, E. E., and Smith, R. S. (1982). Vulnerable but invincible: A longitudinal study of resilient children and youth. New York: McGraw-Hill. Werner, E. E., and Smith, R. S. (2001). Journeys from childhood to midlife: Risk, resilience, and recovery. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Whitely, W., Dougherty, T. W., and Dreher, G. F. (1991). Relationship of career mentoring and socioeconomic origin to managers' and professionals' early career progress. Academy of Management Journal, 34(2), 331-351. Zimmerman, M. A., Bingenheimer, J. B., and Notaro, P. C. (2002). Natural mentors and adolescent resiliency: A study with urban youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 221-243.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 3

DEVELOPING THE SPECTRUM OF SUPPORTIVE RELATIONSHIPS INCLUDING MENTORING Jane Mills School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION Retaining nursing staff is a global issue in clinical practice with increasing attention being paid to pragmatic strategies that will help to achieve a stable workforce. This chapter will present the findings from a constructivist grounded theory study that examined Australian rural nurses' experiences of mentoring. Traditionally nurses speak of engaging in supportive relationships such as mentoring, clinical supervision, preceptoring and orientation. Participants in this study spoke of a spectrum of supportive relationships that moved outside of these mainstream definitions to include both accidental mentoring and deep friendship. How each of these types of relationships fit together will be illustrated. As well, guidelines relating to why, when and how leaders in nursing can both nurture and establish different types of supportive relationships will be outlined. The chapter will conclude with the potential outcomes from each of the spectrum of supportive relationships for both the individual nurse and the wider workplace.

BACKGROUND Workforce shortages and poor retention rates of new and novice nurses are an ongoing concern for nurses internationally (International Council of Nurses, 2006). In Australia, a renaissance of the concept of mentoring occurred early in 2001 in relation to rural and remote nursing. At this time the Australian Government provided undergraduate nursing scholarships that had the option of recipients participating in a structured mentoring program. Novice

40

Jane Mills

nurses were matched with experienced rural and remote nurses who had completed a continuing professional development program that included a 2 day Mentor Development Workshop. This workshop was designed and facilitated by the national professional rural nursing organisation the Association of Australian Rural Nurses – now known as the Rural Nursing and Midwifery Faculty, Royal College of Nursing Australia. The Mentor Development Workshop was designed to provide resources that experienced rural and remote nurses could use both in their relationship with the novice undergraduate with whom they were paired and in their work as experienced clinicians (Mills, Lennon, and Francis, 2006, 2007). A key aim of the overall program was to build local capacity to support and retain new rural nurses, as well as attract novice rural nurses to the workplace. The PhD study that this chapter is based upon arose out of the AARN Mentor Development Project. The author, who was the original designer and facilitator of the initial workshops, realised from anecdotal feedback that participant outcomes appeared to be more than just the original goal to support the experienced rural or remote nurses’ relationship with the undergraduate nurse with whom they were matched. From this realization a series of research questions arose:

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

1. What are rural nurses’ experiences of mentoring? 2. What does mentoring mean for them in their practice? 3. What influences rural nurses’ experiences of mentoring? With the overall aim of the study being to understand how rural nurses constructed their experiences of mentoring. Because of the process orientated nature of the research question, constructivist grounded theory was deemed as the best methodological match (Charmaz, 2006; Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Constructivist grounded theory is a way of generating data with participants while concurrently analysing this data by coding, sampling theoretically to saturate categories constructed from codes while ensuring the codes remain ‘grounded’ in the data, and then constructing abstract theory that seeks to explain the collective experiences of participants in a way that relates it to other theory from the field. In this study, data was generated with nine rural nurses using interviews (n=11) and email dialogue. As well, the literature concerning the Social World of Australian Rural Nurses was accessed as a secondary source of data (Mills, Francis, and Bonner, 2006a). The intention of this chapter is not to provide a methodological treatise however, and the following references are recommended to readers interested in finding out more about the research design used in this study (Mills, Bonner, and Francis, 2006a, 2006b; Mills, Chapman, Bonner, and Francis, 2006).

WHEN IS MENTORING REALLY MENTORING? And Mentor said to Telemachus ‘Few sons are the equals of their fathers; Most fall short, all too few surpass them. But you, brave and adept from this day on –

Developing the Spectrum of Supportive Relationships Including Mentoring

41

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Odysseus’ cunning has hardly given out in you – There’s every hope that you will reach your goal.’ (Homer, 1488/1996, p.102)

Homer’s Odyssey is a fable that has inspired many to be like Mentor – providing guidance, wisdom and advice to their protégées. Mentoring in nursing has been a commonly used strategy since Florence Nightingale wrote supportive letters of advice to her trainees who had been promoted to the role of Matron (Lorentzon, 2003). As a professional group nursing really engaged with the concept of mentoring in the 1970s, mainly in the United States where establishing such relationships was seen as a mechanism to assist with career promotion and advancement (Stewart and Krueger, 1996). The literature about nurse mentoring is extensive with a particular emphasis on the role of the mentor and protégée or mentee, and the processes that can be followed to ensure success (Glass and Walter, 2000; McIntyre, Heading, Farmer, Weston, and Mills, 2005; Vance and Olson, 1998). This recipe book approach to mentoring has resulted in a clear gap in the literature about the lived experience of both mentors and mentees – a gap that this study sought to address. The commonly used corporate approach to mentoring has lead to a perception that for a supportive relationship to legitimately be called mentoring it needs to meet a certain set of criteria that includes: random allocation and forced matching of individuals, identified goals and outcomes, monitoring of processes and formal support structures. Formal mentoring such as this is contrasted in the literature with a more informal approach, however characteristically this still includes a degree of structure including the self-selection of mentors, mentor choice, mutual setting of goals and outcomes and informal mentor support structures (Morton-Cooper and Palmer, 2000). In the area of nursing, this question of terminology and meaning becomes complicated by the commonplace usage of other terms to describe and name a variety of supportive relationships. Mentoring, clinical supervision, preceptoring and orientation are easily confused by clinicians, managers, educators and policy makers with the names being used interchangeably. A review of the literature identified theoretical similarities and differences between each type of supportive relationship (Mills, Francis, and Bonner, 2005) which are demonstrated in the following table. What signifies a mentoring relationship can differ between those who design and administer formal mentor programs and those who enter into self-defined or classical mentoring (McCloughen, O'Brien, and Jackson, 2006) relationships. The recipe for success advocated by formal mentor program administrators promotes an idealised vision of mentoring that is ‘purely instrumental’ (Baum, 1992, p.225) contingent on organisational matching, goal setting and regular meeting times – providing an outcome which ‘stated simply, [is that] mentoring creates a supportive environment in which nurses want to come to work’ (Block and Korow, 2005, p.135). What signified mentoring as it was lived out by participants in this study differed greatly from formal mentoring as was completely contingent on the levels of trust and engagement that existed between the mentor and the mentee – both of which were dependant on the amount of time that was spent together. This more fluid and flexible conceptualisation of mentoring allowed for a relationship transition that moved along a spectrum of supportive relationships that are not as mutually exclusive as those who measure mentoring by formal prerequisites or accomplishments would suggest (Phillips-Jones, 2003).

42

Jane Mills Table 1. Terminology Similarities and Differences

Context

Time

Relationship Reporting

Level of Commitment

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Outcomes

Mentoring Outside of the immediate work setting Long time frame with a progression of relationship phases Confidential discussions; minimal reporting on relationship status in a formal setting High level of commitment; may require a time commitment outside of the work setting

Broader outcomes that can encompass improved clinical practice, career progression, scholarly endeavour, personal achievement

Clinical Supervision Within the work setting, but away from the immediate work area Long time frame with a progression of relationship phases

Preceptoring Within the work setting

Orientation Within the work setting

Short period, usually 2-12 weeks

Short period 1-2 days

Confidential discussions; minimal reporting on relationship status in a formal setting

Formal reporting on the progress of the preceptee

No reporting requirements

High level of commitment; hopefully conducted within working hours. May require a time commitment outside of the work setting Improved clinical practice

Lower level of commitment; conducted solely in the work setting

Lower level of commitment; conducted solely in the work setting

Orientation to the environment both clinical and administrative and clinical skill development

Orientation to the environment both clinical and administrative

Stewart and Kruger’s theoretical definition of mentoring was congruent with these rural nurses’ experiences and provides enough scope that it would fit with most nurses’ experiences of mentoring regardless of the context in which they work, making it a useful place to begin thinking about mentoring and how it fits with other supportive relationships. Mentoring in nursing is a teaching – learning process acquired through personal experience within a one-to-one, reciprocal, career development relationship between two individuals diverse in age, personality, life cycle, professional status, and/or credentials. The nurse dyad relies on the relationship in large measure for a period of several years for professional outcomes, such as research and scholarship; an expanded knowledge and practice base; affirmative action; and/or career progression. Mentoring nurses tend to repeat the process with other nurses for the socialization of scholars and scientists into the professional

Developing the Spectrum of Supportive Relationships Including Mentoring

43

community and for the proliferation of a body of nursing knowledge. (Stewart and Krueger, 1996, p.315)

THE SPECTRUM OF SUPPORTIVE RELATIONSHIPS Findings from this grounded theory study demonstrated that for Australian rural nurses, mentoring is one of a series of properties belonging to a core category – cultivating and growing rural nurses. These properties are preceptoring, accidental mentoring, mentoring and deep friendship – all of which form a spectrum of supportive relationships dimensionalised by levels of trust, engagement and time. Each property names a relationship that can exist between an experienced rural nurse and a new or novice rural nurse under a variety of conditions. Rural nurses are defined as those who practice outside of a major metropolitan area in an area with reduced access to health care services, goods and services (Francis, Bowman, and Redgrave, 2002). The difference between new and novice rural nurses is that a new rural nurse may have considerable experience in another area of nursing but is new to rural nursing, whereas a novice nurse is one who has recently graduated with a Baccalaureate degree and is now working as a rural nurse. The range of conditions that cultivating and growing operates under are: planned face-toface, unplanned face-to-face or planned distant. Planned relationships often arise out of formal mentoring programs, whereas unplanned relationships are usually described as classical mentoring. Face-to-face relationships are usually conducted in the workplace or local environment, whereas distant relationships are conducted using virtual means – email, telephone or SMS (Mills, Francis, and Bonner, 2007b). Cultivating and growing rural nurses has three aspects. Predicated by the context of rural nursing conceptualised as live my work, it is a two-part process that consists of getting to know a stranger and walking with another.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Live My Work Rural nurses live their work, framing multiple perspectives of self or ‘the organised set of internalised attachments, commitments, attributes, images and identifications with which a person creates a concept of self’ (Charmaz, 1991, p.72) as nurse, community member and health care consumer. Using these different perspectives of self, rural nurses translate their experiences through three different lenses, culture, politics and clinical practice and it is this information that they seek to pass on to new or novice rural nurses (Mills, Francis, and Bonner, 2007a). Rural nurses are always a ‘nurse’ regardless of the hour of the day and the environment in which they find themselves. Mary says ‘I guess here in a small community I say that we – I, live my work. It’s not something that you do between 9.00 and 5.00’ (TM 8192). From a personal perspective however, rural nurses are firstly a member of their local community and potentially health care consumers, which creates complexity for them in how they negotiate their worlds.

44

Jane Mills I suppose in a rural community… everything that you do has more of an impact. Like, if you have a relationship or if you have a problem here everybody knows about it. It becomes more of a problem because it’s so… well advertised… If you were an anonymous person in an anonymous setting you really wouldn’t care for a start, but probably no one else would care either… It wouldn’t become everybody’s sort of knowledge. Not that I mean everybody knows about things, but a lot more people do…so you really do need…somebody who’s in your corner if you have a crisis or something happens… If you have a fight or if you have an altercation with say a doctor, that doctor is probably somebody… that you go to church with… It actually is more of an impact… on your self esteem … on your whole life really than if it was somebody that you didn’t know… I think it’s extremely important to have a mentor to keep everything in perspective…so you don’t sort of fold under the emotional pressure of it all… You know the fact is that people are dying around you. People that you know, sometimes people that you know very well, … families you know. It is… more of a… demand on you in that way. (Wyn: TM 26252)

Strategies that experienced rural nurses have developed over time to manage their interactions across the multiplicity of their ‘selves’ are what they share with new or novice rural nurses discussing them in terms of culture, politics and clinical practice.

Getting to Know a Stranger

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

When providing support to new or novice rural nurses experienced rural nurses initially get to know a stranger as they begin to establish a relationship. Motivated by wanting to look after each other in the workplace, they identify potential mentees through either listening for trouble and identifying a critical incident that has occurred for a new or novice nurse, or through recognising potential (Mills, Francis, and Bonner, 2008a). Elizabeth tells a story about how she entered into a short term or accidental mentoring relationship with a novice rural midwife as a result of a critical incident. We’ve got this young girl who’s in her second year, [a] student midwife and we had… a scenario that went from bad to worse. So she knew the person because their husbands play footy together. This was… the patient’s second baby, so she came in supposedly just to have a CTG monitoring… at 29 weeks… then it was discovered that she was in labour so she stayed and… the young midwife looked after her friend in the labour ward… When the baby’s born it has got multiple abnormalities, like multiple, multiple, which is obviously why it’s coming out at 29 weeks because it’s not going to go all that time. So then you’ve got the young girl who is friends with the lady in there, and she’s in her second year midwifery, that’s her friend [in] prem labour but also baby wouldn’t really survive… So we had a baptism and a confirmation up in the nursery as well and that really tied it all up. Like it was all pretty sad, everyone was crying… Baby went to Melbourne and then I think it was a week later that they turned everything off in Melbourne and the baby died… [T]his student midwife, I wouldn’t have really had a rapport with her because she is a different personality to me. She’s very like aggressive, very gun hoe, nice girl don’t get me wrong but not somebody that I could have a conversation about like nursing and what…nursing is about but we had an experience together and… I didn’t want it to be a bad experience... so for about a couple of days after when I saw her on shift… we had a chat about things…and I helped her along… [this is] accidental mentoring and it happens like maybe when specific situations happen. Because she is a totally

Developing the Spectrum of Supportive Relationships Including Mentoring

45

different personality to me and we might not have any other experiences again that we could share as such but there was that one.

When getting to know a stranger such as is described in this data fragment this first part of the process of cultivating and growing is usually named either preceptoring or accidental mentoring. Accidental mentoring differs from preceptoring as it is not planned and up till now has not formally recognised as a supportive relationship, rather it springs from a critical incident when an experienced rural nurse responds to something she/he has observed in their practice. The life of an accidental mentoring relationship can be short or it can progress into mentoring if a sufficient bond is established and once foundational boundaries have been established that suit the experienced rural nurse. Critical to this, is the importance of a name to ensure a common understanding of the role of the mentor and mentee as well as reasonable expectations of each other.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Walking with Another Walking with another is the second part of the process of cultivating and growing rural nurses. Experienced rural nurses see their role in walking with another, as keeping things in perspective for the new or novice rural nurse that they are now mentoring. Mentoring then is ‘…a release valve, but it’s many things. It’s also somebody to look at the situation and say “now you know”, they put it into perspective for you. That’s very important I think’ (Wyn: TM 27997). Levels of trust and engagement between the experienced and new or novice rural nurse have increased to the point where their relationship has transitioned from preceptoring or accidental mentoring, or maybe there was enough of a connection between the two when working together that mentoring was a natural progression for them both. Experienced rural nurses promote mentoring through creating a safe environment that encourages a sense of unconditionality about the issues that the mentee is able to talk through with them. As well they act as a role model and a critical friend – depending on the condition that the relationship is operating under. Teaching, translating and sharing a common language conceptualised as ‘nurse chat’ during their interactions is an important initiation into the reference groups that form nursing workplaces and is intertwined with role modelling (Mills, Francis, and Bonner, 2008b). ‘I think… what I meant by… nurse chat is that you… can go straight to a level of understanding because we’re all nurses, we’re a group and we don’t need an explanatory note to start with before we go into a conversation (Elizabeth: TM 17147). Experienced rural nurses who choose to cultivate and grow new or novice rural nurses do so in the knowledge that their relationships provide an outcome, not an end, forming an integral part of their practice as they live their work. The ongoing nature of how they mentor a succession of new or novice rural nurses is supported by Stewart and Krueger’s conceptual analysis of mentoring which found it to be an activity that was a repeat process that aimed to build the body of knowledge that we call nursing. For some mentoring partnerships the transition across the spectrum of supportive relationships will mean that their mentoring relationships will move into a deep friendship that sustains beyond the time that a new or novice rural nurse needs help, guidance and support.

46

Jane Mills I knew her prior to her starting work here but I got to know her a lot better of course once we were working together and you know we just got on very well together and our relationship became a very deep friendship as well as a good professional relationship (Mary: TM 11505).

Cultivating and Growing Rural Nurses: A grounded theory model

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The following grounded theory model integrates each of the three aspects of cultivating and growing rural nurses with its properties and dimensions while accounting for the influence of collective groups within the social world of Australian rural nurses (Mills, 2007; Mills, Francis, and Bonner, 2006b). A pink circle represents live my work, the quoin of cultivating and growing rural nurses. Live my work provides the context and the motivation for the two-part process of cultivating and growing rural nurses – getting to know a stranger and walking with another.

Figure 1. Cultivating and Growing Rural Nurses: A grounded theory model.

Developing the Spectrum of Supportive Relationships Including Mentoring

47

In the model, getting to know a stranger and walking with another are linked to represent one following the other, circling back to live my work. The integration of the three aspects symbolises cultivating and growing as an ongoing process and outcome for experienced rural nurses continuing to support new or novice rural nurses. Rural communities and the nurses who work there are placed at the centre of the circle of cultivating and growing rural nurses to signify that it is the experience of managing multiple perspectives of self that rural nurses want to pass on to new and novice rural nurses. Properties of cultivating and growing rural nurses are represented as a spectrum beginning with preceptoring followed by accidental mentoring, mentoring and ending with deep friendship. Each of these properties is dimensionalised by an arch of trust, engagement and time. Arrows reach up from each property to the corresponding level of trust, engagement and time that characterises the name used by the nurses to describe their supportive relationships. Atmospheric aqua shapes represent collective groups that are part of the social world of Australian rural nurses. Academic, government and advocate collectives create this atmosphere where the possibility of naming cultivating and growing rural nurses – mentoring – can be realised (Mills, Francis, and Bonner, 2007b).

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Strategies and Outcomes Developing supportive relationships in the workplace is known to increase the retention of nursing staff, build capacity and result in better client outcomes (Naude and McCabe, 2005). Identifying that there is a spectrum of relationships that experienced nurses can engage in is important in affirming current, possibly unspoken, activities that are occurring in the workplace. Promoting the range of supportive relationships that can be enabled is often the first step to get experienced rural nurses thinking about how they can initiate the right relationship, with the right person – at the right time for them both. Strategies that health service managers can implement to affirm and encourage experienced clinicians in this type of activity are; identifying the various levels of engagement that are occurring currently. Introducing the concept of accidental mentoring as an important short-term strategy to manage the risks associated with new or novice nurses experiencing a critical incident that can result in staff attrition. Providing education and training opportunities for experienced rural nurses to learn more about effective communication, succession planning, risk management, preceptoring, clinical supervision and mentoring. Quarantining time for experienced rural nurses who are in a recognised supportive relationship with a new or novice nurse so that they are able to engage with them more fully. Including developing supportive relationships as a goal in experienced nurses annual performance review and development activities. Outcomes from the spectrum of supportive relationships identified in this study including preceptoring, accidental mentoring, mentoring and deep friendships will all differ and are tied to the goals for the type of relationship fostered. Key to all of these is the provision of time to allow each relationship to develop and reach its full potential (Beecroft, Santner, Lee Lacy, Kunzman, and Dorey, 2006; Mills, Francis, and Bonner, 2008b). Preceptoring new or novice nurses results in orientation to the workplace, teaching new clinical skills, and assessing competence to practice in a new workplace. Accidental

48

Jane Mills

mentoring can improve staff retention, teach new clinical or management skills, and promote reflective practice while building capacity for the future. Mentoring outcomes are broader and focus on mentee’s career and practice development including the wider political and cultural environment in which they live and work. Clinical supervision is an additional type of relationship that could be included, but has not yet entered into the discourse about rural nursing and was therefore not identified by participants as being part of their working lives. Outcomes from clinical supervision are identified in the literature as being promoting reflective practice, improvement in clinical skills, knowledge transfer and improvement in clinical outcomes (Edwards et al., 2005; Heavan, Clegg, and Maguire, 2005) and are worthy of consideration by health service managers implementing a change in how they work with staff members on a range of levels.

CONCLUSION Mentoring is more than a one size fits all solution to supporting new and novice nurses and promoting the retention of staff. Rather, mentoring is only one part of a complex spectrum of supportive relationships that can develop in response to different needs and provide different outcomes – all of which are valuable in ensuring improved health care service provision. Nurse leaders who are also managers, are challenged to identify current types of supportive relationships that exist in their local workplace – affirm them, put in place strategies to strengthen and nurture them while at the same time committing to promote those that are not currently occurring. As we move into the 21st Century, the corporatisation of mentoring that has resulted in formal programs, structures and requirements needs to change to increase access to the concept of mentoring as being part of nursing practice that meets an identified need – sitting alongside of preceptoring and clinical supervision which also meet important and yet different needs in our working lives.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Baum, H. (1992). Mentoring: Narcissistic Fantasies and Oedipal Realities. Human Relations, 45(13), 223-245. Beecroft, P., Santner, S., Lee Lacy, M., Kunzman, L., and Dorey, F. (2006). New Graduate Nurses' Perceptions of Mentoring: sex-year programme evaluation. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 55, 736-747. Block, L., and Korow, M. (2005). The Value of Mentorship Within Nursing Organizations. Nursing Forum, 40(4), 134-140. Charmaz, K. (1991). Turning Points and Fictional Identities. In D. Maines (Ed.), Social Organization and Social Process: Essays in honor of Anselm Strauss (pp. 71-86). New York: Aldine De Gruyter. Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Developing the Spectrum of Supportive Relationships Including Mentoring

49

Edwards, D., Cooper, L., Burnard, P., Hanningan, B., Adams, J., Fothergill, A., et al. (2005). Factors influencing the effectiveness of clinical supervision. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 12, 405-414. Francis, K., Bowman, D., and Redgrave, M. (2002). Knowledge and Skills Required by Rural Nurses to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Work Environment in the 21st Century: A review of the literature. In National Review of Nursing Education in 2002: Literature reviews (pp. 154-215). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Glass, N., and Walter, R. (2000). An experience of peer mentoring with student nurses: enhancement of personal and professional growth. Journal of Nursing Education, 39(4), 155-160. Heavan, C., Clegg, J., and Maguire, P. (2005). Transfer of communication skills training from workshop to workplace: The impact of clinical supervision. Patient Education and Counseling, 60, 313-325. Homer. (1488/1996). The Odyssey (R. Fagels, Trans.). New York: Penguin Books. International Council of Nurses. (2006). The Global Nursing Shortage: Priority Areas for Intervention. Geneva. Lorentzon, M. (2003). Florence Nightingale as 'mentor of matrons': correspondence with Rachel Williams at St Mary's Hospital. Journal of Nursing Management, 11, 266-275. McCloughen, A., O'Brien, A., and Jackson, D. (2006). Positioning mentorship within Australian nursing contexts: A literature review. Contemporary Nurse, 23, 120-134. McIntyre, E., Heading, G., Farmer, E., Weston, K., and Mills, J. (2005). Mentoring Matters. In Primary Health Care Research and Information Service (Ed.). Mills, J. (2007). Accidental Mentoring: A commonplace phenomenon in rural nursing. Paper presented at the Conference Name|. Retrieved Access Date|. from URL|. Mills, J., Bonner, A., and Francis, K. (2006a). Adopting a Constructivist Approach to Grounded Theory: Implications for Research Design. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 12(1), 8-13. Mills, J., Bonner, A., and Francis, K. (2006b). The Development of Constructivist Grounded Theory. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1), Article 3. Mills, J., Chapman, Y., Bonner, A., and Francis, K. (2006). Grounded Theory: The spiral between positivism and postmodernism. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 58(1), 72-79. Mills, J., Francis, K., and Bonner, A. (2005). Mentoring, clinical supervision and preceptoring: clarifying the conceptual definitions for Australian Rural Nurses. A review of the literature. Rural and Remote Health, 5(410), Online. Mills, J., Francis, K., and Bonner, A. (2006a). The problem of workforce for the social world of Australian rural nurses: a collective action frame analysis. Journal of Nursing Management, 15, 721-730. Mills, J., Francis, K., and Bonner, A. (2006b). The problem of workforce for the social world of Australian rural nurses: a collective action frame analysis. Journal of Nursing Management, 15(7), 721-730. Mills, J., Francis, K., and Bonner, A. (2007a). Live my work: rural nurses and their multiple perspectives of self. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 59(6), 583-590. Mills, J., Francis, K., and Bonner, A. (2007b). The Accidental Mentor: Australian rural nurses developing supportive relationships in the workplace. Rural and Remote Health, 7(842).

50

Jane Mills

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Mills, J., Francis, K., and Bonner, A. (2008a). Getting to Know a Stranger - rural nurses' experiences of mentoring: A grounded theory. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 45(4), 599-607. Mills, J., Francis, K., and Bonner, A. (2008b). Walking with another: rural nurses' experiences of mentoring. Journal of Research in Nursing, 13(1), 23-35. Mills, J., Lennon, D., and Francis, K. (2006). Mentoring Matters: developing rural nurses knowledge and skills. Collegian, 13(32-36). Mills, J., Lennon, D., and Francis, K. (2007). Contributing to a Culture of Learning: A Mentor Development and Support Project for Rural Nurses. International Journal of Nursing Practice, Accepted for Publication 6th July 2007. Morton-Cooper, A., and Palmer, A. (2000). Mentoring, preceptorship and clinical supervision (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd. Naude, M., and McCabe, R. (2005). Magnet hospital research pilot project conducted in hospitals in Western Australia. Contemporary Nurse, 20, 38-55. Phillips-Jones, L. (2003). What Every Manager Should Know About Mentoring. Grass Valley, CA: CCC/The Mentoring Group. Stewart, B. M., and Krueger, L. E. (1996). An evolutionary concept analysis of mentoring in nursing. Journal of Professional Nursing, 12(5), 311-321. Strauss, A., and Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory (2 ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Vance, C., and Olson, R. (1998). The Mentor Connection in Nursing. New York: Springer Publishing.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 4

MID-CAREER: THE PROPER PERIOD FOR THE MENTORING OF NEWLY APPOINTED PRINCIPALS Izhar Oplatka Ben Gurion University, Israel

ABSTRACT This chapter presents a conceptual analysis of the relationship between the mentor's career stage and the mentoring process. The main argument put forward here is that midcareer is the most appropriate period for taking on mentoring responsibilities while employees or managers at other career stages (early career, establishment, late-career) are less likely to meet the needs of the protégé, i.e. of the new employee. This argument is demonstrated through an analysis of potential mentoring relations between senior school principals and their newly appointed counterparts. Implications for further research on mentoring relationshps are suggested.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION A greater attention has been given in recent years to the incorporation of mentoring programs in work organizations, including educational institutions. Mentoring has been defined as a "nurturing process in which a skilled or more experienced person teaches, sponsors, encourages, and counsels a less skilled or less experienced person for the purpose of promoting the latter's professional and/or personal development" (Anderson and Shannon, 1988, p. 40). In an educational institution, the mentor can be an experienced classroom teacher, a principal, or even a teacher assistant (Cawyer, Simonds and Davis, 2002; Kanan and Baker, 2002; Leithwood, 1992; Oplatka and Aizenberg, 2007). The mentoring process may focus to different degrees on emotional and pedagogical support, and sometimes, the mentor may even have a formal evaluative role.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

52

Izhar Oplatka

Novice employees, including newly appointed teachers and principals, are in strong need of guidance, support and assistance. In this sense, the mentor is expected to provide psychological support, technical assistance and guidance regarding the local rules and policies (Kram, 1984; Wang and Odell, 2002). In the context of principalship, the principal is considered to be one of the mentors of the novice teachers through one-on-one support, formative evaluation or encouragement (Leithwood, 1992), as well as an important perceived factor in the prospective teachers’ success at work (Oplatka, 2004). Likewise, the senior principal is expected nowadays in many countries to participate in mentoring programs of newly appointed principals, a distinctive group of managers in terms of career needs and tasks (Daresh and Male, 2000). Using Kram's (1984) typology of mentoring functions, the mentoring process of novice principals may encompass career functions (e.g., enhancing learning capabilities) and psychosocial functions (e.g., increasing a sense of competence). Thus, the senior principal is expected to support his newly appointed counterpart professionally and emotionally, through a wide variety of channels, such as guidance, role-modeling, counseling, friendship, acceptance and confirmation. He or she can use his/her organizational influence to provide an opportunity for the newly appointed principal to gain exposure and visibility in the local community and among stakeholders (Little, l990). In this chapter, I display a career-stage-based analysis for the study of mentoring relationships, in general, and for that in principalship, in particular. The career-stage approach postulates that one’s career development is an ongoing process by which individuals progress through a series of stages, each of which is characterized by a relatively unique set of issues, themes, or tasks (Greenhaus and Callanan, 1994; Hall, 2002). In that sense, this commentary aims to stimulate a discussion into the need to consider the principal’s career stage in any normative expectations formulated in theoretical and practical debates of mentoring programs for newly appointed principals. Briefly, my argument is that principals in mid-career, i.e., approximately 10–12 years in post, (usually parallel to mid-life as the average principal enters his/her job at the age of 40) are most suitable for taking on mentorial responsibilities due to their desire to leave a legacy, their yet open-minded attitudes, long-years experience, and sometimes their experience of self-renewal. In contrast, principals in 'early career stage' are less likely to deal with mentoring of other principals, as they still have to develop managerial competencies and to gain recognition for being successful principals. Similarly, principals in 'the establishment stage' (3–9 years in position) are more focused on developing their own school, implementing new changes, and still have to demonstrate high levels of success and professional efficacy. 'Late-career principals' have high professional experience, yet many of them tend to hold a skeptics standpoint and are remote considerably from the age of newly appointed principals. To the best of my knowledge, current debate on mentoring of new employees has thus far ignored the mentor's career stage and development,which has potentially a great impact upon the mentor-principal's ability to guide, support and empower novice principals. Thus, following a short discussion on the principles of the career-stage approach, the major tasks of mentors are explored and challenged by concepts and elements underlying this approach. Finally, some comments for further research on mentoring are suggested.

Mid-career: The Proper Period for the Mentoring of Newly Appointed Principals

53

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

THE CAREER-STAGE APPROACH Research on principals’ career stages has been influenced by theories of adult and career development from non-educational fields (e.g., Hall 1986; Super 1992). A basic premise of these theories is that experiences in and attitudes toward work and life vary across the career life cycle and that it is plausible to differentiate developmental change processes into discernible career stages. Super (1992) delineates a series of sequences that characterize the careers of various individuals in the same profession as well as those engaged in different professions. In that sense, employees have different aims and different dilemmas at various periods in their professional cycle, and their desires to reach out for more information, knowledge, expertise and technical competence will vary accordingly. Consequently, several models have been developed to depict the stages principals may undergo during their career cycle (e.g., Day and Bakioglu 199; Ribbins 1999; Weindling 1999). It has been held that experiences, perspectives and behaviors of principals may modify considerably over the course of their career, indicating that one’s career should be considered a flexible and fluid thing, rather than stable and permanent along the years. Despite some differences, a number of key stages have been identified through which many principals are supposed to move in their careers (Kremer-Hayon and Fessler 1992, Day and Bakioglu 1996, Ribbins 1999, Weindling 1999). (1) In the early career stage, a new principal is socialized into the school or into the role. He/she has to confront many issues and difficulties, such as achieving acceptance, learning the organizational culture, learning ways to overcome the insecurity of inexperience and developing a sense of confidence (Weindling and Earley 1987, Parkay et al. 1992, Oplatka 2001). (2) The establishment stage is characterized by growth and enthusiasm. By then the principal feels in control, competent and confident to manage the school. The principal experiences a transition from an ideal to a realistic view of the school reality and of the managerial role (Kremer-Hayon and Fessler 1992, Ribbins 1999). (3) The maintenance vs. renewal stage usually takes place in the midcareer period (age 40–55). At this time, some principals may experience low opportunities for professional growth, feelings of stagnation, loss of enthusiasm and disenchantment. Alternatively, other principals may express high levels of self-fulfillment, enchantment, job satisfaction and self-renewal, as well as seek new challenges in their role and school (Day and Bakioglu 1996, McCay 1999, Oplatka et al. 2001). (4) Disenchantment may be a feature of long-serving principals who feel trapped and stagnated in a post, with nowhere to go. Sometimes, these principals gradually become autocratic in style and respond negatively to any change initiative (Day and Bakioglu 1996, Weindling 1999). There is no claim that the four stages are the only or the best way to view career development, but it does seem to structure our knowledge about careers in a meaningful manner. The career-stage perspective, nevertheless, has not been without criticism, and there has been considerable debate about its utility and validity. It was claimed that proponents of the career-stage perspective failed to address issues of gender, discrimination, culture and ethnic groups, and that in spite of the claims of universality of these stages, they were found to be more consistent with the culture of western nations than with that of developing countries (Gallos 1989, Leong and Brown 1995). Likewise, opponents of this perspective pointed to the lack of clear boundaries between the career stages and to unclear criteria for dividing one’s career into stages (Wrightsman, 1988).

54

Izhar Oplatka

It is worth noting that career stages are not necessarily linear; principals, as other employees, may move through the stages at different rates and some revert to previous stages. In other words, career cycles are not always experienced in the same order, which means that for some principals the development in the profession may appear to be linear, but for others, there are stages, regressions, dead-ends and unpredictable changes of direction sparked by new realizations. Principals will move backwards and forwards between stages during their career cycle for all kinds of reasons to do with personal history, psychological and social factors. In the remainder of this article, I juxtapose every career stage with the tasks and responsibilities of mentors. To this end, I use Kram's (1984) dichotomy of mentoring functions. Briefly, Kram describes two functions including together nine tasks: sponsorship, coaching, protection, exposure, challenging work, role modeling, counseling, acceptance and confirmation, and friendship. The analysis begins with the three career stages that are incompatible, in my view, with the major skills and experiences required from a mentor in order to fulfill the mentoring functions effectively.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Early Career Stage: Can We Expect New Principals to Mentor Others? Many studies conducted with early career principals have indicated that they experience shock of transition to their new position, intensity of the job, high personal insecurity, professional inadequacy, lack of practical knowledge, a profound sense of isolation from peers, anxiety, excessive amount of stress and self-doubt during approximately the first three years in post (Crow, 2006; Daresh and Male, 2000; Hall and Parkay, 1992; Oplatka, 2001; Walker and Qian, 2006). In addition, new principals have to cope with many tasks and challenges stemming from their unique career stage such as, hostile staff reaction and tension between staff and the new principals (Daresh and Playko, 1995), staff resistance to their changes in schools (Robbins and Alvy, 1995), the need for vision and the need to develop resilience in handling negative criticism (Reiger and Bradly, 1995). Furthermore, new principals’ primary focus is on setting priorities and seeking ways to manage, to control and to promote a meaningful change in the school (Hall and Parkay, 1992). Under these conditions, every reader can reasonably 'grasps' the inadequacy of early career principals to mentor other new principals. Thus, whereas early career principals could contribute, to a certain extent, in stimulating a challenging work and in displaying caring and intimacy toward their novice counterparts (e.g., friendship, share of common experiences), they could contribute much less, if any, to the other functions indicated by Kram (1984). They plainly lack sufficient professional knowledge and practical skills to coach and counsel other principals. Besides, early career principals are still preoccupied with many difficulties, therefore, are focused on their own survival and development rather than on others' career. A process of managerial identity building, in which the new principal changes some entrenched habits and beliefs so as to accommodate to his/her new managerial position, is still to come. Likewise, novice principals are less likely to have self-confidence or high levels of self-efficacy and have not yet built a strong network to enable their counterparts be exposed, i.e., to open doors for them and make them be members of any network.

Mid-career: The Proper Period for the Mentoring of Newly Appointed Principals

55

It follows, then, that mentoring programs should refrain from 'peer coaching' in which the mentors are at the same career stage of the protégé, let alone when it comes to mentoring programs of principals whose career development and managerial identity development process is long and complex for it necessitates the adoption of complex leadership skills and systematic standpoints.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The Establishment Stage: A Time for School Development The hard times of early career are replaced by a time of self-growth and school development. Due to higher levels of self-efficacy, professional confidence and feeling of control over their school characterizing many established principals (Day and Bakioglu 1996, Weindling 1999, Oplatka et al., 2001), these principals seem to devote much time and energy to change initiation and implementation in their school. Having mastered management skills, established principals tend to develop their school in accordance with their instructional vision and are consolidated by the introduction of changes, many of them are instructionrelated (Ribbins 1999, Weindling 1999). In this sense, established principals were found to move from a focus on managerial skills and processes (by delegating this function to subordinates) to concern for students, teacher professional development, instructional technology and curriculum (Kremer-Hayon and Fessler 1992, Day and Bakioglu 1996). Additionally, quite a number of principals at this stage are already capable of expressing greater sensitivity to teachers’, students’ and community needs, and have sufficient confidence to empower their staff and support their professional development, as was indicated by Day and Bakioglu (1996) and by Oplatka et al. (2001). Ostensibly speaking, principals at this stage could take on mentoring responsibilities over the induction of their novice counterparts. In the establishment stage they have experienced already several years in post, and display high levels of self-efficacy. Add to this their propensity to delegate some of their tasks, especially those of much time-consuming and, they seem highly suitable for counseling, guiding, and coaching new principals. Besides, they probably have already developed some sort of connections with stakeholders to open doors for the newly appointed principal or to help him/her create opportunities to demonstrate competence where it counts. However, a deeper look into the career experiences of established-stage principals may imply some barriers to the participation of these principals in a mentoring program. Thus, although these principals past through the first difficult years, they still need to prove their managerial competence and exhibit their professional success through a wide variety of channels, including change initiation and innovativeness, and in some countries the promotion of student achievements. But, time plays a key role in these issues, as the process of educational change takes a long time before the 'fruits' of the change can be manifested and the principal can be credited for it. Similarly, the measurement of school outputs is very complex and uncertain leaving the principal unaware of school success for many years. Under these circumstances, it is expected that established principals will be much focused on their own school and career, thereby will less likely pay attention to developmental needs of new principals. To put it differently, they still need to prove their career success and effective management or leadership style, and mentoring others might be seen an obstacle on

56

Izhar Oplatka

their way. Can we expect them, then, to promote or coach other principals while they still have to develop their own career? Would they be able to share their ideas and experience with novice principals while at the same time they have not yet being legitimized as effective principals in their school environment? I doubt it.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Late Career: A Conservative and 'Remote' Principal? The research on late-career employees provides us with a dual portrait of workers and managers in the several years before retirement. There is a clear discrepancy between studies (mostly laboratory-based) finding evidence of decrements in mental functioning from the age of 60 (e.g., Bartel, 1990; Schaie, 1996) and a number of studies showing no age-related downward trend in work abilities and performance (e.g., Lahn, 2003; Warr, 1994). Thus, on one hand, late-career employees are assumed generally to experience physical decline and consequent anxiety (Levinson, 1986), are slower to react to various stimuli (Warr, 1994) and may experience specific problems with so-called 'dual task' activities, where two sets of mental operations are performed at the same time (Kramer and Larish, 1996). Similarly, there is some empirical support for a general proposition that later-career employees are resistant to workplace changes and are less willing to take risks and consider new approaches than their younger counterparts (Lahn, 2003; Oshagbemi, 2004). They are particularly disadvantaged in periods of profound technological innovation (Bartel, 1990). In a study on principals' expertise during the career span, the late-career principal appeared to be disengaged in that he took few or no risks when implementing changes (Macmillan, 1998). On the other hand, late-career employee are claimed to have a high capacity for adaptation in late career (Hall, 2002), and deepened expertise expressed by broad understanding of work processes and use of this knowledge to approach problems (Kabacoff, 2002; Lahn, 2003; Oplatka, 2007). Likewise, most late-career employees and managers express substantial satisfaction with their accomplishments, and have longer-term perspectives on managing people and systems (Gibson, 2003; Kakabadse, Kakabadse, and Myer, 1998). Managers at this stage tended to consult more widely in comparison with younger managers, and seemed to better appreciate the practical value of consultation in getting unit members to support the resulting decisions of the head. Similar findings were found among English principals over 15 years in post (Woods, 2002). The dual portrait of late-career seemingly entails principals at this stage to mentor newly appointed principals, mainly in areas of professional guidance, coaching, and providing ongoing support, at least in part due to their deepened expertise and long-year experience. Likewise, they probably hold a flexible and tolerant leadership perspective which might result in high capacity to express friendship, counseling and protection. It is likely, also, that their long-year career in principalship makes them more appropriate to provide sponsorship ('opening doors') and exposure in the professional community to the novice principal. Yet, several features of this stage pose some questions about the late-career principal's ability to mentor newly appointed principals. First, late-career principals' potential tendency to resist new changes and innovative technologies, coupled with their fear of risk-taking might curtail their contribution to their novice counterparts. Do we really want this sort of principals to be a role-model of new principals? Can we expect them to encourage the novice principals to seek for a challenging work?

Mid-career: The Proper Period for the Mentoring of Newly Appointed Principals

57

Second, a generation gap, stemming from the simple fact that late-career principals are usually over 55 while their novice counterparts are usually around 40 may bring about some communication difficulties. The two kinds of principals may not share similar value systems, but rather hold different views about schooling, education, principalship especially in the era of accountability, marketization and school-based management, all of which reforms that have re-shaped the principalship in recent years.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

MID-CAREER: THE MOST SUITABLE STAGE FOR TAKING ON MENTORIAL TASKS As indicated in the introduction of this chapter, mid-career principals are argued here to be the most suitable group for mentoring newly appointed principals for a wide variety of reasons. Let us start, however, with the major characteristics of mid-career stage, a stage that was described in the literature as occurring after 8-14 years in the career (Neapolitan, 1980), and usually parallels the mid-life stage in principalship. During the mid-life stage, which is generally considered to begin in the fifth decade of age, men and women often experience higher awareness of aging and mortality, reevaluation of existing life spheres and their previous actions, changes in life structures, and changes in family relations and in their work life (Levinson, 1986). For some, mid-life stage is marked by a severe crisis, stagnation, low career opportunities, and a sense of anxiety and internal conflict (Hall, 1986; Wrightsman, 1988). Others, in contrast, feel comfortable (Hunter and Sundel, 1989), experience personal and professional growth, and may look for new opportunities for development (Super, 1992). Indeed, many mid-life principals were documented to feel high levels of self-fulfilment, enchantment, job satisfaction, new challenges in their role, and experience professional development (Crow, 1993; Ribbins, 1999). Among the latter group, some authors have coined the term “renewal stage” to describe the mid-career stage, when, according to these authors, when the individual doubts the life structure and creates new commitments to other life structures (Bejian and Salomone, 1995; Riverin-Simard, 1988). Renewal is considered a transitional stage characterized by (a) reappraisal of career commitment and choice, (b) integration of the polarities in one’s personality, and (c) modification of one’s life structure (Murphy and Burck, 1976). An analysis of the literature concerning self-renewal conducted by Oplatka et al., (2001) resulted in five prominent elements of the self-renewal process in the mid-career stage: (1) Internal reflection, i.e., that men and women reevaluate their career choices and their commitment to different life structures, as well as criticize their present beliefs and faiths; (2) Reframing of existing perspectives, i.e., reorganization of old plans and restructuring of attitudes about self and society, like wearing new glasses to explore reality; (3) Searching for new opportunities and tasks, i.e., looking for challenging, new goals and objectives, rather than just adhering to the known and safe; (4) Enthusiasm and replenishing of internal energy, characterizing people in renewal, people who perceive their jobs as very exciting, and feel satisfied with life; and (5) Professional updating, through training and in-service education, or through learning by oneself, such as reading, lectures, etc.

58

Izhar Oplatka

With the exception of the few mid-life principals who feel extreme levels of stagnation or high degrees of job burnout, most principals at this stage seem to be most suitable for mentoring their newly appointed counterparts. First, one of the psychological processes characterizing this stage is the need of the experienced worker to be a mentor (Feldman 1988). Only after the (mid-career) principal has experienced his/her own professional development and career success he/she is sufficiently competent to coach, counsel or assist young principals in their very stressful work, as well as to serve as a positive role model for them. These functions, in turn, may satisfy his/her own needs for self-fulfillment and selfactualization in a stage in which he/she are threatened by professional obsolescence and stagnation. Besides, new workers in educational institutions were found to favor mentors who are qualified, experienced and affiliated with their schools (Kanan and Baker, 2002). As principals at this stage identify themselves as experts in educational management (Day and Bakioglu 1996; Crow 1993, Ribbins 1999), they are able to provide newly appointed principals with the tools and techniques they need in order to function effectively. In addition, mid-career principals as experts may understand the basic aspects of the schooling process and its management thereby have high capacity to make newly appointed principals acquaintance with the structure and day-do-day operation of the school, a knowledge that newcomers usually lack in many occupation (Cawyer et al., 2002). A support for this assumption is provided by Cawyer et al. (2002):

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

By definition and purpose, a mentor should be an experienced veteran of the work environment…If not, her/his ability to be helpful and offer sound professional advice may be suspect. Professional support should originate from organizational experts that have the knowledge to enhance the novice's likelihood of success (p. 227).

The features of mid-career seem to corroborate this professional expertise. Second, some mid-career principals strive for self-renewal by focusing on innovations and changes rather than on day-to-day routine tasks (Ribbins 1999, Oplatka et al., 2001), a focus that may encourage them to offer the new principal to adopt challenging works and assignment. This, in turn, is expected to stimulate growth and preparation of the novice to move him/her ahead. Third, as mid-career principals have likely undergone an integration of the polarities in their personality, they appear to be mature enough to provide support, friendship and varied emotional support to the newly appointed principal. Further, they have already established their school and implemented some changes and innovations to be able to turn some personal energy from inside to outside. To wit, they have no longer need to focus mainly on their own career development and success, but rather are located in a point whereby they can devote much time and energy to mentoring and promoting other persons. Needless to say that processes such as 'the empty nest' means, especially for female principals, more time available for work (including participation in mentoring program) than before. Finally, mid-career principals whose self-confidence is relatively high and their positive reputation in the community is already well-known, appear to contribute much to mentorial functions such as sponsorship and exposure and protection. Put differently, as mid-career principals have probably created strong connections with many officials and stakeholders in the local area, one may expect them to more easily 'open doors,' protect the novice in case of

Mid-career: The Proper Period for the Mentoring of Newly Appointed Principals

59

professional mistakes, and make the novice principal visible in the community (e.g., district, parents associations, local education authorities).

IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ON MENTORING Despite the limitation of any theoretical conjecture (e.g., inability to control exceptional or extreme cases), several implications for future research on mentoring in the workplace merit highlighting. Firstly and more generally, subsequent research should begin to inquire into how career stage is related to mentoring functions in different occupations and organizations. Thus, it is suggested that researchers measure the correlation between employee's career stage and, for example, emotional support, professional coaching, counseling and exposure, all of which are major functions in the mentoring process. Secondly, there is a greater need for research exploring the place of mentoring relationships in the career narratives of senior managers and employees in diverse organizations and occupations. If conducted adequately, these qualitative inquires may provide us with deep understanding of the determinants and outcomes of mentoring relations in light of the mentor's career cycle and development. We may gain more knowledge about the potential association between one's decision to participate in a mentoring program or to take on mentoring duties and specific career events or turning points. A holistic view, in this sense, is assumed to shed light on the influence of one's career stage upon his/her mentoring role. Thirdly, of more value in future research would be an investigation of novice employees or managers' preferences of the mentor's age and seniority. It is interesting to know whether novice managers attach some significance to the mentor's age and years in the post, and if they do, it is important to trace the reasons underlying their subjective conjectures and meanings. Both quantitative and qualitative studies are needed in order to unearth some latent beliefs of potential protégés about the ideal traits and features of mentors and their relations to age, seniority and role.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Anderson, E. M., and Shannon, A. L. (1988). Toward a conceptualization of mentoring. Journal of Teacher Education, 39(1), 38-42. Bartel, A. (1990). Technological change and the careers of older workers. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Bejian, D.V. and Salomone, P.R. (1995). Understanding midlife career renewal: Implications for counselling. The Career Development Quarterly, 44(1), 52-63. Cawyer, C.S., Simonds, C., and Davis, S. (2002). Mentoring to facilitate socialization: The case of the new faculty member. Qualitative Studies in Education, 15(2), 225-242. Gibson, D.E. (2003). Developing the professional self-concept: Role model construal in early, middle, and late career stages. Organizational Science, 14(4), 591-610. Crow, G.M. (2006). Complexity and the beginning principal in the US: Perspectives on socialization. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(4), 310-325.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

60

Izhar Oplatka

Crow, G.M. (1993) Reconceptualizing the school administrator's role: socialization at midcareer. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 4(2), 131-152. Daresh, J., and Male, T. (2000) Crossing the border in leadership: experiences of newly appointed British headteachers and American principals. Educational Management and Administration, 28 (1), 89-101. Daresh, J., and Playko, M.A. (1995) The arrival of the new principal: reactions of staff. People and Education, 3 (3), 322-332. Day, C. and Bakioghu, A. (1996) Development and disenchantment in the professional lives of headteachers. In, I. Goodson and A. Hargreaves (eds.) Teachers’ professional lives. London: The Falmer Press, pp. 123-139. Feldman, D.C. (1988) Managing Careers in Organizations. Boston: Foresman. Gallos, J.V. (1989). Exploring women’s development: Implications for career theory, practice and research. In B.A. Arthur, D.T. Hall and B.S. Lawrence (Eds.), Handbook of Career Theory (pp. 110-132). N.Y: Cambridge University Press. Greenhaus, J.H. and Callanan, G.A. (1994). Career Management. New York: The Dryden Press. Hall, D.T. (1986) Breaking career routines: midcareer choice and identity development. In D.T. Hall (ed.), Career Development in Organization (pp. 120-159). San Francisco, Cal.: Jossey-Bass. Hall, D.T. (2002). Careers in and out of organizations. Thousands Oaks: Sage Publications. Hunter, S. and Sundel, M. (1989). Introduction: An examination of key issues concerning midlife. In S. Hunter and M. Sundel (Eds.), Midlife myths (pp. 8-28). Newbury Park: Sage Publications. Kabacoff, R.I. (2002). Leadership: What has age got to do with it? New York: Research Release, Management Research Group. Kakabadse, A., Kakabadse, N., and Myers, A. (1998). Demographics and leadership philosophy: Exploring gender differences. Journal of Management Development, 17(5), 351-388. Kanan, H.M., and Baker, A.M. (2002). Palestinain novice teachers' perception of a good mentor. Journal of Education for Teaching, 28(1), 35-43. Kram, K.E. (1984). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman. Kramer, A.F., and Larish, J.L. (1996). Aging and dual-task performance. In W.A. Rogers, A.D. Fisk and N. Walker (Eds.). Aging and Skilled Performance. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum. Kremer-Hayon, L. and Fessler, D. (1992). The inner world of school headteachers: reflections on career life stages. International Review of Education, 38 (1), 35-45. Lahn, L.C. (2003). Competence and learning in late career. European Educational Research Journal, 2(1), 126-140. Leithwood, K.A. (1992). The principal’s role in teacher development. In M. Fullan and A. Hargreaves (Eds.) Teacher development and educational change (pp. pp.86-103). London: The Falmer Press. Leong and Brown. (1995). Theoretical issues in cross-cultural career development: cultural validity and cultural specificity. In W.B Walsh and S.H. Osipow (eds.) Handbook of vocational psychology (pp. 143-180). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Mid-career: The Proper Period for the Mentoring of Newly Appointed Principals

61

Levinson, D.J. (1986). A conception of adult development. American Psychologist, V: 41(1), 3-13. Little, J. W. (1990). The mentor phenomenon and the social organization of teaching. Review of research in education. 16, 297-351. Macmillan, R.B. (1998). Approaches to leadership: What comes with experience? Educational Management and Administration, 26(2), 173-184. McCay, E. (1999) Influences on change: supporting ongoing development for midcareer principals. A paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada. Murphy, P.P. and Burck, H.D. (1976). Career development of men at mid-Life". Journal of Vocational Behavior, 9, 337-343. Neapolitan, J. (1980). Occupational change in mid-career: An exploratory investigation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 16, 212-225. Oplatka, I. (2007). The school principal in late career: An explorative inquiry into career issues and experiences in the pre-retirement working years. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 6, 345-369. Oplatka, I. (2004). Prospective teachers’ constructions of leadership: In search of an ‘androgynous’ style. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 3 (1), 37-57. Oplatka, I. (2001). Types of difficulties in the induction stage: retrospective voices of women principals. Planning and Changing, 32 (1/2),1-12. Oplatka, I., and Aizenberg, M. (2007). The Perceived Significance of the Supervisor, the Assistant, and Parents for Career Development of Beginning Kindergarten Teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(4), 339-354. Oplatka, I., Bargal, D. and Inbar, D. (2001). The process of self-renewal among women headteachers in mid-career. Journal of Educational Administration, 39(1), 77-94. Oshagbemi, T. (2004). Age influences on the leadership styles and behavior of managers. Employee Relations, 26(1), 14-29. Parkay, W.P., and Rhodes, J. (1992). Stress and the beginning principal. In, F.W. Parkay and G.E. Hall (eds.) Becoming a principal: The challenges of beginning principals (pp. 103122). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Ribbins, P. (1999) Understanding leadership: developing headteachers. In T. Bush, L. Bell, R. Bolam, R. Glatter and P. Ribbins (eds) Educational Management: Redefining Theory, Policy, Practice (pp. 77-89). London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Riverin-Simard, D. (1988). Adult vocational trajectory. The Career Development Quarterly, 39, 129-142. Schaie, K.W. (1996). Human development: Aging. In A.C. Tuijnman (Ed.). International Encyclopedia of Adult Education and Training. Oxford: Penguin. Super, D.E. (1992) Toward a comprehensive theory of career development. In D.A. Montross and C.J. Shinkman (eds), Career Development: Theory and Practice (pp. 35-64). Illinois: Charles and Thomas Publishers. Walker, A., and Qian, H. (2006). Beginning principals: Balancing at the top of the greasy pole. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(4), 297-309. Warr, P. (1994). Age and job performance. In J. Snel and R. Cremer (Eds.), Work and aging: a European perspective. London: Taylor and Francis.

62

Izhar Oplatka

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Weindling, D. (1999) Stages of headship. In T. Bush, L. Bell, R. Bolam, R. Glatter and P. Ribbins (eds), Educational Management: Redefining Theory, Policy, Practice (pp. 90101). London: Paul Chapman Publishing). Weindling, D. Earley, P. (1987). Secondary headship: the first years. London: NFER-Nelson. Woods, R. (2002). Enchanted headteachers: Sustainability in primary school headship. Nottingham: NCSL. Wright, K.S. (1992). From the odyssey to the university: What is this thing called mentoring? ACA Bulletin, 79, 45-53. Wrightsman, L.S. (1988). Personality development in adulthood. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 5

EFFECTIVE MENTORING OF STUDENT TEACHERS: ATTITUDES, CHARACTERISTICS AND PRACTICES OF SUCCESSFUL ASSOCIATE TEACHERS WITHIN A NEW ZEALAND CONTEXT *

Lyn McDonald ABSTRACT

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

This chapter reports on the findings of a research project which identified and described the attitudes, characteristics, and practices of four associate teachers within a New Zealand context. The purpose of the research was to investigate associate teachers’ supervision styles and to identify what makes them successful. Data were collected from associates, visiting lecturers, and student teachers. The findings indicate that to be effective, associate teachers need to motivate student teachers, find out about their learning needs, discuss their perceptions about teaching, and model effective teaching practice. Associate teachers should also provide regular feedback and ensure that their classroom supports student supervision. The findings confirmed the importance of the supervision practices of the associate teacher.

INTRODUCTION This chapter argues that student teachers are more likely to have successful practicum experiences (the period of time student teachers spend in schools) if associate teachers (classroom teachers who supervise student teachers completing their practicum) demonstrate certain attitudes, characteristics, and practices. This is the finding of my research study into the role of associate teachers in preservice education, based on collective evidence from a *

A version of this chapter was also published in Challenge Thinking about Teaching and Learning, edited by Christine M. Rubie-Davies and Catherine Rawlinson, Nova Science Publishers. It was submitted for appropriate modifications in an effort to encourage wider dissemination of research.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

64

Lyn McDonald

number of associate teachers, student teachers, and visiting lecturers (lecturers from teacher education institutions where the student teachers are enrolled). This finding is supported by Mayer and Austin (1999) who stated the practicum is an essential and important part of preservice teacher education and its success is dependent to a large extent on the associate teacher and his or her supervision practices. My research (McDonald, 2001) indicated that an effective associate teacher needs to motivate student teachers, find out about their learning needs, discuss their perceptions about teaching, and model effective teaching practice. Associate teachers should also provide regular feedback and ensure that their classroom is supportive of student supervision. Student teachers should have the opportunity to engage in critical reflection. The data collected in the study supported the idea that associate teachers’ own personal pedagogy should be effective, that they should have up-to-date curriculum and professional knowledge, and should also be clear communicators with the ability to talk and listen to students. The findings confirmed the importance of successful practicum experiences for student teachers in their development as an effective practitioner. Further findings from the study showed that encouraging and implementing better supervision practices by associate teachers led to higher calibre student teachers and ultimately improved learning and teaching for children in the classroom. In order for the practicum to realize the potential it has as a significant learning experience for future teachers, changes need to be made based on notions of empowerment, collaboration, and reflection. This argument (Dobbins, 1996) aligns with the move over recent years from a teacher-dominated approach of associate teachers in student supervision to a more learnerdominated approach of inquiry and investigation. It has also led to a change from the associate teacher being the problem solver, decision maker, and goal setter to the student teacher and associate teacher working in a collaborative, problem solving way with joint decision making and goal setting. Much has been written about the role of the associate teacher and it is evident that they have a big responsibility in facilitating the effective learning of the student teacher in the practicum classroom. Mayer and Austin (1999) point out that helping students negotiate their own professional identities within a reflective and goal-directed framework is central to their professional growth. This requires not only a positive personal and professional relationship involving open and frank communication, but also a provision for student teachers to become more active and critical learners rather than passive recipients (Pinder, 1999). This will teach them the subtle and overt ways of acting like a teacher (Ovens, 2003) and with all the knowledge, thinking, and behaviour that is associated with becoming a teacher. Dobbins (1996) has shown that student teachers’ learning in the practicum is a complex business. One of the reasons it is complex is because the experience is different for each student and each associate teacher. Everyone brings different experiences, both personal and professional, to the classroom. Therefore it is a necessary prerequisite for a successful practicum that students have an associate teacher who is communicative, reflective, and supportive, and who has clear beliefs and philosophies in regard to teaching and supervision. Lang (2000) commented in her research that the great majority of the kinds of qualities that associate teachers recognized as contributing to the perfect student teacher fell into what Dobbins described as the personal qualities. The research of Yost, Sentner, and Forlenza-Bailey (2000) states that teacher educators should strive to provide preservice teachers not only with course work that provides them

Effective Mentoring of Student Teachers: Attitudes, Characteristics …

65

with a solid foundation for their thinking, but with the opportunities to make essential connections between practical experiences and their base of theoretical knowledge. Ball (2000, p 241) argues that “subject matter and pedagogy have been peculiarly divided in the conceptualization and curriculum of teacher education and learning to teach”. This has meant that teachers have often been left to their own devices to link subject matter, knowledge, and pedagogy. Ball further suggests that being able to complete this linking is fundamental to teaching, and associate teachers have to be able to teach all student teachers this core task. This chapter examines each of the attitudes, characteristics, and practices identified as best supervision practices and the importance of this in the supervision of student teachers. It also examines some of the issues and tensions that preservice teacher education needs to address, in order to ensure the quality and success of practicum experiences for both associate teachers and student teachers. The research discussed was a case study of four associate teachers in the Auckland area. These teachers worked in preservice education in partnership with the Faculty of Education at the University of Auckland. The teachers were identified as being effective by student teachers and visiting lecturers. Four visiting lecturers participated in the study to look at what they perceived to be effective attitudes, characteristics, and practices of associate teachers. They were invited to participate from feedback received from students and associate teachers. Three groups of six third-year students were asked to volunteer to take part in semi-structured group interviews. Data were collected from associate teachers, student teachers, and visiting lecturers by means of a semi-structured face-to-face audiotaped interview. Their responses were analyzed and grouped into common sets of themes; for example, teachers’ content knowledge, role models, personal pedagogy, reflection, feedback, communication, personal professional qualities, and professionalism.

FINDINGS

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Issues and Tensions There were a number of issues and tensions which arose for student teachers and associate teachers during practicum. An important issue related to the lack of training for associate teachers and to the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of supervision practice. Other issues referred to by student teachers were the lack of feedback and guidance by associate teachers, and the feeling of powerlessness that resulted from this for students. The assessment practice of passing or failing a practicum was an issue for some students, as were the constraints of working in someone else’s classroom. Some student teachers mentioned concerns about associate teachers who were directive in their supervision practice, and expected the student teachers to be “clones of themselves”. There were also issues and tensions for associate teachers. One associate was concerned about having to hand over her class to a student teacher, and then have the student teacher lose control and management of it. Some student teachers, according to a few associate teachers, displayed an arrogant attitude and the associates felt intimidated by this. One associate teacher indicated that maybe supervising the student teachers required too much time and effort for very little reward, both professionally and financially.

66

Lyn McDonald

These issues and concerns about lack of feedback and guidance are in keeping with the views of Groundwater-Smith (1993, p. 137) who noted: “The practicum experience is one fraught with difficulties, dilemmas and challenges as the student attempts to negotiate his or her way along a hazardous path of professional policies and practices”. In the current study, student teachers and associate teachers indicated that they dealt with and interpreted these difficulties in many ways. Some had success and saw the issues as a challenge while other associate teachers struggled with the issues. Edwards and Collinson (1995) comment that many associate teachers regard their role as complex and one that requires preparation and training, which in some cases may not occur because of lack of resources and time. There is also the fact that being a good classroom teacher does not always guarantee a teacher will be an effective mentor or associate teacher: What our data suggests is that mentoring is not an instinctive activity which can be carried out by good practitioners as another layer of their professional function as class teachers. (Edwards & Collinson, 1995, p. 9)

Mentoring or supervision has a set of skills which have to be learnt and a knowledge base which requires training (Sanders, 2000). It was clearly indicated in the current study, by all groups, that associate teachers need to have this training and preparation, as the following comment indicates: It is so important for associate teachers to have the training in the required skills of supervision. They have to be effective practitioners and role models for the students. They can’t be narrow in their approach. Also the trainers of these associates need to be effective practitioners with current or recent classroom experience. (Visiting lecturer)

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

All student teachers in the study expected the associate teachers to have read the practicum brief and been to a briefing meeting beforehand. These meetings are organized and run before practicums by lecturers at the teacher education institution, but it is not compulsory to attend. Teachers, on becoming associates, also have access to training programmes run by these lecturers. Visiting lecturers and student teachers confirmed that these courses or briefings assist in building up the associate teacher’s knowledge base, and should be part of their professional development. The courses include the skills of supervision and building of reflective practice. However, many associate teachers never attend any form of professional training, as reflected by the comment from one lecturer who stated: I think it has to be given more than just lip service. I think it actually has to be resourced and that means providing staff. (Visiting lecturer)

Because the importance of supervision for student teachers cannot be underestimated, processes that promote the involvement of student teachers in reflection and action are said to have the most successful outcomes (Gibbs, 1996). Price and Sellars (1985, p. 21) indicate that “excellent supervisors use basic principles of clinical supervision in that they are collegial, non-directive and supportive rather than coercive in style and seek to foster professional autonomy in students under their care”. The skills of collaboration, reflection, feedback, and

Effective Mentoring of Student Teachers: Attitudes, Characteristics …

67

support are skills which result in more effective supervision practices by associate teachers of student teachers. Student teachers in the current study mentioned several issues. They felt that some associate teachers were being neglectful in their approach, through their lack of feedback, and offering little guidance to them. One associate I had, actually only allowed me to teach what she said I could teach. There was no collaboration and then I had to plan it all myself with no guidance. (Student teacher) I was often left to fend for myself with no feedback or guidance. I sort of got left to do it and I felt neglected. (Student teacher)

Cameron and Wilson (1993) commented that such neglectful and directive styles are characterized by low student teacher satisfaction, and low communication between student and supervisor. Students in the current study mentioned that, when presented with these styles, they had been afraid to take risks because there was little collegiality and support from the associate teacher. Associate teachers also referred to issues and tensions. One associate teacher in the study experienced having a student lose control over the class, and leaving the associate to “put it all back together”.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

A number of times I’ve had my class turned upside down and then away goes the student. It’s taken me usually about a week to get them back on track. (Associate teacher)

For this associate, the stress of dealing with such an incident was too much and had become difficult. Another associate experienced a few student teachers who were arrogant in their attitude. The associate found that, under those circumstances, it was difficult to build up any sort of professional relationship. A third associate commented that she had been intimidated at first by the professional language the student teacher used. Several associates also mentioned the time and effort that had to be put in to be an effective associate, listing feedback, discussions, reflections, and disruption to the classroom as examples. In these instances, the associates’ initial enthusiasm, dedication, and sense of mission was replaced with expressions of stress, reluctance to have students, and dissatisfaction with role of being an associate (Sanders, 2000). Thus, both associate teachers and student teachers experienced a number of issues and tensions. Associate teachers considered that student teachers should be prepared to assume some responsibility for their learning processes within the practicum. Likewise, student teachers considered associate teachers should be prepared to assume responsibility for their role in supervising and guiding student teachers into the professional role of teaching.

Successful Associate Teachers Because practicum involves an interpersonal and interactional process between student teacher and associate teacher, the teaching and learning that occur are therefore complementary concepts, and the activities of the student teacher and the associate are linked (Cooper, 1999). In the current study, visiting lecturers, associate teachers, and student teachers all indicated that the characteristics, attitudes, and practices of excellent associate

68

Lyn McDonald

teachers included an ability to motivate student teachers and in most cases be motivated by them. This involved the teachers finding out about students’ needs and interests, and discussing and critiquing their own perceptions about teaching practice. All three groups in the study mentioned that associate teachers need to be able to give regular feedback to student teachers, be supportive and reflective, and have a passion and enthusiasm for teaching. According to student teachers, this passion needs to be reflected in clear interpersonal skills of communication, being approachable and a good listener. Four of the student teachers also commented that the way associate teachers teach is clearly reflected in the fun and inventiveness of their learning activities, and the teaching and learning strategies used. It was also noted by all of the visiting lecturers and student teachers that strong pedagogical practice and curriculum knowledge was essential.

Personal Pedagogy Associate teachers should aim to provide student teachers not only with a solid foundation for their thinking, but with opportunities to connect practical experiences with their theoretical knowledge (Yost, Sentner, & Forlenza-Bailey, 2000). This was evident in the current study. Student teachers indicated that associate teachers with a sound knowledge base were able to explain their pedagogy to them clearly. The following comment illustrates the importance student teachers placed on a knowledge base. Associate teachers have to have content knowledge, because you’re trying to understand teaching and kids, and if associates don’t have the skills or experience to tell you what is happening, it makes a really huge gap. (Student teacher)

McNamara (1994) indicated that the teacher’s knowledge of the subject matter and the skills necessary to apply knowledge in the classroom are of central importance for practical pedagogy. This concept was also evident in the current study, as the following comment indicates:

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

To be a successful associate you have to have good curriculum knowledge, you have to have a variety of learning styles you use effectively, and can model them for student teacher . . . (Associate teacher)

It is also necessary for the associate teacher to have not only sound subject knowledge but be able to apply this knowledge effectively in the classroom. Shulman (1987) and Reagan (1993) highlight the importance of teachers possessing a sound knowledge base that is clearly visible to student teachers. In the current study, it was generally felt that as student teachers gained experience, they might begin to think differently about subject matter and, in fact, classroom practice may reshape their pedagogical content knowledge. According to Shulman (1987) knowledge and experience are closely intertwined characteristics of good teachers. Teacher education is characterized by concerns with quality and professionalism, and in order to achieve quality education there is a need for high quality teachers who have sound content and subject knowledge. In the current study, associate teachers, student teachers, and visiting lecturers alike confirmed that teachers need to be able to explain their practice while at the same time being critical and reflective.

Effective Mentoring of Student Teachers: Attitudes, Characteristics …

69

Role Models It was clear from comments made by both visiting lecturers and student teachers that the ability of the associate teachers to model teaching practice and behaviour is extremely important.

I think it’s so important for our student teachers to experience excellent teaching and excellent role models because there’s a flow on effect. It inspires them, and the idea of having high standards and high expectations of children and achieving excellent outcomes, is essential. A highly proficient practitioner as a role model is vital. (Visiting lecturer)

All three groups indicated that, for a start, the associate teacher needs to want to guide the student teacher professionally. Associate teachers should be talking about their own beliefs, and own thinking processes while at the same time encouraging student teachers to think more deeply about their own practice. Such a process, with the assistance of an associate teacher, helps student teachers understand and negotiate the process of socialization, which is, as Zeichner and Gore (1990) comment, also inherent in becoming a teacher.

Reflection It was generally recognized by associate teachers and visiting lecturers that it was important for students to develop a critical awareness of their own practice, and that the practicum played a vital role in this process. The associate teachers were aware that they needed to ensure that student teachers have opportunities to develop reflective practice. Klenowski (1998) suggests that the process of reflection will encourage student teachers to be innovative and developmental in their teaching and learning, and that reflection practised within a supportive environment, encourages them to take risks and be able to articulate on their actions. This was also identified by the following comment by a participant in the current study:

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Student teachers need to be taught to engage in practice, reflect on practice and articulate practice, which in turn will better help them understand and improve their practice. (Visiting lecturer)

The importance of reflection is not for the associate teacher to demonstrate and explain how practice should be carried out, but for the student teacher to be given the opportunity for self-analysis and reflection in connection with his or her own teaching. The focus then is on how the associate teacher transfers professional knowledge to the student teacher.

Feedback All student teachers mentioned the importance of regular, clear, constructive feedback from associate teachers, and the relevancy and necessity of this. This feedback can be through formal, informal, formative, or summative assessment. Feedback can be defined in two ways: as information about the quality of work, or as the effect it has on learning. Feedback is, as Hinett (1998) suggested, not just looking backwards, but also about looking ahead to improve performance and learning. As one participant said:

70

Lyn McDonald Student teachers love feedback both oral and written. We can go home and look at it and reflect on the feedback and when we’re planning we can refer back. (Student teacher)

Associate teachers should, then, be able to provide experiences in teaching practice needed by student teachers to progress and develop. It is often the continual communication between associate teacher and student teacher, and the constructive criticism and feedback, that is needed for this to occur.

Relationship between Associate and Student Teachers The dynamics of the interactions between associate teachers and student teachers is an important issue. Lang (2000), in her research, commented that significant numbers of student teachers preferred associates who allowed them to experiment and take risks; associates who did not expect the student to be a “clone of themselves”. By making mistakes and “having a go”, students would learn. This was evident also in the current study, where student teachers constantly indicated the importance of being able to “try things out” without worrying about repercussions. This demonstrated confidence and faith in the student: Just being a good listener, being approachable and friendly, being well organized and a good manager in your class as well, that’s what I think is an effective associate. (Associate teacher)

Personal professional qualities such as enthusiasm, flexibility, being supportive, and approachable, and having a sense of humour rated highly with student teachers as being characteristics of effective associates:

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Having an enthusiastic, lively associate is wonderful- one who truly loves their job with a passion. It stands out in what they say, what they do and is so obvious. (Student teacher)

Associate teachers and student teachers commented on the importance of the relationship between associates, student teachers, and staff in general at a school, with both groups saying it could only enhance the teaching and learning opportunities for all parties. This positive, professional, collaborative relationship between associate and student teacher involves open and frank communication where constructive criticism can be given and received more easily. Blunden (1994) commented that from a student teacher’s viewpoint, good supervisors are friendly, approachable, and supportive and have pedagogic knowledge and advice to give. Mayer and Austin (1999) suggest that an effective associate is not only committed to the teaching profession, but is an articulate upholder of that profession. They go on to suggest the idea that the associate teacher is acting as a “gatekeeper to the profession” and that it is their role to build and maintain teaching as a high status profession. It is about showing a passion and love of teaching and being able to pass this on. This view was also evident in the current study: If you didn’t love it and didn’t like being with kids and having a laugh and things like that you’d just be the worst associate in the world, because you’d just pass on those ill feelings. (Associate teacher)

Effective Mentoring of Student Teachers: Attitudes, Characteristics …

71

eachers mediate student teachers’ learning by supporting their acquisition of practical and professional skills (Fairbanks, Freedman, & Kahn, 2000), and these skills are so important. They relate to the guidance, mutual learning, and friendship between associate teachers and student teacher.

CONCLUSION The study discussed in this chapter provides evidence of strong links between associate teachers and student teachers in practicum experiences. The findings highlight the importance of positive practicum experiences and excellence in supervision from associate teachers for student teachers. The quality and success of that practicum is dependent on the role and effectiveness of the supervising teacher (Koerner, 1992). Observation of successful associate teachers who effectively model teaching practice will, as indicated in the study, help lead student teachers to innovation and development in their own teaching practice. It is clear that there are a number of issues and tensions for both associate teachers and student teachers. As Martinez, Coombes, and Rigano (2001, p. 17) point out, practicum experiences should be where both associate and student teachers engage in a partnership with opportunities for “construction, reconstruction and renewal of the teaching profession”. Ensuring better supervision practices by associate teachers would lead to a higher calibre of student teachers and ultimately improved learning and teaching for children in the classroom. The importance of associate teachers as supervisors has been clearly established, and associate teachers’ views on teaching and learning, their curriculum and professional knowledge, and their interpersonal skills are important for student teachers to observe in the development of their own pedagogy and teaching style.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES [1] Ball, D. (2000). Bridging practices—intertwining content and pedagogy in teaching and learning to teach. Journal of Teacher Education, 51(3), 241–247. [2] Blunden, R. (1994). I can teach, but I don’t have to teach like Killer Miller. The Journal of Teaching Practice, 14(1), 26–47. [3] Cameron, R., & Wilson, S. (1993). The practicum: Student teacher perceptions of teacher supervision roles. South Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 21(2), 155–168. [4] Cooper, L. (1999). Pedagogical approaches to student supervision in social work. Research Monograph: No 3. Melbourne, Australia: Practical Experiences in Professional Education. [5] Dobbins, R. (1996). The practicum: A learning journey? Waikato Journal of Education, 2, 59–72. [6] Edwards, A., & Collinson, J. (1995). What do teacher mentors tell student teachers about pupil learning in infant schools? Teacher and Teaching Theory and Practice, 1(2), 265– 279. [7] Fairbanks, C., Freedman, D., & Kahn, C. (2000). The role of effective mentors in learning to teach. Journal of Teacher Education, 51(2), 102–112.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

72

Lyn McDonald

[8] Gibbs, C. (1996, October). Enhancing student teaching through interventionist supervisory strategies. Paper presented at the New Zealand Council for Teacher Education Conference, Palmerston North, New Zealand. [9] Groundwater-Smith, S. (1993). Introducing dilemmas into the practicum curriculum. Paper presented at the Fifth National Practicum Conference, Sydney, Australia. [10] Hinett, K. (1998, August). The role of dialogue and self assessment in improving student learning. Draft paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland. [11] Klenowski, V. (1998). Enriching pre-service teacher knowledge of assessment. Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference. Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland. [12] Koerner, M. (1992). The co-operating teacher: An ambivalent participant in student teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 43(1), 46–56. [13] Lang, C. (2000, August). Perfect student teachers/perfect associate teachers: Do the perceptions match? Paper presented at the Teacher Education Forum of Aotearoa-New Zealand Conference, Christchurch, New Zealand. [14] Mayer, D., & Austin, J. (1999, January). It’s just what I do: Personal practical theories of supervision in the practicum. Paper presented at the Fourth Biennial International Cross-Faculty Practicum Conference of Association of Practical Experiences in Professional Education, Christchurch, New Zealand. [15] Martinez, K., Hamlin, K., & Rigano, D. (2001). Redirecting the supervisory gaze. Paper presented at the Practical Experience in Professional Education Conference, Melbourne, Australia. [16] McDonald, L. (2001). Successful associate teachers: Beliefs, attitudes and practices within a New Zealand context. Project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration, Massey University, New Zealand. [17] McNamara, D. (1994). Classroom pedagogy and primary practice. Routledge: New York. [18] Ovens, A. (2003). Learning to teach through the practicum: A situated-learning perspective. In B. Ross & L, Burrows (Eds.), It takes two feet: Teaching physical education and health in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 76–89). Palmerston North, New Zealand: Dunmore Press. [19] Pinder, H. (1999). Breaking new ground: Redefining the practicum two years further on. Paper presented at the Fourth Biennial International Cross Faculty Practicum Conference, Christchurch, New Zealand. [20] Price, D., & Sellars, N. (1985). A synthesis of effective supervisory teacher behaviours in the final year of the primary practicum. Report to Queensland Board of Teacher Education, Brisbane, Australia. [21] Reagan, T. (1993). Educating the reflective practitioner: The contribution of philosophy of education. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 26, 189–196. [22] Sanders, M. (2000). Increasing associate teacher competence and confidence. Unpublished research completed at Bethlehem Institute of Education, Tauranga, New Zealand. [23] Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge as teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57, 1–22.

Effective Mentoring of Student Teachers: Attitudes, Characteristics …

73

[24] Yost, D., Sentner, S., & Forlenza- Bailey, A. (2000). An examination of the construct of critical reflection: Implications for Teacher Education programming in the 21st century. Journal of Teacher Education, 5(1), 39–48. [25] Zeichner, K., & Gore, J. (1990). Teacher socialization. In W. R. Houston (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Teacher Education (pp. 329–348). New York: Macmillan.

AUTHOR NOTE

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Lyn McDonald is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, New Zealand. Correspondence concerning this chapter should be addressed by email to: [email protected]

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 6

FACULTY MENTORING AT A DISTANCE: COMING TOGETHER IN THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY

*

David S. Stein† and Hilda R. Glazer‡ ABSTRACT This chapter explores how faculty and students in a virtual university experience the role of mentor working with graduate students at a distance. Faculty and student narratives from a study of online mentors and mentees help identify faculty actions that might be different from mentoring traditional students in a face-to-face program. The purpose of this chapter is to explore and describe the actions used by mentors in the virtual environment to support, direct, and encourage participation by adults in higher education. The chapter looks at the mentoring skills that online faculty need to develop in the virtual learning space and suggests how mentoring might occur in an online virtual learning space. Implications for institutions are presented.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Key words: higher education, distance learning, mentoring, adult learning, advising, institutional support

INTRODUCTION

*

A version of this chapter was also published in Perspectives on Higher Education in the Digital Age, edited by Michael F. Beaudoin, Nova Science Publishers. It was submitted for appropriate modifications in an effort to encourage wider dissemination of research. † David S. Stein, Ph.D., Associate Professor, The Ohio State University, 1945 N. High St., Columbus, OH, 43210, [email protected] ‡ Hilda R. Glazer, EdD, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Counselor Education, Chaminade Hall, Room 301, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469-0510, [email protected]

76

David S. Stein and Hilda R. Glazer

Mentoring as the transmission of scholarly values, intellectual traditions, and norms of the scholarly life is a faculty responsibility for which most faculty receive little preparation or guidance. Yet this function is associated with later success in academic careers and in completing academic programs. While mentoring is difficult to accomplish in face to face settings, additional challenges arise with the changing nature of learners and the changing venues for learning, particularly distance learning institutions. The idea of residency requirements and the traditional value placed on the complete immersion in the scholarly life is challenged by tensions between other life spheres, work, family, community activities and the commitment to part-time learning. With adult students who have established careers the mentoring expected from faculty may be different from the functions typically preformed by faculty in residency type programs. In addition to the challenges posed by the changing nature of learners in higher education, the growth of private for-profit online learning institutions are also challenging the nature of the mentoring relationship. The purpose of this chapter is to explore and describe the actions used by mentors in the virtual environment to support, direct, and encourage participation by adults in higher education. In this chapter we focus on the how faculty perceive their role as mentor in an online distance environment as well as the functions students expect. We suggest ways in which higher education institutions can provide assistance to faculty in making the transition from working in a face-to-face environment to connecting with adult learners in a virtual learning space.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

MENTORING IN THE VIRTUAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION While mentoring has traditionally been practiced outside classroom instructional activities, online learning has blurred the lines of classroom advising and career/personal development mentoring. Even the term “mentor” is contested and becoming linked to various instructional functions. Hawkridge (2003) defines a mentor as one who advises on course of study, deals with study problems, and may also grade student work. The term, in many respects, seems similar to the instructor role. A traditional definition of mentoring is that it is a process of interpersonal exchange between a faculty member and a learner, in which the mentor provides support, direction, and feedback as related to aspects of the mentee’s professional, social and personal development (Schwiebert, 2000). The term “telementoring” refers to faculty-learner interactions occurring in the virtual spaces in which the roles of faculty and student are changing due to the potential to overcome barriers due to race, gender, and class (Guy, 2000). Thus, there appears to be a tension in how the term is used and the role functions to be expected by the students as well as the faculty. The traditional role of the faculty mentor as the sole source of student’s advice and guidance on matters related to instruction, program development, and living the scholarly life is becoming redefined as a component of the higher education distance education student support service. We assert that higher education institutions providing learning degree programs at a distance must help faculty to transition to a mentoring role in which instructor presence becomes the vehicle for increasing adult learner recruitment and maintain high levels of adult learner retention. Distance education programs have the potential to increase availability and access to learning to adult learners who many not have the opportunity to engage in higher education. We have noticed that the increasing diversity of learners is challenging the assumptions about the

Faculty Mentoring at a Distance: Coming Together in the Virtual Community

77

entering skills and abilities of learners engaging in distance learning. In addition to the content expert role, faculty in an online environment must find ways to connect with diverse adult learners without the benefit of individual face to face encounters. Faculty will need to develop skills required for bridging the distance between the student, the academic experience and the institution. Distance learning using computer-mediated instruction is a commonly accepted way for higher education to be obtained for adult learners. The National Center for Educational Statistics (2003) survey on higher education found that during the 12 month 2000–2001 academic year, 56 percent of all two year and four year, degree granting institutions eligible for Title IV that offered distance education courses.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Enrollment in graduate programs increased 39 percent, from 1.3 million in 1976 to nearly 1.9 million in 2000, while enrollment in first-professional programs increased 26 percent, from 244,000 to 307,000. In the next 10 years, enrollment at both graduate and firstprofessional programs is projected to continue to increase, with graduate enrollment at more than 2 million and first-professional enrollment close to 350,000 by 2012. (US Department of Education, 2003)

Increasing learner enrollments, increasing numbers of courses delivered, and an increasing competitive environment are forces influencing how higher education institutions will respond from a systems perspective to the anticipated growth in distance learning. Successful higher education institutions develop an infrastructure to support course development, course delivery, and student support (Anderson and Elloumi, 2004). An institution’s competitive advantage in the distance learning market place might be related to the value-added services that the institution can provide, especially in the area of student support (Elloumi, 2004). A key to retention and to institutional growth is the connection the learner has to the institution. We believe that the mentor is the link to connecting learners to the institution in a virtual environment. Contact between faculty and student has been identified as a variable impacting persistence in campus-based programs as well as distance education (Golde, 2002; Whitman, 1999). Most of the research in this area has focused on undergraduate education and has not considered the differences in mentoring due to level of study; i.e., graduate students have different needs than undergraduate students (Campbell, & Campbell 2002). Research results with undergraduates have been inconsistent with regard to faculty-initiated contact, though trends indicated that faculty-initiated contact had a greater impact on completion rates for students taking lower level courses (Towles, Ellis, & Spencer, 1993). In looking at systems to enhance the learning experience for the distance learner, Dillon, Gunawardena, and Parker (1992) supported the importance of effective interpersonal communications between faculty and students. Thus communication between faculty and students seems to be an important variable in enhancing the learning experience. Communication also plays an important role in the mentoring relationship. This relationship has been further supported by the importance of faculty-initiated and faculty-supported contact. Mentoring is a form of faculty communications impacting retention and successful completion of graduate programs. While mentoring seems to be crucial to success as a graduate student (Golde, 2000), how this role is performed in a distant learning environment is still unexplored as to the effect on faculty of moving from face to face to virtual encounters. Yet, faculty are instrumental in building social

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

78

David S. Stein and Hilda R. Glazer

integration, academic integration, and academic persistence. As online universities continue to attract adult learners and open access and availability, mentor actions will become more important in fostering learning and persistence in graduate education. Graduate education has been called a community of practice (Polin, 2004; Lincoln 2000) in which a primary role of the experience is to immerse students in the culture, norms, practices and relationships of the scholarship and the scholarly community. How are the values and norms of the academic community transmitted to graduate students in the virtual campus? Can mentoring in an online environment reduce the impact of flaws inherent on traditional campuses (Mcquire and Rogers, 2003) due to issues of power, race, gender, and class? The growth of distance education infrastructures is fragmenting the traditional faculty mentor roles. Online distance education has, to a degree, fragmented the faculty role and responsibilities for both counseling and instruction (Chang, 2004). In the distance education setting four roles can be delineated: the course designer who is responsible for the course look, feel and use of the platform which may influence the type and quality of instruction offered; the counselor or advisor who guides the student through the mechanics of the course of study; the subject matter expert who determines course content, course activities and course texts; and the instructor who delivers the course and evaluates student performance. This fragmentation (specialization), we believe, changes the nature of the traditional mentoring relationship as practiced in US universities. In addition, the introduction of competitor proprietary higher education institutions is also challenging the ways in which traditional faculty roles are preformed. In the proprietary online university faculty-student contact is regulated by policies and procedures describing the frequency of contact, the timeliness of contact, and the means of contact such as virtual office hours, electronic chats, and learning management systems. As compared to face-to-face programs, online adult learners negotiate with their faculty mentors the nature, type and frequency of contacts. The nature of contacts is less about career concerns and the norms of entering a scholarly community and more about the practicalities of navigating through the virtual learning spaces and completing course and degree requirements. The specific duties of the mentor in a formal mentoring relationship are being increasingly defined as a condition of employment by propriety online institutions. These policies / programs are designed to overcome some of the traditional barriers to mentoring but still have an instructional rather than a professional development function (Phillips-Jones, 2001). Mentoring functions are related to helping the learner locate resources, helping to navigate through the institutional policies and procedures, protecting the learner from making costly mistakes, and active listening to the concerns and issues of the learner. However, in the distance environment as well as the face-to face learning space, mentoring is too often equated with providing teaching and ways to enable the adult learner to better complete the instructional sequence (Whitman, 1999; Zachary, 2002). In distance learning a faculty mentor and adult learner may never meet face to face throughout the adult learner’s degree program. Distance learning technologies may encourage faculty to explore alternative forms of mentoring (Bierema, & Merriam, 2002; Guy, 2002) in ways that may combine features of peer mentoring as well as the close-knit relationships of the faculty-mentee relationship. After serving as online faculty for over a decade we have found that telementoring, while holding the promise of more equal relationships between faculty and learners, has not blurred or erased the identities of gender, race, or class. Learners through use of language, choice of

Faculty Mentoring at a Distance: Coming Together in the Virtual Community

79

study topics, or even names tend to reveal elements of identity that may or may not influence the relationship. We have found that learners may choose to share personal information or may elect not to share anything about them mirroring the sharing that goes on in the traditional settings. Telementoring, while having the potential to increase communication has, to a degree, made it more difficulty to establish, maintain and implement relationships as faculty from face to face institutions are troubled by communicating via electronic means. We feel that this may change as faculty in all settings use electronic communication more frequently. Telementoring has changed the power relationships by providing the adult learner with more power over revealing components of identity as well as providing the learner with more control over access to the faculty member. Access to faculty is on a demand basis initiated by the learner. We propose that the online learning environment and the changing nature of students is changing the ways in which faculty relate to students. Telementoring is moving more toward assisting the adult learner with obtaining academic skills needed to master content rather than the transmission of a culture designed by the professoriate. In addition, the faculty member has become a commodity adding value to the institution’s marketing plan rather than being the gatekeeper to the rewards of academic life. What can we learn from proprietary online learning institutions that are capturing an increasing share of the adult learner graduate and increasingly undergraduate market? What mentoring styles are found among virtual higher education faculty? What are the characteristics of a mentoring relationship for adult learners who have established careers and are enrolled in a virtual learning environment? The next sections of this chapter discusses how we collected data from faculty and students, the mentoring styles of an on line faculty, and presents suggestions for serving as a mentor online.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

A STUDY OF VIRTUAL MENTORING We looked at mentoring within one proprietary institution of higher education. Data regarding faculty response toward mentoring online was obtained using a modified Principles of Adult Mentoring Scale (Cohen, 1995) as well as, online interviews with distance learning faculty and students from an accredited distance learning university. The design used is characterized as Sequential Exploratory with the first phase collecting and analyzing quantitative data and the second phase collecting and analyzing qualitative data. The integration occurs in the interpretation phase of the study. Equal priority was given to each of the data collection and analysis phases (Creswell, 2003). An email invitation was sent to all faculty at a distance learning institution. Forty-eight faculty responded indicating an interest in the study. Twenty-five faculty members completed all phases of the study including a mail questionnaire as well as an online focus group discussions conducted over a three- week period. Follow up interviews were conducted with selected faculty. Of those who participated there were 13 males and 12 females; 21 of the faculty members have held positions at face to face institutions. The same procedure was followed with students. The student sample consisted of 36 doctoral students; 19 were enrolled in a self-directed program and 17 in the course-based program. Of these 25 (69%) were female and 11 were male. Time in the program varied with a mean time of 23.75 months in a degree granting program.

80

David S. Stein and Hilda R. Glazer

The Principles of Adult Mentoring Scale (Cohen, 1995) was modified for use in the virtual environment. The 55 item scale uses a Likert Scale of never to always. An overall score is calculated with six subscales each of which identified a particular emphasis of the mentoring relationship: Relationship, Information, Facilitative, Confrontive, Mentor Model and Student Vision. Cohen provides a scoring matrix for the overall score and the six functions. Scores are measures of mentor and emphasis effectiveness. The faculty focus group responded to three questions administered one per week over a three-week timeframe. The questions were: What is it like to mentor students in the distance environment? Describe strategies useful in mentoring students in the distance environment? Include feeling part of the academic community, fostering scholarly values, persistence. How is it different mentoring new students from mentoring continuing students? The student focus group was conducted in a similar fashion. Questions were sent to the list of student participants and participants could respond to the group or to the investigators privately if they preferred. The questions were sent out one every two days. The questions were: 1. What did your mentor or other faculty members (without using names) do, say, or provide which kept you feeling part of the University Community? 2. How did your mentor or other faculty members keep you progressing in your program? 3. What did you do to keep yourself focused on your studies given the demands of your life? 4. In what ways did you keep yourself part of or identified with the university community of scholar-practitioners? As needed the investigators sent follow-up questions requesting clarification or additional information.

MENTORING PRACTICES

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The Context for Mentoring At the distance learning institution we studied, mentoring is portrayed as a faculty responsibility linked to student retention and success. Faculty mentors are described as facilitators, partners, coaches, and colleagues to their students and are the main source of guidance and support for students in doctoral programs. Students and faculty are encouraged to foster the mentoring relationship equally. We begin to see a shared responsibility for initiating and sustaining a relationship. In addition, responsibilities are specified for learners as well as the faculty. Faculty mentors are assigned the tasks of: facilitating, guiding, and evaluating student learning and professional development, facilitating frequent and regular interactions with students at least twice per quarter, notifying students when they plan to be unavailable for longer than a week and arranging faculty coverage during their absence, as well as completing appropriate action on all materials received from students within ten working

Faculty Mentoring at a Distance: Coming Together in the Virtual Community

81

days. Faculty mentors are also expected to respond to student inquiries promptly. Mentoring is established as a component of the terms of employment, fully recognized and supported by the institution. Establishing clear policies and procedures for mentoring is meant to overcome faculty resistance to mentoring such as lack of time competition with publishing and other more rewarded institutional activities (Clark, Harden, & Johnson, 2000). From the institutional perspective mentoring is seen as a communicating, monitoring and evaluating learner progress designed to be achieved in a collegial atmosphere. Faculty mentors are selected by the program chair based on the academic and practice interests of the adult learner. The faculty member’s workload is also considered in the assignment formula. Mentors in online institutions usually come from the face-to-face university and may maintain employment with both a face to face as well as the distance university. Others are practitioners whose online work is their only teaching experience. While all potential faculty mentors who wish to teach online must complete an extensive training program in both the design and conduct of online instruction, the institution does not provide any guidance on how to mentor in an online environment. While the training is mostly on serving in the instructor role, mentoring here again is thought of as tutoring. The learning platform encourages faculty to combine the counseling as well as evaluating skills. A typical course would consist of discussion boards for the academic content, a café or meeting place for students to post questions of a more general nature, or ask for specific assistance with assignments from either peers or the instructor. Email and phone contact is also encouraged for students to request assistance. Evaluation is in the form of comments sent to the student via email and points assigned for weekly work. Evaluation rubrics, lesson plans, and syllabi are standardized across faculty. The faculty mentor serves as a facilitator of the learning experience providing support and guidance. The course design and course policies establish the context, the content and the method for communication between faculty and learners.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Characteristics that Faculty Bring to the Mentoring Space Using the scale developed by Cohen (1995), faculty rated the qualities they bring to the mentoring relationship. The adult education literature suggests that the mentoring relationship is defined by the quality of caring about the intellectual and professional growth of the learner and concern for the overall well being and spiritual growth of the learner (Daloz, 1999; Zachary, 2002). In the new view of mentoring, faculty and learner are mutually accountable for the nature of the relationship and the learning outcomes that emerge from the interactions. However, the research on the skills needed to be a successful mentor has been conducted mostly on face to face encounters (Gradbow, 2000; Ross Gordon, 2002). Our research project implies that a moderate inverse relationship exists between overall mentoring scores (Stein and Glazer, 2003) and time mentoring in a face-to-face university. Overall, faculty mentoring in an online higher education institution was rated as less effective mentors. Stein and Glazer did not find any statistical difference in the mentoring scores of male and female faculty. The skills of mentoring students in a face to face program may not be transferable to working with students in the virtual environment. It appears that the more time served as a mentor in a brick and mortar institution the lower the virtual mentoring score. Table 1 indicates that this group of faculty were less effective in creating relationships with students providing and seeking information, critiquing students performance, and contributing to professional and personal

82

David S. Stein and Hilda R. Glazer

development. Less effective does not mean that faculty are less concerned or caring about online students but that the skill set necessary to feel effective as a mentor may be different in the online environment. Table 1: Scores on the Virtual Mentoring Scale

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

STDEV Mean Median

Relationship 6.133786 38.20535 39

Information 6.398437 35.49594 38

Facilitative 4.015802 21.88063 24

Confrontive Mentor Model Student Vision 9.166424 4.552289 7.393691 41.12666 22.34209 40.69575 42 22 43

TOTAL 32.60276 199.5441 206

The Relationship factor was defined by Cohen as conveying understanding and acceptance of the feelings of the student and creating a positive psychological climate for sharing. The Information factor refers to ensuring that advice is based on accurate and sufficient knowledge and requesting that information from mentees. Student Vision relates to encouraging critical thinking as it relates to professional and personal development. Confrontive focus refers to a respectful challenge of issues or lack of decision making relating to their education. The factor, Facilitative focus, is a focus on guiding mentees by reviewing interests, ideas, and abilities and assisting them in considering alternatives. The Mentor Model is the sharing of oneself with the mentee, which enhances the relationship. One student noted: “My mentor has endeavored to establish a personal relationship with me. He has said things that any student would love to hear. Whereas he is very meticulous and focused on improving my writing, he is simultaneously projecting a "we are in this together" attitude. Considering the expectations of the institution regarding mentoring, it appears that faculty are more effective in performing the technical tasks of assessing, modeling, and commenting on student work (instructional tasks) than the tasks of guiding and inviting learners into a scholarly community. Perhaps in the on line environment the tasks of supporting publishing, assisting faculty with research projects, and working with faculty on presentations at professional scholarly meetings are more difficult to conduct in the virtual environment. Perhaps these tasks are secondary to the instructional nature of the institution. The focus of the mentor seems to be more instrumental focusing on completing the program and the technical, administrative requirements of the program than communicative including deriving an understanding and acculturation to the scholarly life. Faculty narratives will illustrate that, with limited time, attention is focused on content mastery rather than on the tasks usually associated with joining the professoriate. In the next section a categorization of faculty mentor roles is presented. The analysis of faculty and student narratives illustrates the ways in which faculty perform and students ask for functions that become known as mentoring. Faculty are advising on using the learning platforms, assisting online learners to acculturate and adopt the norms and values of learning in a virtual university, and counseling learners on academic values skills related to performance in a higher education environment Mentoring is providing basic skills for learning in a technological space. In the online learning space the faculty member is an instructor, facilitator and coach rather than a shaper of values and skills needed to enter the scholarly world of research and publications. The mentoring role becomes redefined as one in which faculty guide adult learners through the

Faculty Mentoring at a Distance: Coming Together in the Virtual Community

83

technological platforms in which learning and communicating will occur. Mentoring adult students in the distance environment seemed to revolve around diagnosing their instructional needs in the skills of learning online and providing reinforcement that the adult learner can master the technology for learning online. A student saw it as giving needed advice: My mentor and other faculty members provided advice and direction for staying on track, making meaningful progress, and how to maximize getting work completed and approved. At least two other faculty members provided quasi-mentor assistance during a period of unresponsiveness from the primary mentor. They offered online tips to books, journals, etc., that was invaluable for completing the first [module]...the most difficult one.

Faculty seem to have mixed thoughts about this role. The following quotes illustrate this. One faculty mentor expresses the frustration over the role of providing basic instruction in online learning skills: I spend a great deal of time (majority) training and helping graduate adult students set up email, using word, formatting a page, sending attachments. Basic computer bits and pieces. In a sense it is a waste of my time…really not in a faculty mentor’s realm.

Another faculty member sees mentoring as helping students deal with the newness of the technological space: Many new students (doctoral) do not understand technology to the degree one would assume when registering for an online degree. This continues to surprise me. But, I have learned that they often think the only means of communication will be through email. They often do not think about the many ways technology can be used at a distance….they must deal with the newness of technology or sometimes their fear of it.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

In the online environment the mentor role is increasingly becoming associated with providing support and guidance to adult learners about the process of developing learning how to learn skills as well as learning how to use the technology to learn. These interactions occur outside the instructional platform. Faculty are expected to provide guidance and support related more to specific course objectives. Another faculty member said: New students, unless they have a lot of experience with distance courses through their work, or through their masters' programs, are nervous, unsure of themselves, find it difficult to sort out all the information they need to have as they get started with their courses, and because of their nervousness, often don't listen very well to instructions. They are often shy and afraid to disturb the mentor and so don't let on that they need help. They have trouble seeing the bigger picture, and don't understand that the experience they have isn't enough to use when posting. Referencing, APA style, scholarly writing, and researching articles are often things they don't understand, and are resistant to when the topics are introduced. Although they can be self starters, they often spin their wheels because they can't seem to grasp the information they need.

Faculty become the support network for removing the uncertainty of learning at a distance. One learner said: “A mentor is a critical support component in this process.” Over

84

David S. Stein and Hilda R. Glazer

the period of instruction, the faculty are a constant source of contact for the adult learner and a connection to the resources of the university. The faculty member acts as a broker linking the adult learner to the resources and sources necessary to develop the skills of learning in a virtual environment. Mentoring is assisting adult learners to acculturate to an online environment. Other faculty mentors seem to find that their role is one of helping adult learners adopt the culture and norms of learning online and adapting to the online learning space: It is a huge emotional shift from the face to face relationship with a class and a professor to using primarily email and discussion. It feels much colder and less connected. It is sometimes difficult to get them invested in the courses as it is in face-to-face environments. This is a culture that students need to be acculturated to… they are not comfortable with or sometimes not competent with the technology and they have trouble making the emotional shift

Another faculty member provides a variety of channels to connect to the adult learners in his course and provide them with the tools for learning in an online environment:

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Keeping them in touch: I send blanket emails to the groups about every week or more. I send them current web sites on what we are studying and helpful tips. There are many writing sites and search engines that help them with their projects, as well as day-to-day teaching. I sent it all! I encourage them to review scholarly journals and contact the authors, to ideas of how to implement certain ideas or strategies. This helps to link them in their field with fellow teachers. Students can opt not to receive emails as some do (usually five or so a term), I will normally have a handful with no email or reoccurring problems. I encourage students to share ideas and sites with me. I will forward emails with great ideas, and share experiences with the group. Contact: This is a challenge since students tend to feel isolated from their instructors in this setting. I use email to foster that connection. Most schools have email so I try to get the students up and running within their classroom. I give them my home number and encourage them to call anytime. I write personal notes, send photos (i.e., café with JK Rawlings), things that may spark conversation and interest in their continued studies. With the on-campus students they know your mannerisms, looks, and can gather perceptions. The one-page intro letter from online universities does not offer much in the way of support or a trust building relationship. Once I establish a relationship with online students I find they really are like glue. In a good sense!

Mentoring is assisting adult learners with academic skills needed to complete graduate work. The focus on this will vary with institution but some proprietary institutions now see this as more of a part of the faculty role than what we experienced in the face-to-face environments. Faculty, especially those working with entering graduate students, are placed in the role of academic skills evaluator. Although online programs do provide orientation programs to help students adjust to online study and to build basic skills, faculty are assigned the role of monitoring weaknesses in academic writing, dealing with scholarly practices for attributions, and assuring academic honesty. Faculty are expected by the institution to mentor adult learners in fundamental academic skills. Faculty redefine their mentoring roles as one of remediation while maintaining motivation to continue study. Two faculty members express the importance and the challenges of providing remedial mentoring in an online environment:

Faculty Mentoring at a Distance: Coming Together in the Virtual Community

85

Students who are self-motivated, have the knowledge and ideas, but do not have strong writing skills, the challenge is to help them see their difficulties in their writing and keep them on track. Students in this area require lots of your time and attention. The difficulty here is the distance environment as it is difficult to move ahead over the wires as quickly as it may be sitting down with that student face to face. Here you have to either print out lengthy documents or read on the screen (which can be a strain when you are used to the paper versions) or discuss many things over the telephone .

A second faculty member finds that learners entering virtual higher education program are not prepared for the demands of online learning: The American ed system that most have experienced is "hand in a paper, get a grade and forget it, go on to the next". , and with me, they must write and re-write. It is really hard for them not to feel like a failure when a paper comes back covered with things they have to change. I try to ameliorate - never use red ink, add kid's stickers to lighten up the paper (Well done! Good work! etc.) I'm worried that students in a course-based model will have a particularly difficult time when it comes to revising their work.

The challenge in online graduate education is to communicate and maintain quality academic standards while maintaining learner motivation and address individual learning styles. As one learner said: “I see the role of the faculty as resources and guides if you need that.” This last statement speaks to the expectations of the students who expect faculty to perform mentoring roles other than that of content expert.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Implications for Practice In traditional face to face programs mentors often play the role of providing social support and collegial relationships, as well as providing guidance on professional roles and behavior (Schlosser, Knox, Moskovitz, and Hill, 2003). Yet in the online environment, mentoring seems to be more about helping adult learners adjust and learn in virtual spaces. The emphasis on observing and participating in the scholarly work of the professoriate is deemphasized in favor of career advancement (Maynard and Furlong, 1995). If a goal of graduate professional education is to develop a community of practice among online graduate students, then working to move the focus of mentoring to community building and developing a professional identification should be considered with working adults. Since modeling of professional behavior is a goal of professional education, then ways to encourage mentoring relationships that foster professional development should be also be considered. This should be considered along with developing ways to encourage identification with the profession and the professional community. Online faculty are often working in the field and thus can offer a different professional perspective than the full-time academic faculty. Taking advantage of this experience can be an important to the future professional. Our finding of the moderate inverse relationship between time mentoring in the face-toface environment and the total score on the mentoring scale may relate to negative transfer between mentoring skills learned in the face-to-face environment and those needed for the online environment. And it may also relate to the changing nature of the role definition and the difficulty in making the transition. Institutions mentoring online may need to look at

86

David S. Stein and Hilda R. Glazer

faculty development related to online mentoring skills when mentoring working adults. Higher education institutions should be clear about the expectations of faculty for motivating, guiding, and facilitating learner progress through a course as well as a program of study. Given the number of posts and increasing class sizes as a means to scale the technology, an option is to redefine the mentoring role. In higher education the traditional mentoring role could be changed into one in which the faculty member is responsible for a holistic approach to instruction, concerned not only about academic performance but also the issues surrounding academic performance. Faculty in an online learning environment will need to advise on technological issues, issues related to navigating through the institution, and provide a presence that connects the learner to the educational community. In essence, mentoring becomes redefined as e-brokering, connecting the learner to the resources of the institution. Perhaps the faculty member role in higher education is changing from mentoring to e-moderating and e-advising to e-brokering. Higher education institutions might help faculty to acquire four basic skill sets. (Hawkridge citing Salmon (2000). We have modified these tasks to build from the experiences of faculty working with online students in higher education. These skill sets are: −

−

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

−

−

Assessing learner readiness to participate in online instruction early in the learning experience to build motivation and check on technological issue. In the online environment providing opportunities for students to have early contact with the faculty can increase learner confidence in using the tools for online learning. Faculty will need to learn how to assess technological readiness, become proficient in the use of communication tools, and establish procedures for negotiating contact which meets the needs of the learner and the faculty mentor. This would include establishing a consistent time for adult learners to engage in chats with the instructor or call during day or evening office hours. Becoming knowledgeable and able to communicate to students the resources available to guide students through university procedures for registration, tuition payments, technological support, obtaining textbooks. Faculty in an online environment become part of the student support services function. Faculty serve as the higher education broker connecting students with supports needed to succeed in a virtual learning environment. Building opportunities for information exchange through establishing a class identity-social presence. Early in the online experience, faculty should encourage learners to share resources, job experiences, and demonstrate the wealth of experience and knowledge that presently exists in the on line classroom. A role for the instructor is to help learners develop skill in providing guidance to their peers and the sharing of experiences. Adult learners can increase their commitments to the course and to the institution by learning how to use peers as resources Encouraging the ability to perform academic tasks as a scholar embedded in a practice context. Encouraging critical thinking and collaborative knowledge construction by providing timely, relevant, and focused feedback on the content of postings and written assignments. Faculty should be prepared to be critical of the skills adult learners bring to the graduate learning environment and work both individually and collectively to increase the academic skills.

Faculty Mentoring at a Distance: Coming Together in the Virtual Community

87

Thus, the mentor role, rather than being an individually focused role, becomes in the online environment a collective role in which the faculty member serves to improve the quality of academic work and in doing so creates a personal bond linking the adult learner to the institution. In the competitive online learning for credit environment, concerned and committed faculty are a means for adding value to the educational experience. In online institutions, the role of mentor is prescribed, defined, and regulated through institutional practices. However, it is not enough to prescribe practice. Online faculty working with adult students must also learn a relationship pattern, which respects the lifespace of the adult learner and recognizes the differing educational goals of the adult learner. In institutions providing online learning as an adjunct to regular faculty loads, online students should be considered as part of the total faculty load taking on a status equal to face to face students. Online mentoring is less about faculty serving as gatekeeper to a profession and admission to the academic community of scholars and more about guiding the adult learner toward achieving a given goal, developing sound academic practices, and mastering the intricacies of learning in a virtual environment. Mentoring can be a way to model professional roles and can be a way to learn skills for communicating in the virtual environment. It can lead to the development of a rich relationship enhancing the educational experience. As the digital age broadens access to higher education, institutions must consider how to invite adults into the community of learners and develop strategies for retention of and integration into the institution. While the trend is toward fragmenting the roles as a way to efficiently provide student services, this can result is a loss of identification with the institution. Making the faculty member central to the relationship of the learner to the institution provides a consistent person in the academic life of the individual; someone who is there and who cares. Mentoring by faculty provides an integrated, academically oriented strategy to adult learner success in higher education.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Anderson, T., & Elloumi, F. (2004).Theory and practice of online learning cde.athabascau.ca/online book. Athabasca University CA. Bierema, L., & Merriam, S. (2002). E-mentoring: Using computer mediated communication to enhance the mentoring process. Innovative Higher Education, 26(3), 211-227 Campbell, D., & Campbell, T. (2000). The mentoring relationship: Differing perceptions of benefits. College Student Journal, 34(4), 516-536. Chang, S. L. (2004). Online learning communities with online mentors (OLCOM): A model of online learning communities. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 5(2), 7588. Clark, R. A., Harden, S. L., & Johnson, W. B. (2000). Mentor relationships in clinical psychology doctoral training: Results of a national survey. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 262-268 Cohen, N. H., & Galbraith, M. W. (1995). Mentoring in the learning society. In M. W. Galbraith, and N. H. Cohen (Eds.), Mentoring: New Strategies and Challenges, pages 514. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

88

David S. Stein and Hilda R. Glazer

Cohen, N. H. (1995). The principles of adult mentoring scale. In M. W. Galbraith, and N. H. Cohen (Eds.), Mentoring: New Strategies and Challenges, pages 15-32. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Dillon, C. L., Gunawardena, C. & Parker, R. (1992). Learner support in distance education: An evaluation of a state-wide telecommunications system. International Journal of Instructional Media, 19(4), 297-312 Elloumi, F. (2004) value chain analysis: A strategic approach to online learning in Anderson and Elloumi (eds.) see above page 61-92 Anderson, T., & Elloumi, F. (2004).Theory and practice of online learning cde.athabascau.ca/online book. Athabasca University CA Golde, C. M. (2000). Should I stay or should I go? Student descriptions of the doctoral attrition process. The Review of Higher Education, 23(2), 199-227. Guy, T. (2002). Telementoring: Sharing mentoring relationships for the 21st Century. In C. Hansman, V., Mott, & Guy, T. (Eds.). Critical Perspectives on Mentoring. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearing House on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, Center on Education and Training for Employment, The Ohio State University. Hawkridge, D. (2003). The Human in the Machine: Reflections on mentoring at the British Open University. Mentoring &Tutoring 11(1), 15-24. Lincoln, Y.S. (2000). When research is not enough: Community, care and love. Review of Higher Education, 23(3), 241-256. McGuire, G., & Reger, J. (2003). Feminist co-mentoring: A model for academic professional development. NWSA Journal, 15(1), 54-73. Maynard T., & Furlong, J. (1995) Learning to teach and models of mentoring. In T. Kery & H.S. Mayes (Eds.), Issues in mentoring. New York: Routledge Press (pp. 10-24). Phillips-Jones, L. (2001). The New Mentors and Protégés. Grass Valley, CA: The Mentoring Group Polin, L. (2004). Learning in dialogue with a practicing community. In T. Duffy, & J. R. Kirkley (Eds), Learner-centered theory and practice in distance education (pp. 17-48). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Schwiebert, V. L. (2000). Mentoring: Creating connected, empowered relationships. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Stein, D. S., & Glazer, H. R. (2003). Mentoring the Adult Learner in Academic Midlife at a Distance Education University Mentoring the Adult Learner in Academic Midlife at a Distance Education University. American Journal of Distance Education, 17(1), 7-23. Tello, S. (2003) Instructional interaction and student persistence in online education. Paper presented at the Sloan-C Conference on ALN. November 15, 2003. Orlando Fla. Towles, D. E., Ellis, J. R., & Spencer, J. (1993). Student persistence in a distance education program: The effect of faculty-initiated contact. Paper presented at Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Chicago, IL. Whitman, A. (1999). Mentoring the distance learner. Community College Week, 11(18), 2124. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). The Condition of Education 2003 (NCES 2003-067). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Faculty Mentoring at a Distance: Coming Together in the Virtual Community

89

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). Distance Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions: 2000-2001 (NCES 2003017). Washington, DC: U.S, Government Printing Office. Zachary, L. (2002). The role of teacher as mentor. In J.M. Ross-Gordon (Ed.), Contemporary viewpoints on teaching adult effectively. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, no. 93 (pp.27-38). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 7

SUPPORTING FUTURE TEACHERS LEARNING TO TEACH THROUGH AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF MENTORING *

Pi-Jen Lin† National Hsin-Chu University of Education, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The purpose of this article is to introduce an integrated model of mentoring for supporting future teachers learning to teach under the impact of teacher education reform of Taiwan, particularly, in the internship. This article begins with the introduction of teacher education reform and is followed by the description of the impact of teacher education on quality control. Then, it includes a brief description of six integrated reach projects investigated by teacher educators. One of the integrated research projects that was designed to improve mentors’ competence of mentoring for supporting future teachers learning to teach is reported in detailed and an integrated model of mentoring is developed. Finally, the views of mentors and the future teachers are described briefly and the issues of mentoring are addressed.

Keywords: Future teachers, integrated model, internship, metnors.

*

A version of this chapter was also published in Science Education Issues and Developments, edited by Calvin L. Petroselli, Nova Science Publishers. It was submitted for appropriate modifications in an effort to encourage wider dissemination of research. † All correspondence to: Pi-Jen Lin, Email [email protected], National Hsin-Chu University of Education, Taiwan,521, Nan-Dah Road, Hsin-Chu City 300. Taiwan, R. O. C.

92

Pi-Jen Lin

INTRODUCTION Teacher preparation programs across countries have made considerable efforts to the content and the process of the practicum. The practicum stipulated allows the future teacher (FT) to have field experience in school settings throughout the entire school year with the support of university faculty and school teachers. Due to much of the responsibility for mentoring FTs in Taiwan lie with the mentor in the schools who are not subject specialists rather than with university faculty. As a result, FTs have little professional learning with school teachers during practicum. With drastic changes of economy, policy, and society, quality control is an emerging issue since the teacher preparation reform was issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE ) of Taiwan in 1994 (MOE, 1994). A great deal of researchers on teacher education have paid a lot of attention to the studies of teacher preparation, but these studies are limited on the learning opportunities for FT provided by the teacher preparation program in teacher education institutes, the criteria of recruitment and selection, university-based course and practicum requirements, and accreditation systems for teacher education (Fwu and Wang, 2002). Teacher education reformers of Taiwan did not focus on the supports of FTs with creating opportunities for improving quality of teaching, in particular in the internship until the privilege of teacher colleges or Normal university for teacher preparation is deprived. The main focus of the article is on the introduction of a new program that was designed to improve mentors’ competence of mentoring for supporting FTs’ quality of teaching with the support of school-university partnership in the internship.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

TEACHER EDUCATION REFORM OF TAIWAN The teacher education reform under the impact of economic, political and social contexts has demonstrated a drastic change since the Teacher Education Act (TEA) of Taiwan was issued in 1994. The major changes are: 1) School-based practicum is reduced to a half year from a whole year and attached in the fourth year of a four-year teacher preparation program; 2) Teachers are certified by the processes consisting of qualifying a teacher while completing four-year courses, half-year practicum, and then certifying a teacher after passing a certified teacher examination. 3) The teacher preparation is opened to any institution which has a teacher education program (MOE, 1994).

The Impact of Teacher Education Reform The TEA declared that all four-year public and private universities and colleges are allowed to run teacher education programs for training teachers as long as they meet the requirement of the MOE. As a result, deprived of the privileges in teacher training, teacherscolleges suffered from lower popularity among high school graduates and a decrease in students’ academic level. Under situations, some teacher colleges upgraded to a university of education or a comprehensive university. The declining government budget for higher education and the limited quantity and quality in faculty and facilities made the

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Supporting Future Teachers Learning to Teach Through an Integrated Model…

93

transformation of universities of education or to seek opportunities to integrate them into nearby universities. In addition, with the decreasing population of babies born, the supply of teachers from teacher education programs is higher than the demand. The number of teachers to be prepared from each university of education is required to be reduced by 50% as many as before (MOE, 2005). The establishment of teacher education programs by any university or college needs to be approved by the MOE according to a set of official criteria for quality in the faculty, curriculum, and facilities of the programs. However, the process of training, curriculum, instruction, and practicum vary among the different teacher education programs. Some programs in universities have an inadequate number of faculties and a lack of practical experience in internship. To control teacher quality, a national examination of teacher inspection was ignited in 2004. However, only FTs’ knowledge of general pedagogy instead of subject matter pedagogy is assessed in the inspection. The inspection is not able to assess how well the future teachers (FTs) performed in teaching learned from teacher education program. With the exception of the high percentage of FTs passing the national examination of teacher inspection to be achieved, the teacher educators of Taiwan were aware of the importance of FTs’ ability in performing in the classroom. They recognized the practicum as an important component in teacher education. Teaching is a form of highly complex and skilled practice depending on teachers’ knowledge and skill. A knowledge base including a theoretical and a professional component underpins teaching. The theoretical component is taught in the years of teacher preparation program, while the professional component needs to be developed in the professional practice. However, the practicum provides FTs with an opportunity to develop the professional knowledge but it often results in FTs developing the technical skills of classroom management, rather than the wisdom of professional practice. Within ten years, a method of assisting FTs to develop professional knowledge in partnership formed between schools and universities where FTs have opportunities to be involved with the day-to-day activities of professional practice. The studies on teacher preparation show that FTs complained that they are required to devote a great deal of time to administrative affairs of schools. They were mentored by the mentors who do not have enough professional knowledge in mentoring (Lo, Hung, and Liu, 2002). Thus, their professional knowledge was not developed during the internship although the school-university partnership was implemented. The failure of the partnership could have resulted from the unsuccessful mechanism of collaboration between school and university. When comparing the successful experience of the USA implementing the partnership of school-university in practicum, teacher educators of Taiwan attempted to reconstruct a new concept of the school-university partnership that was designed to enhance the mentors’ knowledge and skill such that improving the quality of practicum by providing FTs with greater involvement with mentors in teaching. Since teacher education reformers of the USA indicate that the structure of the relationship creates the opportunities for the FTs to relate the theoretical knowledge to the practical realities of schools and classrooms. They regard through the school-university partnership FTs as one of the important strategies to support FTs’ learning to teach, and thus, to improve the quality of teaching (Odell, Huling, and Sweeny, 1999). In these experiences, the FTs are not focused on the technical skills of classroom management. Instead, the FTs are engaged in meaningful professional-related tasks.

94

Pi-Jen Lin

The Issues of Internship Emerged Under the Reform Since the enactment of the TEA in 1994, the issues of the ambiguity of FT’s role, government’s over-loaded on allowance of internship, and diversity in outcome quality control have emerged. The ambiguity of FTs’ role during practicum is an issue under the TEA impact. FTs in school placement were neither a student (because of their completion of courses of TE program) nor a teacher (because of no salary). FTs were dominated by mentors by school administrators to devote a great deal of time to doing school administrative affairs. The FTs were afraid of rebelling school teachers’ authorities because the part of their grade of internship was graded by school teachers or mentors. Therefore, it leads to lack of professional learning during the internship. Each FT gets NT$8000 monthly allowance for internship during school placement. It is overloaded for government in finance. On the other hand, for FTs, monthly allowance with NT$8000 is not sufficient for affording FTs’ living. It is imbalance between the hours FTs worked and the pay they gained. Diversity is another essential feature of the teacher education reform. Due to the huge variance in FTs’ quality and the training process at individual universities, the MOE is worried that the mushrooming of TE programs in the past few years might result in a decline in teacher quality. Thus, it is necessary to establish a uniform standard for assessing FTs’ quality through a nationwide licensing examination to assure teacher quality.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

MUSHROOMING OF INTEGRATED RESEARCH PROJECTS ON MENTORING Due to the enactment of the TEA, the number of TE programs set by regular universities has accelerated, from the initial 9 programs in 1994 to 88 programs approved by the MOE in the year 2006 (MOE, 2005). Mushrooming of these programs has indicated the variance of the teacher quality. Due to the variance in training process at individual universities, the MOE is worried that the increment of the TE programs in the past few years might result in a decline in teacher quality. To overcome this problem, recently, the National Science Council associated with MOE funded a goal-oriented research grant to call for research proposals from teacher educators. The goal-oriented program is to improve the quality of teacher education in mathematics and science. Within three years, there were six integrated research projects approved by NSC were investigated by mathematics and science teacher educators from University of Education and Normal universities (National Hsinchu University of Education, 2006). Four of them were at the primary level and two were at the secondary level. The six integrated research projects are displayed in Table 1 by level, subject-matter area, and goals.

Supporting Future Teachers Learning to Teach Through an Integrated Model…

95

Table 1. Introduction of Six Integrated Research Projects characteristics

projects

MP1

MP2

SP1

SP2

MC1

MC 2

Mentors

○

○

○

○

○

○

FTs

○

○

○

○

○

○

Mentoring program

○

○

○

○

○

○

School-based

○

○

Mathema tics

○

○

○

○

Chinese

○

○

Science

○

○

○

○

Primary

○

○

○

○

Establishing professional Standards

Subject

Level

○ ○

Secondar y

○

○

○

M: mathematics S: Science P: Primary level C: Secondary level.

Table 1 shows that only one project (SP2) investigated mentoring in science and only one project (MC1) involving in mathematics. There were two integrated research projects (MP1 and MP2) involving in three subject-matter areas, mathematics, Chinese, and science. Each integrated research project is described briefly as follows.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

MP1. A Project of Professional Development of Mentors at Primary Level The integrated research project MP1 includes four sub-projects which explored the literacy of subject-based teaching including mathematics, Chinese, science and non-subject based technology at primary level. The sub-project involving in technology was intended to be integrated into the three subject-matters. MP1 is a three-year research project. It was begun by establishing a set of professional standards for mentors and for FTs, respectively. The second year was to develop and design a mentor training program. The third year was to develop an interactive model of mentoring by integrated three subjects. The mentoring model of MP1 was to meet the need of teaching a range of subjects for a teacher at the primary level. It was called as a model of one-subject mentors with multiple-subject future teachers (OSMMSFT). It means that each mentor was only trained to be specialized in one subject by subject-matter teacher educator of the university.

MP2. A Project of Developing Mentors’ Professional Development The integrated research project MP2 including four sub-projects was designed to develop a set of professional standards for mentors in teaching mathematics, Chinese, science at

96

Pi-Jen Lin

primary level. It was followed by setting up a mentoring program and developing a collaborative model between mentors and FTs. Then, it was ended by assisting professional growth in a school-based context.

SP1. A Project of Mathematics and Science Teachers’ Professional Standards and Professional Development The integrated research project SP1 was designed to develop a set of professional standards and develop a training program for mentors at primary level for improving the effectiveness of mentoring. SP1 was a three-year research project. The first two years were working on the establishment of professional standards and the design of mentoring program, respectively. The third year was to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program and revised. The mentors and FTs involving in SP1 are in mathematics and science area.

SP2. A Project of Science Mentors’ Professional Development and Training The integrated research project SP2 was designed to construct a theory and a model of training a science teacher to be a mentor at primary level. This was a three-year research project. The first year was to establish a set of professional standards for mentors. It was followed by developing a training program for mentors. The second year was to develop a model of mentoring with a university-based approach. The third year was designed to develop a model of mentoring with a school-based approach.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

MC1. A Project of Professional Development for Mathematics Mentors at Secondary Level The integrated research project MC1 was designed to establish a set of professional standards for mathematics mentors at secondary level. The standards consisted of two dimensions: mathematics and teaching mathematics. MCI consisted of six sub-projects. There were three sub-projects set up professional standards with respect to mathematics dimension including geometry, algebra, and statistics. The other three sub-projects were related to the establishment of professional standards of teaching mathematics including mathematics teaching, meta-cognition, and culture of mathematics. MC1 was a three-year research project. The first year was to set up a set of ideal professional standards for mentors and for FTs, respectively. The second year was to develop a set of professional standards for FTs to be a qualified teacher. The third year was to develop an instrument of inspecting a FT to be an initial teacher.

Supporting Future Teachers Learning to Teach Through an Integrated Model…

97

MC2. A Project of Establishing Professional Standards and Professional Development for Mentors and FTs The integrated research project MC1 was designed to establish a set of professional standards for mathematics and science mentors at secondary level and a set of professional standards for mathematics FTs at secondary level. There were five sub-projects involving in the integrated project MC1. The first year was to set up a set of professional standards for mentors and FTs in mathematics and science. The second year was to design a training program for mentors and FTs. The third year was to evaluate the effect of the mentoring program. In sum, the establishment of professional standards for mentors and for FTs and followed by setting up a mentoring program is common goal among the six integrated research projects. Although setting up a set of professional standards for mentors and for FTs respectively were the purpose of the integrated projects, the distinction among them was varied by subject area, level, and methodology. The design of a mentoring program, the development of a model of mentoring, and the evaluation of the mentoring program were the main focus among the six integrated projects. The introduction of each integrated project was not the purpose of the article. Instead, only one integrated research project MP1 is reported in this article.

AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF MENTORING PROGRAM FOR IMPROVING QUALITY OF INTERNSHIP

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

A Mentoring Program: MP1 The goal of the half-year mentoring program for mathematics mentors group as part of the integrated research project MP1 was to enhance mentors’ knowledge and skill of mentoring. The mentoring program was based on the professional standards of mentors that were conducted by the author in the first year of MP1 project (Lin and Tsai, 2007). The professional standards describe the indicators of preliminary knowledge and skill of a teacher to be a mentor. The course of mentoring program includes two parts, professional knowledge and skills of mathematical teaching and mentoring. Each part includes five topics: curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, social mathematics norm, topics about individual students. Curriculum topics refers to the objectives for instruction, the scope and sequence of the content to be learned, the sequence of activities, textbook, resources of teaching, and the plans and schedules for teaching. Pedagogical topics cover the discussions on subject mater knowledge, instructional strategies, clarity of explanation, questioning, problem-posing, and analyzing students’ various solutions. Assessment topic related to assessing students’ learning and performance as well as their progress. Social mathematics norm topic is the issues about social interaction in mathematics classroom, the norms of groups of students in a class. Topic about individual students included discussions about the background, learners’ needs, behavior, and progress of an individual student (Lin, 2007).

98

Pi-Jen Lin

The courses of mentoring program provided by the researcher, who is the teacher educator of university, including theory and practice of mathematics teaching and mentoring were implemented in a six-day summer workshop with 36 hours and half school-year with 42 hours. The summer workshop was to conceptualize mentors’ and FTs’ knowledge of teaching mathematics toward learner-oriented, while the course of the school year was to enhance mentors’ knowledge and skills in mentoring and FTs’ knowledge of teaching.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

An Integrated Model of Mentoring An integrated model of mentoring was explored in the integrated research project MP1. The purpose of the MP1 was to improve the knowledge and skill in mentoring for mentors via the partnership of school-university. In developing the school-university partnership on FT preparation, there were five main considerations. First, the school to be recruited was dependent on the willing of the mentors and the FTs. Second, the school to be recruited at least consists of the mentors from mathematics, Chinese, and science. Third, the school has a commitment to maximize the FTs’ involvement in the community of mentors while at the same time minimizing the possible disruption this participation might cause the mentors and schools. Fourth, some kind of ancillary benefits and feedbacks for giving back to the school from the partnership were also a consideration for the university when designing the mentoring program, for instance, minor finical support and certified hours of institutes. Fifth, the school needs to offer mentors and FTs supports on professional practices. The final consideration was that the supervisors (or teacher educators) of the FTs during practicum are the researchers involving in the integrated research project. This consideration is intended to reduce FTs’ burden from the researchers and supervisor of practicum as possible. It is not possible for developing FTs’ professional knowledge if the mentors’ mentoring knowledge and skills have not been developed well. The mentoring program associated with school-university partnership was designed to assist mentors in developing mentoring knowledge and skills, and then to enhance FTs’ professional practice during practicum. The mentoring program included three subject mentoring programs, mentoring in mathematics, mentoring in Chinese, and mentoring in science, as part of an integrated research project. Due to FTs to be a primary school teacher who teach several subjects, mathematics and Chinese are required to be taught for a home-room teacher. To meet this need, an integrated model of mentoring was developed. The integrated model of mentoring was that each participant FT was mentored by a mentor in mathematics and mentored by another mentor in Chinese. Mathematics future teachers group consisting of FTm1, FTm2, FTm3, and FTm4 were mainly mentored to be a professional teaching in mathematics. They were mentored by mathematics mentors group consisting of A, B, C, and D, and were also mentored to be a professional teaching in Chinese assisted by Chinese mentors group consisting of P, Q, R, and S. Each FT in mathematics group was mentored by a mentor from mathematics mentor group and a mentor from Chinese mentor group. Likewise, Chinese future teachers group consisting of FTc1, FTc2, FTc3, and FTc4 were mainly mentored to be a professional teaching in Chinese. They were mentored by Chinese mentors group and also were mentored by mathematics mentors group. Each FT in Chinese group was mentored by a mentor from Chinese mentor group and by a mentor from mathematics mentor group. Science future teachers group consisting of FTs1 and FTs2 were mentored to be a professional teaching in

Supporting Future Teachers Learning to Teach Through an Integrated Model…

99

science and were mentored by science mentors group consisting of I and J. Each FT in science group was mentored by a mentor in science mentor group.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 1. The integrated model of one-subject mentors with multiple-subject future teachers (OSMMSFT).

Figure 2. The Partnership of School-University.

100

Pi-Jen Lin

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

However, to reduce mentors’ tension and burden from their participation in the mentoring program, each mentor was only trained to be specialized in one subject by subject teacher educator of the university. The subject teacher educators were the researchers, who participated in the integrated research project. For instance, the mentors A, B, C, and D were trained to be an expert in mathematics teaching assisted by the researcher from mathematics department, while mentors P, Q, R, and S were trained to be an expert in Chinese teaching assisted by the teacher educator from Chinese department. The integrated model displayed in Figure 1 is called as a model of one-subject mentors with multiple-subject future teachers (OSM-MSFT). The connection among future teachers, teacher educators of university, and mentors in a school is described in Figure 2. The partnership of school-university was designed to form three different professional mentoring groups, mathematics, science, and Chinese in the school. Mentors I, and J are trained to be an expert in science teaching assisted by a science teacher educator. This creates the maximum opportunity for FTs to learn the professional knowledge. The integrated model of one-subject mentors with multiple-subject future teachers (OSM-MSFT) forms several teams of mentors with FTs. For instance, two mentors A and P working with two FTs, Fm1 and FTc1. FTm1 and FTc1 learned from Mentor A about how to teach mathematics, while they learned from Mentor P about how teach Chinese, as displayed in Figure 3.

Figure 3. The Collaborative Team of Mentors Working with FTs under the OSM-MSFT Model.

To let FTm1 and FTc1 presented in mentor A classroom simultaneously to watch Mantor A’s lesson, they were required to appear in Mentor P classroom simultaneously to watch Mentor P’s Chinese lesson at other time. Mentor A and P needed to sit together to arrange

Supporting Future Teachers Learning to Teach Through an Integrated Model…

101

their class schedules for FTm1 (displayed by ) and FTc1 (displayed by ☺), as depicted in Table 2. Table 2 is an example of a weekly class schedule of mentor A (or mentor P) during school day. The mathematics class of the two mentors was arranged at the same time. Same as the Chinese class. Both Mentors A and P are fifth grade teachers. FTm1 and FTc1 were always appeared in the same classroom at the same time. Table 2： A Weekly Class Schedule of Mentor A (or P) During School Day

Class 1 8:40-9:20 Class 2 9:30-10:10

Monday Chinese ☺

Tuesday Chinese

Wednesday Mathematics

Thursday Mathematics

Friday Mathematics

☺

☺

☺

☺

Mathematics

Chinese

Mathematics

Chinese

☺

☺

☺

☺

Class 3 10:2511:05 Class 4 11:1511:55 Class 5 13:2014:00 Class 6 14:1014:50 Class 7 15:0015:40

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

☺: FTm1

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

Chinese

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

(☺)

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

(☺)

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

Chinese

☺

(or ☺)

(or ☺)

☺

:FTc1

THE PROCESS OF HELPING IN IMPROVING MENTORS’ PROFESSIONAL TEACHING AND MENTORING The four mentors participating in the project had no experience of mentoring. To help them putting their visions for mentoring into practice, the mentors were supported via four phases. There was a one-hour classroom observation on every Thursday morning and a follow-up three-hour mentoring group meeting in the afternoon throughout each phase of the mentoring program. There are two groups. One is mathematics mentors group consisting of the researcher and four mentors. The other is mathematics FTs group consisting of four pairs of mentors-interns. Afterwards, each mentor required immediately share FTs with main ideas discussed in the mathematics mentor group meeting. The integrated model took the critical constructivist perspective on mentoring that knowledge is actively built by learners through

102

Pi-Jen Lin

the process of active thinking (Wang, and Odell, 2002). The researcher and the mentors were viewed as learners and generators of new knowledge and practices of mentoring. Likewise, the mentors and the FTs were also viewed as learners and generators of new knowledge, and they had to count on each other. The integrated model stressed mentors’ active construction of mentoring knowledge through what they have leaned in practice and constant dialogue with teacher educators. The collaborative inquiry model of mentoring in school-university partnership is depicted in Figure 4 as follows.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 4. Collaborative Inquiry Model of Mentoring in School-University.

Phase 1: In the first two weeks of the mentoring program as the first phase, the mentors were supported in gaining the idea of induction through mutually sharing among them. The mentors were encouraged to offer emotional support for interns to overcome reality shock and reduce psychological stresses caused by the conflicts between their personal lives and professional requirement. Each mentor took turns to report in public how she introduced her intern to students and parents in the first few days of the school year. Each FT was asked to report their feelings about the induction treated by mentor. Phase 2: In the second phase, from week 3 to 6, we supported the mentors in gaining a general picture of the kind of teaching and in understanding the basic procedures in their teaching through observation and reflection about other mentors’ lessons. Each mentor was asked to teach several lessons for FTs in their own classroom. In this way, each FT could see how their mentor taught a lesson on the content that was going to teach. It was followed by a short conversation with the mentor concerning the relationship between the syllabus, students’ performance in classroom, and the lesson actually taught. Before the FTs’ observation, each mentor must elaborate the purposes of teaching she had for that lesson. Then, each mentor required FT to observe her lesson with these purposes in mind and to understand the reasons underlying the teaching. This phase provided the mentors an opportunity to support FTs on learning how to observe a lesson focusing on learners and supported mentors’ learned the teaching with a learned-oriented approach. Phase 3: The third phase, from week 7 to 10, we supported the mentors working with the FTs together in preparing a lesson and a peer observation (called as LPPO). The first opportunity was observing a mentor preparing a lesson with her FT sitting together and then

Supporting Future Teachers Learning to Teach Through an Integrated Model…

103

observed the mentor to teach the lesson. It was followed by peers’ observation on how the mentor carried out the lesson, and then observing the mentor asking her intern a series of questions, such as explaining how well the lesson plan was carried out, how well the objectives she have achieved in the lesson, identifying the changes she made in the lesson compared to the lesson plan. During the third phase, other mentors not only learned from the pair of mentor- intern about mentoring on lesson plan and teaching, but also gave the mentor comments or suggestion on mentoring. Each pair of mentor-intern took turns engaging in the activities of LPPO. The FT in each pair was asked to report what she learned in the activity of LPPO. Phase 4: Each FT’s teaching was arranged in the fourth phase, from week 11 to 14. The final phase was allowed the assigned mentor to passively work with FT altogether on lesson plan. The phase was to examine the effect of mentoring on interns’ performance on mathematics teaching. The result accounts for an aspect of the effect of the mentoring program. During this phase, each FT was evaluated by other FTs, mentors and a researcher. The evaluation of mathematics teaching consists of two aspects: teaching preparation and teaching behavior.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

MENTORS’ AND FTS’ VIEWS OF THE INTEGRATED MODEL The four pairs of mentors and FTs participating in mathematics group as part of the integrated research project were interviewed individually about their views of integrated model. The consensus they made was on the class schedule. The two mentors working with same two FTs arranging at the same time for both mathematics and Chinese class respectively are preliminary requirement in the model of one-subject mentors with multiple-subject future teachers. Otherwise, the FTs were not allowed by their mentors to watch lesson without their mentors’ permission. All mathematics mentors committed the function of the integrated model because this model created the opportunity for them to learn the new pedagogy for teaching Chinese from their FTs who participated in the Chinese mentoring group. Conversely, the Chinese mentors have the same agreement. They also mentioned that two FTs working with each mentor had more opportunities to stimulate multiple perspectives than only one FT working with each mentor. The suggestion of the model the mentors made was that the two FTs worked with two same grade mentors since their concerns had readily on the same focus. For FTs, the integrated model afforded them rich professional learning. For instance, on the phase of lesson plan, their mentors guided them the use of teachers’ guide or resources. They said that they learned how to work on lesson plan for an effective teaching, since mentors asked them to predict students’ various anticipated strategies or solutions and to ask students follow-up key questions in align with students’ responses. These concerns should be written preciously on the lesson plan. Besides, the FTs learned to pay more attentions to the sequence of the activities to be taught. They also learned that the sequence of the activities were relied on the objectivities of the lesson, the context of the problems to be posed, the numbers involving in the problems, and students’ prior knowledge.

104

Pi-Jen Lin

THE EFFECT OF THE INTEGRATED MODEL OF MENTORING ON FTS PERFORMING ON TEACHING The effect of the integrated model of supporting FTs on the preparation of mathematics teaching and classroom teaching are depicted in Table 3 and Table 4. The 5-scale average scores shown in Table 3 were evaluated by the participant mentors from the mathematics mentors group who observed the FTs’ teaching. The data of Table 3 indicates the four FTs well-equipped on preparing a lesson before teaching, the average score of the most of the items is more than 4.0, excepting the consideration of assessment. With the help of mentors, they had good understanding on objectives and logic structure to the content to be taught. Their good preparation of the lesson and good organization of teaching activities were revealed in the performance on classroom teaching.

Table 3. Average Score of FTs on Readiness of Preparing a Mathematics Lesson FTm1

FTm2

FTm3

FTm4

Mean

1. Understanding of instructional objectives.

4.2

4.0

4.4

4.8

4.4

2. Understanding of the structure of materials.

4.6

4.2

4.3

4.6

4.4

3. Understanding of the mathematics content.

3.9

4.6

4.4

4.5

4.4

4. Preparation of lesson.

4.3

4.6

4.9

4.8

4.7

5. Activities building on students’ preexperience 6. Adaptation of teaching activities.

4.6

5.0

4.6

4.6

4.7

4.3

4.0

3.9

4.1

4.1

7. Lesson plan including assessment.

3.3

3.1

3.7

4.1

3.6

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Readiness of Preparing a Lesson

Table 4 shows that of the 15 items of mathematics teaching, FTs performing on the 13 items had average scores more than 4.0, other than two items with respect to dealing with students’ thinking and solutions. FTs still had the difficulty with realizing the distinction among students’ various solutions. They also needed to learn how to polish the strategy of stimulating students’ thinking.

Table 4. Average Score of FTs Performing on Mathematics Teaching Teaching Behaviors

FTm1

FTm2

FTm3

FTm4

Mean

1. Draw students’ attention by various strategies.

3.7

4.8

4.5

4.6

4.4

Supporting Future Teachers Learning to Teach Through an Integrated Model… 2. Using resources (e.g. manipulatives, ICT etc.). 3. Asking questions for evoking kids’ thinking.

3.6

4.9

4.9

4.6

4.5

3.8

4.4

4.1

4.5

4.2

4. Posing daily life problems.

4.3

4.4

3.5

4.5

4.2

5. Posing problems by solving a specific strategy.

3.7

4.0

4.3

4.4

4.1

6.Good interaction between students and teacher

3.6

4.9

4.5

4.0

4.3

7. Questioning students’ thinking.

3.9

4.6

4.1

4.5

4.3

8. Stimulating students’ various strategies.

4.1

3.6

4.1

3.9

3.9

9. Comparing various solution given by students.

3.7

3.9

4.0

3.8

3.9

10. Default students’ misconception.

3.6

4.3

4.3

3.8

4.0

11. Feedback to students’ responses.

3.9

4.7

4.4

4.1

4.3

12. Affording equal opportunity for students.

3.8

4.0

4.3

4.4

4.1

13. Create secure environment of learning.

3.7

4.7

4.6

4.6

4.4

14. The activities are interesting.

3.3

4.9

4.8

4.8

4.5

15. Achieving instructional objectivies.

3.4

4.1

4.3

4.4

4.1

105

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

DISCUSSION With reconceptualizing the meaning of a school-university partnership, the integrated model of mentoring provides some evidence for the crucial importance of the mentor in the development of the FTs’ professional learning. It gives the view that simply placing FTs in school without adequate mentoring support would give FTs little chance to develop their classroom teaching skills and understanding. The teacher educators of the university offered the support of an integrated model of mentoring for mentors in school. However, there were several tensions and difficulties which emerged under the integrated model of mentoring. Most of the mentors and FTs had the agreement of joining the partnership of the university, but they felt that neither the school nor the university had provided a detailed enough brief about what was involved. There is little doubt that mentors were surprised by the unexpected tensions their role generated in the school. Initially the mentors showed hostility due to a belief that they had gained additional work. They struggled with the additional work and the improvement of professional knowledge. However, the factors of additional work did not appear to play a significant part in influencing mentors choosing to take on the role. Gaining their professional confidence and professional knowledge became an internal incentive. The difficulties mentors encountered in the integrated model included additional work, tight schedule, and FTs’ will to participate. Likewise, additional work and tight

106

Pi-Jen Lin

schedule were the difficulties for the FTs need to face during practicum. The willingness of FTs participating in the integrated model of mentoring is drastically decreasing, science they have little opportunity to become an initial teacher needed in school. Some of the FTs who planned to change their profession to other occupation lacked professional engagement during practicum. FTs had unequal professional knowledge before getting into school placement. It is suggested that some items of professional standards required for FTs should be achieved in the coursework of the teacher education program prior to practicum. Preliminary literacy of elementary school teachers teaching several subjects and practice-oriented methods of teaching in the subject area should be covered in the coursework of the teacher education program. This indicates that it is necessary to construct an operational system for qualifying a teacher. Nation-wide professional standards either across subject matter or subject-bounded, various professional standards for future teachers, internship, initial teachers, and expert teachers should be established in the contemporary teacher education in Taiwan. In addition, the policy-makers of teacher education are encouraged to associate with the researcher of teacher professional development such as the model of mentoring and the model of evaluation of teacher professional development to set up decisive policies of teacher education.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Field, J. C., and Latta, M. M. (2001). What constitutes becoming experienced in teaching and learning? Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 885-895. Fwu, B. J. and Wang, H. H. (2002). From uniformity to diversification: Transformation of teacher education in pursuit of teacher quality in Taiwan from 1949 to 2000. International Journal of Educational Development, 22 155-167.Inventing a new role for cooperating teachers. Paper presented at the annual Lin, P. J. (2007). The effect of a mentoring development program on mentors’ conceptualizing in mathematics teaching and mentoring. Paper will be presented in the 31th Annul Meeting of International Group of Psychology of Mathematics Education. Korea: Soul Lin, P. J., and Tsai, W. H. (2007). The establishment and development of processional standards of mentors. Journal of Hsinchu University of Education. Lo, J. J., Hung, C. C., Liu, S. T. (2002). An analysis of teacher education reform in Taiwan since 1994 and its potential impact on the preparation of mathematics teachers at the elementary school level. International Journal of Educational research, 37, 145-159. Ministry of Education (1994). Teacher Education Act, Ministry of Education, Taipei (in Chinese). Ministry of Education (2002). The statistics of the teacher education programs permitted in the first semester of 1995 school year) Retrieved 2 March, 2002, Taiwan, from http://www2.edu.tw/high-school/ii1320/bbs/63.doc. Ministry of Education (2005). Yearbook of teacher education statistics, Ministry of Education, Taipei (in Chinese).

Supporting Future Teachers Learning to Teach Through an Integrated Model…

107

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

National Hischu University of Education (2006). Proceedings of the conference on the teacher development of the mathematics and science mentors and interns. National Hischu University of Education (in Chinese). Odell, S. J., Huling, L., and Sweeny, B. (1999). Conceptualizing quality mentoring: Background information. In S. J. Odell, and L. Huling (Eds.), Quality mentoring for novice teachers (pp. 8-17). Indianaplolis, IN: Kappa Delta Pi. Wang, J., and Odell, S. J. (2002). Mentored learning to teach according to standards-based reform: A critical review. Review of Educational Research, 72(3), 481-546.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 8

THE INTERFACE OF MENTORING WITH MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN TODAY’S ORGANISATIONS *

Charles Oaklief INTRODUCTION Previous chapters have introduced the concept of mentoring in business, industry and government organizations with specific emphasis upon training and learning in the workplace. It is imperative in today’s organizations that those who sponsor and initiate mentoring programs do so with the utmost care so that personnel engaging others in a mentoring relationship are equipped with the needed conceptual understandings and skills which make a difference in individual performance and also support organizational process and purpose. Thus equipped, mentoring programs should have a higher chance for success.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

THE NATURE AND PROCESS OF MENTORING Basically, the literature on mentoring can be categorized into two larger conceptual areas. First is the structural and programmatic aspects of mentoring. A substantial amount of this information is devoted to the development and positioning of organizational units which have overall responsibility for mentoring operations. An example would be making the decision as to whether the mentoring program should be an autonomous freestanding unit or if it would better serve the organization as part of the human resource development function or related personnel operations.

*

A version of this chapter was also published in Improving Workplace Learning: Emerging International Perspectives, edited by Geraldine Castleton, Rod Gerber and Hitendra Pillay, Nova Science Publishers. It was submitted for appropriate modifications in an effort to encourage wider dissemination of research.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

110

Charles Oaklief

Secondly, the development and conduct of ongoing mentoring interventions must support the complex nature of human interactions and interface effectively with workplace members and managers. The literature is replete with suggestions on performance of daily mentormentee activities. An example relative to current thinking would be the ideas involved in moving from a traditional managerial belief system to a more learning leadership approach as outlined by Fritts (1998). This philosophical focus for mentoring places the mentor and mentee in positions of shared trust, respect, purpose and shared teaching and learning roles. In reality, the manager-mentor serves as both an integrator and facilitator of learning and development activities (Kanter, 1983). Both areas emphasize the need for adequate sponsorship, resources and management. This chapter takes a more inclusive look at the larger and sometimes forgotten aspects of the organizational and facilitative functions associated with mentoring in the workplace. Emphasis is given to: (1. Positioning the mentoring program as a facilitative component to the training and development function, (2. Building goodness of fit for mentoring programs within existing management approaches, (3. Aligning the mentoring process with the organization’s bottom-line, and (4. Mentoring in tomorrow’s organizations. Early on, the mentoring of executives and upper-level management directors was in the spot light and the influence of this process on the promotion and advancement of top level managers is well documented (Clutterbuck and Megginson, 1999). The same can be observed with the relationship between mentoring activities beginning at mid-organizational levels and advancing through the attainment of top-level executive organizational hierarchies. More recently, the benefits of mentoring at the individual employee level have been transformed into extensive orchestrated programs in large organizations which serve organizational outcomes in various ways. Of course, the ultimate benefit to the organization is similar to that of other human resource development activities as found in training, counseling and related human resource development programs. The intricacies of procedure and process are many and the variances are wide from program to program. This is especially true in smaller less structured mentoring programs. It seems the one unifying idea that connects the vast assortment of definitions and approaches to mentoring is that they all seek improvement in the mentee’s performance and ultimately their organizations effectiveness. Suffice it to say that in this chapter mentoring is identified as a formal structure and process within which individuals possessing desired knowledge, skills, and experience are pared with individuals desiring to achieve similar competencies relevant to their current or future jobs. This conceptual framework is evident in current literature (Fritts, 1998; Murray, 1991). To be sure, a lot of unorganized and informal mentoring takes place in any organization. Any respected, influential or “star” performers may knowingly or unknowingly influence the development and/or performance of another member of the organization. Also, the mentoring event may be the result of both mentor and mentee initiating the mentorship and agreeing to transact desired learning outcomes. In both instances, the mentoring process is informal and may or may not result in the actual application of desired behaviors. It is safe to say that such informal mentoring events will be around in some form as long as there are organizations with people who have real developmental needs. So this more informal approach to mentoring continues over time. Instances of this helping and teaching scenario are common to all cultures. Such activities are reported from the earliest historical records as in Homer’s story of the mythical guardian Mentor and his performance of teaching, advising, and

The Interface of Mentoring with Management and Human Resource …

111

guardianship. The act of sharing and emulation of values and culture (Odyssey, 1200 B.C.) continues to this day. In naturally occurring mentorships the interactions between individuals may likely take place through the informal aspects of the organization. In these instances the establishment of a mentor-mentee relationship may occur outside the normal conduct of workplace activities such as during lunch, at a retreat or work break where either party might offer or request input on a workplace problem or situation. On the other hand the development of more structured and focused mentoring programs require ties to the constructs of the formal organization. Here is where leadership has valued a more intensive and focused application to mentoring. The initiation of formal mentoring programs is a complex administrative process which calls for specific structural considerations. Some of the more important characteristics are listed below:

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

a) A program which is designed as a part of the larger organizational design and management scheme. b) All levels of management have opportunity for input into the design and operational aspects of the program. c) Both mentors and mentees are encouraged to offer improvements in the mentoring process. d) There is a formal process for the following events: i) Selection of mentors and mentees. ii) Development and use of diagnostic and related needs assessment tools to identify the knowledge, skills and insights needed by mentees. iii) Orientation of both mentors and mentees as to their responsibilities in the mentoring process. iv) An agreement between mentor, mentee and immediate supervisor on what areas are to be developed. v) Formal assignment of an individual with the responsibility for conducting and maintaining the effectiveness of the program. vi) Outcomes assessment to determine the accomplishment of specific objectives of the program and its value to the organization. e) Provision for the interface of the mentoring program with management approaches and other human resource efforts of the organization. Beginning with the earliest organizations mentoring was a commonly recognized activity for the advancement of managers and was considered to be essential for the upward bound executive. Managers first perceived mentoring more as a sponsorship activity than as a process to develop knowledge and skills pertaining to competence and human resource management. (Wisscox, 1987; Levinson, 1978). Although this scenario continues today the formal mentoring program goes well beyond a company’s socialization processes. Perhaps the most significant characteristic of mentoring programs today is the emphasis on applied changes associated with the performance of the mentee’s job. The responsibility for this bottom-line approach rests not with the mentee alone, as in most early applications of the process, but with the mentors, the managers, the workplace team members and the mentee. In short, with formal programs, mentees have a support and resource team to make sure learning is on-target and that behavioral changes have a better chance of being implemented.

112

Charles Oaklief

POSITIONING THE MENTORING PROGRAM AS A FACILITATIVE COMPONENT TO THE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FUNCTION If mentoring programs are to be successfully designed, implemented and conducted as a continuing support service of the organization, it is best done as an integral part of the larger management and human resource development scheme. Although, many mentoring efforts have ties to the communication loops within their respective organizations few have been singularly designated to be an integral part of the training and development program. In this section considerations for initiating and conducting the mentoring process as an integral part of the organization's learning system is discussed. In order to make the point clearer as to how mentoring activities can be integrated with larger training and development agendas it is useful to discuss the more commonly recognized activities or events which facilitate the progression of mentees through a well organized program. The following functions are considered important components of successful mentoring programs found in more formal settings. The list is not all inclusive but does contain the more prominent features as reported by Murray-Hicks (1972) and suggested by recent authors (Barton, 2001; Phillips-Jones, 2000). a) Identification of Mentee

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

b) Diagnosis of Learning and Development Needs

c) Recruiting and Selecting Mentors

Eligible candidates for the program are identified for a mentee position. Considering the larger organizational and administrative view this is when attention can be given to special target audiences such as women in supervisory positions, minorities and upward bound executives to name a few. There can be several approaches to accomplish this function such as the formal application and testing process, nomination by a sponsor, or by an individual volunteering for a mentee position. In this function the developmental details of the mentee are determined. Activities can include performance reviews and assessments as well as needs analysis specific to the mentee. This is where performance, learning/work environment, personal objectives, job goals and critical decision making information come together. The diagnosis process may range from the simple to the complex depending on the nature of the situation. A simple diagnosis might be based upon the mentee’s felt needs for a particular bit of knowledge or skill. A more complex diagnosis could encompass assessment of performance history, on-the-job- analysis, research data, in-put from assessors, and simulated performance of projected behaviors. Formally developed guidelines for recruiting mentors provides the needed structure and directions to facilitate the selection process. Recruits come to a selection panel

The Interface of Mentoring with Management and Human Resource …

d) Determining Goodness of Fit with mentor and the mentee

e) Orientation of Mentors

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

f) Orientation of Mentees

g) Agreement to the Mentorship Development Plan Areas

h) Development of the Learning Plan

113

by volunteering, through recruitment by upper level managers, on the request of a potential mentee or by a mentor program selection committee. Candidates for a mentorship are commonly interviewed by a committee representing the mentor program staff. This is usually a standing committee which is represented by a member of management, the mentor program staff, currently active mentors and a manager from the department or division wherein the mentoring experience is to be consummated. Considerations in this area include an analysis of the knowledge, skills and competencies desired by the mentee. In addition, an assessment of the mentors potential to deliver the identified learning experiences, the establishment of appropriate networking contacts and the provision of counseling all contribute to a successful mentor-mentee relationship. Few formal courses exist that provide custom tailored training for mentors. Thus, the form of such training follows the specific characteristics of the organization’s leaders and respective workplaces. Mission and scope, mentoring processes and activities, relationship with the management hierarchy and immediate supervisor, approaches to transfer of learning to the job and evaluation procedures are some of the more commonly found orientation topics for mentors. Depending on the complexity of the mentoring program the orientation of mentees may include standard topics as well as workplace specific topics. Orientation topics include reviewing the unit’s mission and scope, imperatives for upward bound managers, review of the customer service commitment and specifics for job or unit personnel. Even though many of the topics are appropriate for either the mentee or mentor orientation process it is important to tailor make orientations to fit the organizational levels wherein the mentorship is to take place. Written agreement relative to the development partnership, time frame, learning and application plan, role of the mentor, nature of learning experiences, and expectations are important. A more informal agreement might be consummated with notes indicating just the specifics of the mentor’s role, development areas and time frame in less formal mentoring relationships. Input from the mentee, mentor, immediate supervisor, workplace team, and upper management may be

114

i) In-Process Activities

j) Reporting to Mentor Program Manager

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

k) Conclusion of the Mentorship

Charles Oaklief considered in developing mentoring goals. Other resource materials include the mentees job description, competency descriptions for immediate or future job, performance evaluations, training activities, and customer feedback information. The learning plan may extend well beyond the time allotted for work with the mentor. The mentorship may be tied to the training and development department’s five long range plan for a particular department in the organization. Typical meetings for planning, feedback and coaching take place as proposed in the letter of agreement or formal mentoring contract. Here, mentors and mentees meet for performance reviews, planning, coaching, and feedback related to the learning and development plan. How often meetings do take place depends on the agreement. Dialogue at-a-distance can take place on the web, by telephone or e-mail. Mentees may be invited to accompany their mentors to events where observations can open up new ideas and opportunities for mentees to further develop their potential. Referrals may also be made to existing training or continuing education events. Both the mentor and mentee may be asked to report on the status of the process with the program manager. This reporting may be agreed upon by the parties or it may be on a need basis so as to interface the program with other personnel activities such as training and changes in organizational structure or direction. An end of mentorship report and evaluation of the learning plan is a part of the formal reporting process. Completion of the reporting process is the responsibility of both parties. The learning and development agreement contains a time frame for beginning and ending the mentorship experience. However, either the mentor or the mentee may choose to end the agreement if either feels the mentorship is unproductive or counter to themselves or the organization’s purposes. In this event, the final reporting process is followed by all parties.

The functions of a formal mentoring program connote a structured large group service that has as its product an informal personal development function. According to Bell (1998), a mentor is simply one person helping someone else learn something the learner would otherwise have learned poorly, more slowly, or not at all. Bell makes the connection to the training function by suggesting that mentoring is typically focused on one person while group mentoring is a form of training. While this may be an over simplification of the human resource development function of an organization it does point out that perhaps the larger

The Interface of Mentoring with Management and Human Resource …

115

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

portion of organizational learning takes place out of the training room and when two people come together to learn by sharing knowledge and skills. There are many facilitative and educational activities conducted by organizations that are not training per say but do provide the setting for learning and individual development. Mentoring is just one of those activities. Other similarly conducted activities like coaching and self-directed learning are accomplished through one-on-one interactions and the establishment of a high level of trust between the facilitator (mentor) and the learner (mentee). The pursuit of learning, the accomplishment of knowledge and skills and the application of the desired changes in behavior to the job is a goal of both mentoring and training. How the mentoring function can compliment and further an organization’s training agenda is an important consideration. Further, the overall effectiveness of the training agenda is enhanced through its association with the various training functions and events. These scenarios are discussed in the following commentary. Human resource development, more commonly known as training and development, is a significant function of any organization and over the years has become recognized as one of the most contributory and critical units of an organization. More recent analysis (Phillips,1997)) has suggested this is true in times of growth and also when organizations are hard pressed due to restructuring, down-sizing, and reorganization. The following advantages of a close association of the mentoring function with training and development highlights the critical importance of a relationship. 1. Learning and developmental needs of mentees identified in the mentoring process may be provided for by the mentor or through a training event. The training needs assessment process is difficult at best. Many developmental needs surface in the close proximity and safety of a mentor-mentee relationship which otherwise may go undetected. The operational procedures of the mentoring program should highlight the possibilities of resolving learning needs through the regularly scheduled training events and also when taken collectively. This program may lead to the provision of a special training activity which would otherwise not be offered. Mentoring programs function more smoothly if their operational guidelines and activities are not secretive. Utilizing the training and development agenda to facilitate mentoring processes is one side of the coin. The identification of learning and performance needs of various individuals through the mentoring process is an example of the other side of the coin. In addition, the identification of potential mentors and mentees through their participation in training is effective and efficient. 2. Regularly scheduled training events sometimes offer subject matter that does not meet the interests or real needs of the trainees. Too many times employees are sent to training with no clue as to why they are there and with little interest in the subject matter. Such situations are a waste of time and money. Feedback from the mentors through the mentoring program coordinator to the training officers can be very helpful toward designing training programs that offer learning opportunities that are on- target, efficiently delivered and have high probability for application back onthe-job. One of the process and product outcomes of the training environment is the identification of learning needs by the trainees. In normal training events this information is either utilized in the design of training curriculum or it becomes a

116

Charles Oaklief critical part of the discussion and learning process. It is during training that the need for mentor interventions for an individual many occur. Interestingly, this works both ways. In some situations mentees may identify similar skill and knowledge needs which, if fed into the training development process, become very important to training development instructional design. 3. In addition to grounding the learning needs assessment process mentioned in number 2 there is another close tie of the mentoring effort with the training program in that the association strengthens both entities. This is especially true when trainees need help in bridging the gap between training outcomes and real-world applications (Murry,1991). 4. During the conduct of training, the learners themselves may be the richest resource for learning (Knowles, 1998). The employees’ orientation to learning is life and/or work-centered. In the mentoring context the approach involves active participation in real life situations. The mentoring process can bring to light the important realities of the workplace. Those involved in the mentoring process can bring the realities of their work situations to the training process. 5. Developing ownership of the desired learning by trainees is an important outcome. A mentee’s recognition for the need to learn new knowledge or skills is likely to develop from dialogue with their mentor as well as through their final performance assessment process. When such development needs are translated into training agendas progress is made toward ownership, higher levels of involvement and a greater chance for application of learning back on the job.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

BUILDING GOODNESS OF FIT BETWEEN MENTORING PROGRAMS AND MANAGEMENT STYLE In the previous section the discussion centered on the facilitative relationship between the mentoring program and the training and development function of an organization. To be sure a complimentary process can provide enhancement for both mentoring and training outcomes. Although similar in perceived outcomes the mentoring and management process are enhanced by a learning environment that recognizes and promotes the idea of workplace learning. As discussed earlier in this book, the emphasis to develop a highly effective workforce has focused our attention on such management approaches as competency based management, work-based learning and accountability management (Dearing, 1997;Kennedy, 1998) It is no surprise that when organizations face significant competitive challenges it is through the training and development processes that managers focus their efforts in order to initiate constructive change to meet or cope with the challenges (Thakor, 2000). Current management thinking (Hall, 1991; Stevens, 2001) promotes the idea that an organization’s belief or philosophical stance sets the tone for managerial behavior and employee commitment. The move toward the learning organization has placed a new vision for management performance. The emergence of formal mentoring programs did not show rapid growth until the late twentieth century. During this time frame management theorist and change strategist met the demands of our global challenge for competitiveness with a focus on

The Interface of Mentoring with Management and Human Resource …

117

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

an organizational environment which effected high employee involvement and ownership in traditional managerial functions (Gerber and Lankshear, 2000). This focus on involvement continues today and is manifest through a variety of approaches. The nature of management approaches which are conducive to the development and operation of effective mentoring programs are described in the following scenarios. Management that: a) Recognizes the untapped potential of employees - There are a lot of narratives that describe the beliefs and practices of today’s managers. To be sure current supervisory behaviors may represent the interface of the best of past management theory and practice. The belief that employees will contribute their best in the workplace as producers and/or problem solvers and that employees can exercise selfmanagement as indicated by Stevens (2001) are examples of theories which will continue to drive modern day management. Successful organizational behavior for our highly competitive society has caused employers to realize the value of emphasizing the positive nature and further development of their employee’s potential. b) Focuses on the mentorship as both a learning and productivity building process Operationalizing the belief that organizational systems and people must be complimentary and that employees will contribute their best in the workplace as producers and/or problem solvers as indicated by Stevens (2001), is an example of the ideas which will drive modern day management through current and future challenges. Organizational learning equates to continuous development and a more secure future (Rothwell, Hohme & King, 2001),wherein both organizational processes and human performance are improved. Management uses development to (1. improve those operational processes that equate to getting things done, (2. develop the long-term capabilities of employees and (3. refine the management skills that lead and support the performance of employees. c) Provides necessary support, resources and direction - Managers that expect success from their mentoring program and that provide the resources and direction to insure that success have taken a major step toward the achievement of improved processes and personal performance for their employees. The mentorship process can field new and improved ways to get things done. In many organizations this process is stymied by tradition, habits or limited thinking. So, ideas for improvement and efficiency that spring from the mentoring process can help remove obstacles to change. However, managers need to have a shared purpose for the kind and level of results expected from their workplace. d) Maintains a work environment that builds rapport - The ability of a manager to relate to people and to create a learning or work environment (Ulrich, Zenger & Smallwood, 1999) is equally important to participation in learning as it is to employee motivation, retention and performance in the workplace. According to Longenecker and Simonetti (2001) the management team must build bridges by demonstrating trustworthy leadership, practicing effective communication, enhancing teamwork and striving for the highest rapport in the workplace. e) Applies bottom-line supervisory functions for reflective and reciprocal interaction among employees that focus on the purpose of the organization - It is rare to find the

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

118

Charles Oaklief manager that does not agree that the imperative for success in their unit rests with performance improvement and commitment to management absolutes. Organizational leadership begins with a solid understanding of the mission, scope, objectives and ways and means which can deliver the best product or services. Obviously, knowledge of the limiting factors as well as the enhancing factors of production are also important. This is where innovative and strategic thinking comes into play. Getting results depends on some combination of task-oriented behaviors as well as people - oriented practices. In their book Getting Results Longenecker and Simonetti (2001) report on a study of over 2000 managers and identified five concluding absolutes on managerial behavior. A review of their findings reveal these ideas: 1. Build an unwavering focus on desired results for management, employees, and the organization as a whole. Practice continuous measurement of performance.Creating focus in the workplace involves having a clear vision and a solid mission. Assessment of achievement on goals and understanding of employee’s objectives can increase yield through synergy, value added behavior and efficiency. 2. Hire high quality employees, execute effective planning and organizational procedures, provide results oriented training and development and supply the tools and technology for high performance. Equipping the workplace for quality performance requires the highest levels of personnel, systematic planning and continuous learning that is pre-problem oriented and focused on the bottom-line. 3. Create a workplace that reveres and rewards performance. Management that couples performance assessment with constructive feedback removes barriers to achievement and also resources the organization’s potential.Developing a work environment focused on results is based upon continuous assessment and improvement, linkage to training, coaching and mentoring support and having employees who are motivated by ownership and accountability. 4. Provide trustworthy leadership that encourages communication, cooperation and nurtures effective relationships and teamwork. Effective relationships are built upon trust, understanding and thorough communication. The result should be effective cooperation and teamwork. The nurturing of positive attitudes goes a long way toward building supportive and dynamic relationships in the workplace. 5. Keep your workplace in tune through continuous renewal for management and employees. Build consistency and balance throughout all facets of your work and personal life.The learning organization provides for continuous renewal of employees and management. The process involves constructive appraisal, training and ultimately performance that interfaces on the immediate situation and final product or service.

Certainly, organizations represent a complex array of variables which interact with each other and over time affect the performance and ultimately the bottom-line. Managers can set the stage so that support structures such as mentoring programs and training and development services can make a positive contribution to the organization’s operation. In the case of mentoring programs the management team can essentially do two things. First managers can

The Interface of Mentoring with Management and Human Resource …

119

support the mentoring process by integrating mentoring activities with their on-going supervisory functions. This provides organizational acceptance, intensifies resources and makes mentoring an organizational reality. Secondly, managers can utilize mentoring as a key human resource strategy. Granted, the second approach calls for a more complex and farreaching set of interactions. However, this interface of mentoring with the vision of organizational learning provides a cost-effective way for enhancing more flexible, adaptive employee-learner networks throughout the organization. Becoming a managerial mentor (Fritts, 1998) is another way to develop the critical leadership needed in the learning organization.

ALIGNING THE MENTORING PROCESS WITH THE BOTTOM LINE

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

As discussed earlier in this chapter the benefits from a formal mentoring program are achieved through both process and product. The mentoring process provides informal contacts with people in the organization that can resolve problems, link mentees with both hard and soft resources and provide understanding that will be needed for future responsibilities in the organization. The formal contributions are directly related to those learning needs and experiences identified in the mentees mentoring contract. The challenge in both instances is related to the perceived outcomes of the organization’s bottom-line. As discussed earlier, the true value a formal mentoring program can only be realized when employee performance is enhanced and there is measurable impact on the application of products or services. There are very few prescriptions which provide the needed activities to accomplish this objective, however, attention to the following ideas could be helpful in any organizational setting. a) Working outside the box- Participants in any mentoring program must not limit their focus and application of new knowledge and skills within the confines of their immediate work. By building a larger range of competencies and facilitative behaviors within their own teams as well as with other departments or divisions the larger organization wins. The days of building a loose knit group of “fair-haired” and closely managed mentees are over. Choosing mentors that can deliver in this challenging situation is critical. Mentors that have a myopic view of the world are usually not well suited to the need of modern-day mentoring. b) Continuous improvement demands continuous learning - The best mentors and mentees realize that their current competencies are never at the level actually needed and that learning must continue and improve. Mentors must stress the importance of constant communication with managers, employees, vendors, researchers and competitors. c) Give priority to keeping mentees focused on proactive leadership in the organization - Mentees cannot benefit from their development experiences unless they work to continuously resolve problems and dissatisfactions in their performance areas. Postponement, procrastination and indifference to existing issues is problematic. Mentors need to provide their charges with an attitude of reality, critical analysis and

120

Charles Oaklief focus on the process and product of their organization. This is where keeping the bottom-line in focus is critical. d) Organizational strategy must be linked to action. The mentoring process is no different than any development approach in that each must maintain strict focus on the processes which would drive the organization toward its mission and objectives. The process involves constant focus upon where the organization is and where it should be in terms of the bottom-line.

MENTORING IN TOMMORROW’S ORGANISATIONS

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Like any developing field or profession the structure, operational procedures and organizational interface of the mentoring function with tends to expand. It is not the purpose here to debate the pros and cons of that fact. Instead a look at the realities of mentoring in future organizations might provide some attempt at summary and closure on this intriguing subject. Peter Senge (1990) was an early promoter of the concept of the learning organization which was detailed in his popular book The Fifth Discipline. One of the propositions holds that organizational membership demands personal mastery and change that enables members to not only be continuous learners but to accomplish things that are critically important to themselves and to the larger organizational membership and structure. In this respect the future of mentoring has great potential toward the accomplish of such ends. The future can be derived to some extent by observing changes and directions of the present. With this in mind the future of mentoring may be derived through consideration of the following ideas: a) Mentoring for Learning and Leadership - Considering the challenges of the changing corporate world it may be folly for organizations to expect employees to place their affiliation at risk by continuously challenging the status quo, taking increasing risk and experimentation with the unknown; all solutions offered by many management gurus. Interestingly, it is through just such activities that organizations will excel in the future. Such an event can only happen if the membership adopts the ideas and performance of personal and organizational learning. A successful mentoring program builds trust and commitment among work teams and throughout the organization. b) Mentoring for Organizational Imperatives - The processes and product of mentoring must be driven by the most critical results centered behaviors. Evidence (Cutterbuck and Megginson, 1999) supports the trend in the mentoring of executives from primarily a sponsorship or socializing function to a learning and development process. Certainly this will continue in the years ahead and may in part be due to greater focus on organizational efficiencies, attention to customers and the synergy that builds quality and competitiveness. Mentoring can be very helpful in bringing balance in the lives of mentees. Mentoring will certainly move toward the development of the whole person and not just as a problem solving process. c) A Move Toward Comprehensive Models - Mentoring programs have evolved from informal executive support processes to comprehensive human development models

The Interface of Mentoring with Management and Human Resource …

121

which reach participants throughout the organizational structure. Future mentoring operations will involve more diverse and greater numbers of customers. The learning and development activities will be more complex in terms of benefit to the individual and the organization. The attainment of new and more usable competencies will need to be measurable. These higher competencies will become the organization’s resource for the way its people solve problems, provide leadership, motivate others and compete with the larger environment. While components of an organization’s training function may be out sourced the mentoring function is an activity associated with the in-house team and not as susceptible to being contracted out or dismantled during difficult times. Thus, it is not surprising that proponents of formal mentoring programs look to focus mentoring outcomes on performance improvement. The idea is not new that mentors will need to emphasize their role as team members in the human performance improvement process. In accomplishing this role Phillips (2000) identifies the following skill areas with which mentors might facilitate the transition from traditional development activities to the performance improvement agenda. Mentors will indeed practice as analysts, intervention specialists, role change manager and evaluator. This chapter has highlighted how managers are expecting more effectiveness from their human resource development programs. Mentoring like training and supervision must serve the organization in achieving results and thus improve performance. In this case the mentoring program is the means to an end. Placing the mentoring function as one of the most useful activities that an organization can develop and improve up on can be a most productive move. The comprehensive mentoring program supports all stake holders in the quest of individual and organizational performance.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Barton, K. (2001) Connecting with Success. Palo Alto, CA: Davis-Black Publishing. Bell, Chip R. (1998) Managers as Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler: Clutterbluck, D. and Megginson, D. (1999) Mentoring Executives and Directors. Oxford: Butterworth-Hinemann. Dearing, R. (1997) Higher Education in the Learning Society. Report of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education. London: HMSO. Fritts, P. J. (1998) The New Managerial Mentor. Palo Alto, California: Davis-Black. Gerber, R. and Lankshear, C. (2000) Training for a Smart Workforce. New York: Routledge. Hall, R. (1991) Organizations, Structures, Processes and Outcomes. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice- Hall. Kanter, R. M. (1983) The Change Masters. New York: Simon and Schuster. Kennedy, B. (1998) Learning Works. London: Further Education Funding Council. Knowles, M. S. (1998) The Adult Learner. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing. Longenecker, C. and Simonetti, J. (2001) Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

122

Charles Oaklief

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Murry, M. (1991) Beyond the Myths and Magic of Mentoring: How to Facilitate Effective Mentoring Programs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Murray-Hicks, M. (1972) Generic Model for a Facilitated Mentoring Program. Oakland: Calif.: MMHA, 1972. Odyssey, 1200 B.C. Phillips, J. (1989) Handbook of Training Evaluation. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing. Phillips-Jones, L. (2000) The Mentor’s Guide: How to Have a Successful Relationship with a Mentor. Grass Valley, CA: Coalition of Counseling Centers. Rothwell, W. J., Hohne, Carolyn K. and King, Steven B. (2000) Human Performance Improvement. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing. Stevens, M. (2001) Extreme Management: What They Teach You At Harvard Business School’ Advanced Management Program. New York: Warren Books. Thakor, A. V. (2000) Becoming a Better Value Creator. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Ulrich, D, Zenger, J and Smallwood, N. (1999) Results-Based Leadership: How Leaders Build the Business and Improve the Bottom Line. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 9

PEER-MENTORING AND DISABILITY: CURRENT APPLICATIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS *

Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

ABSTRACT Peer-mentoring involves a relationship in which two individuals share some common characteristic or experience and one provides needed assistance or support to the other. Research and theory have suggested that peer-mentoring has great potential for providing assistance to individuals struggling with challenging life experiences, while also benefiting the peers who are providing the assistance. Though highly relevant and applicable to the area of disability, peer-mentoring has been incorporated in the disability literature in a very limited way. This chapter will set the context for the construct of peer mentoring in the area of disability from a theoretical stance, and will then review the empirical and intervention literatures related to peer-mentoring and disability. Though limited, such interventions have been applied in employment, hospital, and communitybased settings. We discuss the reported benefits and challenges of using peer-mentoring models, as well as how this approach benefits both the mentees who are involved. As demonstrated here, peer-mentoring has much to offer to the area of disability and should continue to be examined in the areas of program development and research.

INTRODUCTION Peer-mentoring involves a relationship in which two individuals share some common characteristic or experience and one provides needed assistance or support to the other (Sherman, DeVinney, & Sperling, 2003). Key to the concept of peer-mentoring is the *

A version of this chapter was also published in Focus on Disability: Trends in Research and Application, Volume II, edited by Thilo Kroll, Nova Science Publishers. It was submitted for appropriate modifications in an effort to encourage wider dissemination of research.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

124

Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar

mentor’s ability to understand someone else’s situation because of some shared experience or status (Ensher, Thomas, & Murphy, 2001). Through this common understanding, peermentors share stories, provide information, and often, once the relationship has become solid enough, challenge mentees in situations where they find that doing so is appropriate. Peermentoring is distinguished from the more general concept of “peer-support” in that peermentoring involves a purposeful, unidirectional relationship, where the mentor is there to function as a support for the mentee; whereas in peer-support, the interaction tends to focus on mutual support benefiting all individuals involved. This does not mean that peer-mentors do not benefit in the process; however, mentors benefiting is not a primary purpose of the peer-mentor relationship. Peer-mentoring has great potential for providing assistance to individuals struggling with challenging life experiences, such as in cases where someone has acquired a new disability, experienced a health problem, is transitioning to a new school, or is beginning a new career. Interestingly, the terms peer and mentor can appear paradoxical. A peer can be defined as someone who shares an important characteristic or experience with another person, such as age, race, social class, or disability (Microsoft Encarta, 1999). Further, the term peer implies that the two people share some equal standing, that they are people of equal status, experience, or cohort, and it is assumed that they share equal power. In comparison, a mentor is seen as someone who is more experienced and advanced, someone who serves as a wise and trusted counselor or teacher (Microsoft Encarta, 1999). These contrasting definitions have in part led to peer-mentoring being distinguished from more general mentoring in the research literature, and oftentimes being left out of discussions of the benefits of mentoring (i.e., DuBois, Holloway, Valentine, & Cooper, 2002), as traditional definitions of mentoring involve a relationship between an older, more experienced mentor and a younger and less experienced mentee (Levinson, Carrow, Klein, Levinson, & McKee, 1978; Rhodes, 1994). Peer-mentoring challenges this traditional definition as the relationship actually relies on the amount of shared experiences between the mentor and mentee. Peer-mentors and mentees tend to have had similar types of experiences at relatively similar points in their lives, but peer-mentors have demonstrated more success in terms of dealing with these experiences: this is what qualifies them as being able to serve as mentors. While it is reasonable to assume that there are indeed some cases in which peer-mentoring may not be appropriate, there are also many cases in which peer-mentoring can be and is most appropriate, as the support needed may be the shared experience of someone with whom the mentee can relate in a unique way. This is particularly critical in the case of the disability experience. As has begun to be demonstrated in the research literature, peer-mentoring has much to offer. Peer-mentoring has been discussed as an effective tool for enhancing academic (e.g., Jacobi, 1991; Topping, 1996), workplace (e.g., Fine & Pullins, 1998), and health outcomes (e.g., Grummer-Strawn, Rice, Dugas, Clark, & Benton-Davis, 1997; Hailey, Lalor, Byrne, & Starling, 1992; Ozer, Weinstein, Maslach, & Seigel, 1997; Thoits, Hohmann, Harvey, & Fletcher, 2000). Though rarely discussed, another context in which peer-mentoring has much potential is the area of disability. There are very few published accounts of peer-mentoring being applied within a disability context (for notable exceptions see the studies reviewed in this paper: Cullen & Barlow, 1998; Hernandez, Hayes, Balcazar, & Keys, 2001; Hibbard et al., 2002; Powers, Sowers, & Stevens, 1995; Vines, 2000; Whittemore, Rankin, Callahan, Leder, & Carroll, 2000), and to date no papers have synthesized this literature, which leaves

Peer-Mentoring and Disability: Current Applications and Future Directions

125

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

us at a loss in terms of understanding both the main contributions of, potential for, and limitations of peer-mentoring in the area of disability. It is important to note that there has been some work done in the area of general (i.e., not peer) mentoring and disability (Campbell-Whatley, 2001; Campbell-Whatley & Algozzine, 1997; Lee, Storey, Anderson, Goetz, & Zivolich, 1997; McDonald, Balcazar, and Keys, in press). Further, though not specifically peer-mentor related, peer-delivered interventions have also been incorporated into practice among individuals with disabilities (Goldstein & Wickstrom, 1986; Odom & Strain, 1984, 1986; Osguthorpe, Eiserman, & Shisler, 1985; Ragland, Kerr & Strain, 1978). While mentoring and peer-interventions have both seemed positive when applied to the area of disability, what is missing is an intersection of these two: What does peer-mentoring have to offer to disability? The purpose of the current chapter is to review the literature on peer-mentoring and disability and to make recommendations about the multiple potential applications of peermentoring to the area of disability. Here we identify peer-mentoring as mentoring by and for people with disabilities: Disability is the shared experience that defines the work presented as peer-mentoring. We will begin by examining two theoretical perspectives that support the use of peer-mentoring in disability, present empirical research that supports the use of peermentoring in disability, summarize the few existing published accounts of how peermentoring has been applied to the area of disability, and finally, suggest ways in which disability researchers and practitioners can move forward with applying this useful innovation. Before we begin our analysis of the current research, it is important to make explicit the fact that we acknowledge and value the diversity of ability levels in our society, and recognize the danger of speaking to the broad area of “disability” in a general way. Though its application may be limited to date, it is our belief that peer-mentoring can be applied across multiple disabilities, with necessary supports being a core part of peer-mentor programming. Every person, including each person with a disability, has strengths and challenges, and obviously each of those strengths and challenges would need to be built into a mentoring relationship in order to achieve success. With that said, since this is intended as a more general review of the research conducted in the area of peer-mentoring and disability, we will attempt to bring in research examples from across disability types. We begin by articulating two theoretical perspectives that support the use of peer-mentoring in the area of disability.

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE: THE ECOLOGICAL ANALOGY OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY AND THE SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL MODEL OF DISABILITY STUDIES As community psychologists who do disability-related research, we have appreciated the call put forth by Dowrick and Keys (2001) for the two fields of Community Psychology and Disability Studies to work together to improve the lives of people with disabilities. As discussed by Dowrick and Keys, these fields have developed many of the same values while evolving in isolation from one another; by pooling resources and combining energies, they can provide much to each other in terms of using research and action to better understand the

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

126

Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar

needs of people with disabilities, and understand how individuals, communities, and structures in our society can best meet these needs. In an attempt to facilitate continued dialogue between these two fields, we will present key theories from each that can be brought together to complement each other and support the use of peer-mentoring among people with disabilities. These concepts include the ecological analogy from Community Psychology, and the social-ecological model of disability from Disability Studies. Community psychology as a discipline focuses on the intersection between individuals and their environments, and values collaborative research and action as a way to work with people and not conduct research on them (Dalton, Elias, & Wandersman, 2001). Through four ecological principles, community psychology’s ecological analogy offers a framework for understanding context, as well as understanding the values of the community researcher in terms of spelling out the relationship between the researcher and the community (Kelly, 1966, 1967, 1971; Trickett, Kelly, & Todd, 1972; Trickett, Kelly, & Vincent, 1985). Ecology offers support for the importance of peer-mentoring among any group of individuals, specifically through the principles of cycling of resources and interdependence. First, the cycling of resources principle calls attention to the ways in which the resources of a given setting are “defined, distributed, and developed” (Trickett et al., 1985, p. 285), and makes explicit the idea that “persons, settings and events are resources for the development of the community” (Trickett et al., 1985, p. 287). This principle can be put into action by highlighting the potential of members of social settings to serve as resources to those with similar experiences. Peer-mentoring is a form of intervention that utilizes natural resources (peers) to promote the well-being of others; peer-mentors share their experiences and knowledge with mentees in order to help mentees cope with some challenging life event. Individuals are seen as potential resources (peer-mentors), and can be encouraged to develop as such; in addition to benefiting mentees, this can also have a positive effect on peer-mentors as they are identified as positive resources and are encouraged to develop skills related to helping others. Second, the interdependence principle of ecological theory focuses on the “interactive nature of the system and the manner in which its component parts are coupled” (Trickett et al., 1985, p. 285). Interdependence acknowledges the potential of the setting or environment to have positive effects on individuals, and reinforces the belief that individual success is directly related to appropriate supports and resources found in one’s environment. This principle was demonstrated early on in the research and writings of many ecological and community psychologists, including Lindemann (1953), Klein (1987), and Sarason (Sarason, 1972, 1976; Sarason, Levine, Goldenberg, Cherlin, & Bennett, 1966), and has been exemplified since through the work done by other researchers who have documented the positive effects that settings can have on individuals’ behavior (e.g., Allison et al., 1999; Campbell, 1998; Duggan, Lysack, Dijkers, & Jefi, 2002; Foster-Fishman & Keys, 1997; Roach, 2002; Schulz et al., 2000; Trickett, McConahay, Phillips, & Ginter, 1985). This work has acknowledged the opportunity that settings have to promote psychological well-being by providing much needed resources to their members (Kelly, Ryan, Altman, & Stelzner, 2000). Specific to peer-mentoring, the addition of a peer-mentor to one’s life impacts one’s environment in terms of providing additional support, feedback, or guidance, particularly in contexts where resources and such supports may be scarce. Though not explicitly cited in the disability literatures, it is important to acknowledge that the principles at the foundation of ecological theory are not new to the area of disability. In fact, these principles relate directly to a theoretical perspective within the social-ecological

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Peer-Mentoring and Disability: Current Applications and Future Directions

127

model of disability (see Pledger, 2003; Taylor-Ritzler, 2002). As discussed by Altman (2001), definitions of disability have been put forth at many levels, including legal, administrative, clinical, and research definitions that at times contradict with one another. Altman presents a framework for understanding these definitions and their intersection. Legal and administrative definitions focus on individuals and their categorization of “disabled” or “non-disabled” in order to determine if they are eligible for certain services, benefits, or protections under United States law. Similarly, clinical definitions focus on some pathology within the individual and that individual’s prognosis based on “the type of condition and the characteristics of the patient” (p. 100). In contrast to these individually-based definitions, the social-ecological perspective locates individuals within their social and physical context (Pledger, 2003), and recognizes that there are “multiple factors involved in the relationship between health, functioning, context and the dynamics of conditions that go into the process that is ultimately labeled as disability” (Altman, 2001, p. 100). This position makes explicit that there are socially created disadvantages facing persons with disabilities, and that many physical and contextual barriers limit their community integration. Here, multiple components contribute to disability; these components include individual impairment, but this perspective moves beyond the more individually-focused models to involve environmental components as well, including inaccessible environments and discriminating attitudes. In adopting this definition of disability, we make explicit that an individual’s capacity to function in society is the result of both individual ability as well as environmental factors that enable or disable his or her functioning. While we acknowledge the component of individual impairment that contributes to the broad concept of “disability,” we advocate conceptualizing how modifying the environment, or increasing a mentee’s social support network (by providing a peer-mentor), can positively impact functioning and promote appropriate independence while providing appropriate supports. An attention to environmental contributions to the concept of disability highlights the potential of communities to provide individuals with needed resources. The two ecological principles presented above, cycling of resources and interdependence, logically complement the ideas presented in the social-ecological model of disability, as they emphasize both the importance of seeing setting members as resources, and the potential of the setting or social environment to have positive effects on individuals. Particular to the area of disability, where environments are often physically, socially, and psychologically inaccessible, this combined perspective highlights the potential of settings to be facilitative and nurturing. Exploring the potential power of peer-mentors is attentive to ecological theories and involves a change in the environment in at least two ways. First, peer-mentoring adds a person (the peer-mentor) to the mentee’s social network, and hence, to the individual’s social environment. Second, implementing peer-mentoring as an intervention demonstrates how people with disabilities can become a source of change. This social justice perspective shifts traditional conceptions of people with disabilities from passive service receivers to active advocates and resources in their communities. Taken together, the social-ecological model of disability and the concept of ecology within community psychology offer a guiding perspective and rationale for the utility of examining and using existing resources in order to facilitate individual success in a setting. Here, we have highlighted the potential of peer-mentoring as an existing resource that has much to offer to the area of disability. In fact, we put this perspective forward as an essential strategy in facilitating the quality of life of individuals with disabilities. Ignoring influences of

128

Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar

the social environment and focusing only on individual impairments and conceptualizations of disability unfairly burdens individuals to deal with a problem that is complexly embedded within a social context. This limited perspective also negates the potential positive influences that social environments can have in improving the life situations of people with disabilities, as well as the role people with disabilities themselves can play in creating their own supportive environments. We now turn to empirical research that has begun to illustrate the potential of peer-mentoring to create positive changes in the social environments of individuals with disabilities.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH: PEER-MENTORING AND DISABILITY In the process of understanding the potential role of peer-mentoring among people with disabilities, it is first important to consider the significance of social support among this population, a group who frequently deals with issues of social isolation. Whether a person is struggling with a long-term developmental disability, a psychiatric disability, or a recentlyacquired physical disability, social support has been related to significant gains in terms of health (Carling, 1995), academic outcomes (Stainback & Stainback, 1990), vocational outcomes (Wehman & Moon, 1988), successful independent living (Barone, Trickett, Schmid, & Leone, 1993; Hasazi, Gordon, & Roe, 1985), as well as in the broader process of acceptance of disability and illness (Berkman, 1986; Boschen, Tonack, & Gargaro, 2003; Leach, Frank, Bouman, & Farmer, 1994; Mauss-Clum, & Ryan, 1981). For example, Kemp and Vash (1971) found that among people with spinal cord injury, high amounts of social support minimized functional limitations: specifically, people with quadriplegia who experienced high levels of social support were rated by investigators as being just as “productive” as people with paraplegia. Building on research that suggests that social support is helpful to people with disabilities, peer-mentoring is a unique type of social support (Hibbard et al., 2002; Sherman et al., 2003) that offers assistance from someone who has successfully faced and negotiated the same situation (Thoits, 1986; 1995, as seen in Sherman et al., 2003). The very act of peermentoring offers an alternative to traditional ways of viewing disability as a deficit or a problem in need of treatment: peer-mentoring demonstrates that this marginalized group (a group often seen as “helpless”) is indeed an important resource. Due to societal discrimination, disability can often be an isolating and stigmatizing social status (Odom, McConnel & McEvoy, 1992). The particular availability of a peer mentor, however, can challenge social stigma by affirming the strengths and capabilities of individuals with disabilities (including both mentors and mentees). Furthermore, peer mentoring can be an empowering experience for those who have faced discrimination and marginalization (Block, Balcazar and Keys, 2002). The mentoring relationship can provide an example to mentees as to how they can live their lives to the fullest (e.g., become as independent as possible and, as desired, pursue vocational or educational goals). Such a relationship can provide a positive and critical alternative way of looking at the world. For these reasons, peer mentoring has emerged as a central guiding force in many disability-related organizations and services, including the Independent Living movement, where peer-delivered services are central to the philosophy of care (Mathews, Mathews, & Pittman, 1985).

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Peer-Mentoring and Disability: Current Applications and Future Directions

129

Peer-mentoring has also emerged as a result of key studies investigating what has helped individuals with disabilities succeed (Gulam & Triska, 1998; Hammel, 1999). For example, Hammel worked with participants with traumatic spinal cord injuries to build a conceptual framework for explaining how roles change after injury. Her participants discussed the importance of peer-mentors in each of their new and returning roles, and how they wished more opportunities for peer-mentoring had been made available. They also specifically talked about how “dump and gripe” support groups were not as helpful as experiences shared with peer-mentors who had actually gotten out and accomplished things: “We should get people back who have succeeded in whatever they have chosen in a career – the worker role-model is important” (Hammel, p. 52). Peer-mentors were thought to help individuals with new disabilities begin to formulate how to move on and create new life roles after acquiring their disability. Two retrospective studies, both in the area of physical disability, specifically investigated the effects of peer-mentoring on adjustment to disability. First, Sable, Craig, and Lee (2000) conducted a single case study where they found positive results for a therapeutic recreation intervention called PATH (Promoting Access, Transition and Health), which included peermentoring as a key component. The case report summarized the experiences of a 22-year old rural participant with a recent T-12 complete spinal cord injury as he progressed through the PATH intervention. The case report found positive results for a peer-mentor, whether that person was formally assigned or more informally located within the participant’s natural environment, to provide “real-life, practical advice” for coping with spinal cord injury (Sable et al., 354). The researchers also discussed the importance of their intervention being flexible and responsive to the needs of participants, as in some cases when participants felt that peermentor support was already found within their existing networks, formal peer-mentors were not assigned. Second, Sherman et al. (2003) surveyed individuals with spinal cord injury to compare peer-mentoring experiences and the presence of a live-in partner on individuals’ adjustment after SCI. Sixty-two participants completed a survey by mail; participants were an average age of 30.3 years (range, 10 to 85 years), and had been injured for an average of 11.65 years (range, 0.33 to 35 years). Forty-eight percent of participants reported currently living with a partner, and 53% reported having had a peer-mentor. Results indicated that past peermentoring experiences were associated with higher occupational activity and life satisfaction, whereas having a live-in partner was associated with greater mobility and economic selfsufficiency. Sherman et al. concluded that these two sources of support were both important in their own right, and that peer-mentoring positively compliments the benefits of having a live-in partner. Their results argue for more interventions that use peer-mentor components as this specific type of support can add unique positive benefits above and beyond existing traditional support networks. Though this line of research is still in its formative stage, and despite the fact that most of the studies discussed above were retrospective in nature and focused only on individuals with physical disability, this research has begun to demonstrate the need for peer-mentoring in the context of all disability types. Specifically, peer-mentoring may have the potential to positively influence the establishment of life roles after the new acquisition of a disability, and in particular, facilitate occupational activity and higher life satisfaction. Next we will examine the limited literature that has begun to apply a peer-mentoring model among individuals with disabilities.

130

Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTERVENTION RESEARCH: APPLYING PEER-MENTORING TO DISABILITY Historically, peer-based interventions have been integral to the core practices among many Centers for Independent Living (CILs). These agencies provide assistance and support to adults with disabilities to live independently in the community (Hayes & Hernandez, in press; Mathews et al., 1985). Here, peers play a significant role as service providers, advocates and role models to consumers of CILs. Specifically, Mathews et al. surveyed disability advocacy groups, rehabilitation programs, members of the National Coalition of Independent Living Programs, and community-based independent living centers, and found that over half (59%) of these organizations offered peer counseling services. As an explanation for the prevalence of peer-approaches, Mathews et al. discussed that peerinterventions remain important because they encourage consumer activism, a core value of CIL’s. The perspective that “peers know best” remains in opposition to traditional means of service delivery by highly-trained professionals or “experts.” The historic importance of peerinterventions in disability practice is yet another reason to be surprised for the relative lack of peer-mentor and disability research interventions. Before turning to the specific research on peer-mentoring and disability, it is important to note that there has been some intervention work done in the area of general (i.e., not peer) mentoring and disability. As one example, Lee et al. (1997) examined how mentoring could facilitate positive employment experiences among individuals with severe disabilities. They compared “traditional” job coaching with a situation in which co-workers served as mentors and trained individuals with disabilities as new employees. Lee et al. found that the latter group demonstrated significantly more initiated interactions towards non-disabled coworkers, and also had significantly more reciprocal interactions with non-disabled co-workers than employees who had a more traditional job coach. McDonald et al. (in press) reviewed the characteristics of mentoring studies that seemed to be most effective, and concluded that the concept of mentoring holds much potential for positively influencing a number of outcomes among youth with disabilities. Further, though not specifically peer-mentor related, peer-delivered interventions have also been incorporated into practices among individuals with disabilities. For example, contact with peers has been demonstrated as important in the social interactions of children with language delays (Goldstein & Wickstrom, 1986) and children with autism (Odom & Strain, 1984, 1986; Ragland et al., 1978). Peer-tutoring has also been found helpful in terms of increasing social acceptance of students with cognitive disabilities (Osguthorpe et al., 1985). Osguthorpe et al. trained fourth through sixth grade students with mental retardation to teach sign language to students without disabilities in an attempt to increase the former students’ interactions with their peers. Results indicated that the students with disabilities’ interactions with non-disabled students increased significantly, and parents of tutors reported that they demonstrated additional social interactions at home as well. As another positive effect, tutored students reported learning more about their classmates with mental retardation. The area of general mentoring practice and prior work related to peer interventions and individuals with disabilities have both begun to indicate the potential of this innovation in the area of disability, and provide an empirical basis for further studies on peer-mentoring among this population. We now turn to the intervention research that has been conducted in the

Peer-Mentoring and Disability: Current Applications and Future Directions

131

specific area of peer-mentoring and disability. These studies can provide information on where peer-mentoring is applicable and how it can best be incorporated among individuals with disabilities. In all of these studies, peer-mentoring was used to help facilitate “success” (although the specific area varied) among individuals with disabilities. As mentioned above, a definition of a peer-mentor study in this context indicates that mentors had a similar disability to mentees, and that because of this disability experience they were paired together so that the mentor could offer support to his or her mentee. Six such studies are presented here, one occurs in a job-training setting, two in a hospital setting, and three in a community setting. It is important to note that one artifact of the fact that this is a new body of literature is that not all articles reviewed focus on the same aspects: some attend to process, others to outcomes. Therefore we will present as much information as possible in the review below; however, as a result of the lack of consistency in the literature this review may seem uneven at times.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Employment Setting Cullen and Barlow (1998) examined mentoring within an employment-training program for young adults (ages 16-46) with arthritis. Individuals were matched with volunteer mentors who also had the same disability. Contact between the two was often by telephone due to the geographic distance between most mentor and mentee pairs. Cullen and Barlow took a qualitative evaluation approach and administered questionnaires, conducted telephone interviews, and held group feedback sessions among a sample of 36 trainees. Results indicated that mentors were a key source of support, help, advice, and guidance related to employment-readiness. Cullen and Barlow also identified many program limitations, including the fact that mentees at times felt bad about bothering mentors, as they knew they faced similar (health-related) problems. Other program limitations included findings that each mentor worked with too many mentees, the program duration was too short, and having mentor-mentee contacts occur primarily over the phone made it hard to build personal relationships. Cullen and Barlow (1998) acknowledged the benefits of mentoring but also identified critical limitations related to adding too many roles or responsibilities into the mentor role, and highlighted additional intervention resources (i.e., an additional support person) that could be used to counteract these limitations. A significant limitation of this study however involved the fact that results were not discussed extensively, nor were the analysis strategies specified. The authors highlighted the limited nature of presentation of results as related to the confidential nature of mentor-mentee relationships, and discussed the difficulty of conducting this kind of evaluation work.

Hospital Setting Two studies highlighted hospital-based programs. Vines (2000) presented a hospitalbased peer-mentor intervention for individuals with spinal cord injury. She discussed the need for such programs, especially in a context where lengths of stay continued to shrink for patients with new injuries: patients were in need of additional community reentry supports once they left the hospital environment. Her primarily descriptive article traced the program

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

132

Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar

since its inception, and she discussed program development, including how peers were selected, trained, and matched with new patients. Vines reported that over the three years of the program, 30 mentors were trained and were assigned to see over 150 patients with new spinal cord injuries. Though program outcomes were not presented in detail, Vines did say that follow-up interviews with patients after their hospital discharge reflected a “positive response” (p. 187). Similarly, Hernandez et al. (2001) discussed a hospital-based peer-mentor intervention for a particular sub-group of people with spinal cord injury, those with violently-acquired injuries. The rationale for the project was based upon the specific needs of those with violently-acquired injuries, as they faced not only a new disability but the social discrimination that comes along with multiple minority statuses. Further, the importance of the hospital as a setting was highlighted because, for this population in particular, the hospital was oftentimes one of the only accessible, safe, supportive settings in their lives (Balcazar, Hayes, Engstrom, & Keys, under review). Hernandez et al. highlighted their program development, and went into more detail about their conceptual framework, participatory action research (PAR). They also discussed the critical need for mentor supervision and how support for mentors was built into the program throughout. Intending to implement the program at four hospitals, they detailed their pilot implementation with the first hospital and discussed plans for the other three sites. Though also a descriptive study, Hernandez et al. did include some preliminary findings from qualitative interviews that had been conducted with mentees. They reported positive preliminary results, as mentees reported positive relationships with their mentors, and reported gaining both emotional support and instrumental support, in that their questions regarding medical issues, sexuality, and local social service agencies were being answered. In addition, mentees had already attained some of their goals, which included things like obtaining hand controls to drive independently, enrolling in school to complete a degree, and working. Across these two hospital-based programs, a key theme emphasized the importance of mentors serving as a bridge between the hospital and patients, thus having positive impacts on mentees’ continued health maintenance. It is important to state that while these two programs self-defined themselves as hospital-based, in each, the hospital served primarily as the point of entry, and mentors followed individuals into the community after their hospital discharge. This long-term relationship seemed to be key to program effectiveness. Because of the descriptive nature of these studies, a significant limitation included the lack of definitive evaluation results. While both studies provided preliminary support for peer-mentoring in the area of disability, and also discussed key supports needed to ensure program success, further evaluation is needed to understand the full potential of this approach.

Community Setting Three studies focused on community-based programs. Hibbard et al. (2002) presented a community-based peer-support program for individuals and their family members following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Unlike some of the other papers discussed, Hibbard et al. presented information on program development and implementation, but also highlighted evaluation results with both quantitative and qualitative components. Twenty partners (mentees) participated in the quantitative interview and seven participated in the qualitative

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Peer-Mentoring and Disability: Current Applications and Future Directions

133

interview; participants included both individuals with TBI and family members. In general, both groups saw the greatest program impact as being that related to an increase in knowledge about TBI, and in helping individuals cope with the consequences of TBI. Most participants from both groups also reported that the program increased their quality of life, their general outlook, and their ability to cope with sadness and depression. Satisfaction with the program was also high, though was higher in reports from individuals with TBI than for family members. Family members were more conservative in their ratings, and they discussed how they would have liked longer relationships with their peer-mentors, a higher frequency of contacts, and the ability to initiate contacts with their peer-mentors rather than just waiting to be contacted. This study provides preliminary support for peer-mentoring among individuals with newly acquired TBI and their families, but also provides a critical assessment of what mentors should realistically be expected to do, what supports are necessary for their success, and what things may fall beyond the boundaries of a peer-mentoring study. Powers et al. (1995) tested the impact of mentoring by role models on the self-efficacy, disability-related self-efficacy, community-based self-confidence, and community-based knowledge of 10 participating adolescents with severe physical challenges. While this study was not explicitly identified as a peer-mentor study, it was chosen for inclusion here because the mentors were adults with similar disabilities. The investigators also looked at the impact of mentoring on parents’ perceptions of their children’s abilities. This was a communitybased program but youth were chosen from the school district. Results indicated that youth with mentors had significantly higher levels of disability-related self-efficacy, communitybased knowledge, and self-confidence than youth in the control group. Parents of mentored youth also perceived their children to be significantly more competent and to possess significantly more community-based knowledge than the other parents. Finally, Whittemore et al. (2000) conducted a qualitative investigation as part of a larger study in order to investigate the effects of a peer-mentor study with individuals with myocardial infarction on the peer-mentors themselves. While a little different in focus in that the purpose of this research was to examine the program experience from the peer-mentor point of view, this study is important to include for several reasons. First, this program involved peer advisors to assist people with health impairments. Second, this study provides information as to the nature of the peer-mentor – mentee relationships. Specifically, the ten peer advisors discussed two main characteristics of their relationships with elders: helping, which included giving advice, helping with problem solving, being advocates, and alleviating fears; and mutual sharing, which both helped peers establish rapport and served as a mechanism by which help was given. Peer advisors specifically mentioned their role in mentees’ continued health, as they were able to route mentees to the hospital at the first sign of a medical complication. Finally, the study takes an important step by examining how this type of relationship can be helpful for the peers as well as the mentees. They found that peers benefited in three main (unexpected) ways: first, they felt good about helping others, they felt that they were giving back or contributing in return for much of the support they felt they had in their own lives; second, they benefited by being able to talk about their own illness with someone else; and third, they benefited by becoming more aware of their own health behaviors and what they needed to do to stay healthy. The studies conducted in community settings continue to provide preliminary support for the effectiveness of peer-mentoring in the context of disability. These studies included more evaluation results than those provided in the first two sections, as they provided both

134

Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar

quantitative data (though at times with small sample sizes), as well as rich qualitative data that described both the process and outcomes of peer-mentor relationships. Importantly, Hibbard et al. (2002) continued to highlight limitations of peer-mentoring in their study, and pointed out critical steps and boundaries to put in place around peer-mentor relationships in order to facilitate their success. Both Hibbard et al. and Powers et al. (1995) included multiple data sources, and provided a snapshot of peer-mentor effects from both the perspective of mentees and their family members. Finally, Whittemore et al. (2000) included information on how the process was benefiting peer-mentors as well as mentees, an oftentimes overlooked consequence of peer-mentor interventions.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

DISCUSSION Taken together, this groundbreaking work offers much to our understanding of how peermentoring can be applied to disability. Specific to the intervention research presented above, these six studies demonstrate preliminary support for the benefits of peer-mentoring in the context of disability. In particular, peer-mentoring has the potential to provide advice and support in terms of helping individuals with long-term disabilities develop “employment potential” (Cullen & Barlow, 1998, p. 390) and disability-related self-efficacy and selfconfidence (Powers et al., 1995). Peer-mentoring may also assist individuals with new disabilities in their post-injury community reintegration and continued health management (Hernandez et al., 2001; Hibbard et al., 2002; Vines, 2000; Whittemore et al., 2000). Further, these studies demonstrate that peer-mentoring can be used across a number of settings, including employment training scenarios, hospitals, and the general community. These intervention studies also bridge practice and the theoretical frameworks presented above. Specifically, two of the studies discussed highlighted the importance of program development, and involving people with disabilities in the development and shaping of the intervention itself (Hernandez et al., 2001; Hibbard et al., 2002). Both of these studies specifically mentioned the principles of Participatory Action Research (PAR) (Balcazar, Keys, Kaplan, & Suarez-Balcazar, 1998; Park, 1993; Whyte, 1991), and how this process helped the needs of individuals with disabilities become a central driving force behind the program at all stages. This is a core concept in the disability rights movement and here is highlighted as important in related programming as well. The principles of PAR tie strongly into the theoretical perspectives discussed above, including the principles of cycling of resources and interdependence in Community Psychology, and the social-ecological model of Disability Studies. PAR acknowledges and builds on setting members as resources by involving them as integral participants in the action-research process. Participants are not involved in a periphery or token way; rather, they guide the research action agenda and participate in each critical step as active members. Further, this active participant role allows for a fuller examination of participants’ life contexts; participants bring their social and physical environments to the table with them, and these environments become critical pieces of the action research process and agenda. Peer-mentoring is not without its limitations, however, many of which the intervention researchers above carefully considered. Several studies (Cullen & Barlow, 1998; Hernandez et al., 2001; Hibbard et al., 2002; Powers et al., 1995; Whittemore et al., 2000) discussed how

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Peer-Mentoring and Disability: Current Applications and Future Directions

135

peer-mentors need to be supported throughout their relationships with their mentees, both in order to avoid feeling overwhelmed, and in order to make sure mentees are getting appropriate services. Cullen and Barlow (1998) and Hibbard et al. (2002) provided the most explicit discussion of shortcomings within their programs, as they discussed how some mentees reported that the program wasn’t long enough to meet their needs, that they could have used more face-to-face contact versus only phone contact, and that in general participants and family members seemed to need more clarification up-front regarding what the program could do for them. As discussed by several of the authors above, re-visiting peermentor training models and also making program expectations clear among both mentors and mentees can help in these efforts. We applaud these authors for taking the time to investigate and share their program challenges as well as successes. It is however critical to not see these limitations as a sign of failure of peer-mentoring, but instead to acknowledge the conditions under which mentoring can be more successful. Necessary supports are, as Hibbard et al. (2002) discussed, “a small price to pay for the potential benefits” that programs like this can offer (p. 130). There is also a need in this work to expand to other types of disabilities. With the exception of the group of individuals with TBI addressed by Hibbard et al. (2002), most of the above studies focus solely on individuals with physical disability and health impairments. There are obviously a number of other disabilities that can provide the context for peerinterventions, including but not limited to individuals with learning, cognitive, and psychiatric disabilities. One reason for the lack of application of peer-mentoring among these disability groups may be a perception that those with cognitive disabilities cannot perform the functions of a mentor. Perhaps the model presented by Hibbard et al. (2002), where both individuals with TBI and family members were involved, offers an example of how these types of programs could be built. In some cases, agency staff can also serve as supports and complement the role of peer-mentors. Future work is vital in these areas as individuals with other types of disabilities and their family members have the potential to benefit from peer support. In addition, there is much room for continued application of peer-models in the area of health and disability. Four of the six studies discuss the connection between peer-mentoring and health, by explicitly including some health indicator as an outcome or program goal. Specifically, Vines (2000) and Hernandez et al. (2001) discussed how mentors can serve as a bridge between the hospital and patients with new spinal cord injury. Hibbard et al. (2002) talked about mentors helping to increase participants’ knowledge about TBI, and helping mentees deal with their mental health issues, particularly in coping with sadness and depression. Finally, Whittemore et al. (2000) discussed specific examples where peer advisors routed their mentees to the hospital at the first signs of a medical complication. Peer mentor models have been demonstrated as successful in past health-related studies among individuals without disabilities (e.g., Grummer-Strawn et al., 1997; Hailey et al., 1992; Ozer et al., 1997). Peer-mentors as an intervention innovation may be particularly key as prior research has found that among individuals with disabilities, other health-related problems are not as well attended to by medical professionals (Blondis, Roizen, Snow, & Accardo, 1993; Santosh & Baird, 1999). Attending to these complications is critical, as research has found that health maintenance and/or pain management are predictive of individuals’ functional ability, community integration, and quality of life (Boschen et al., 2003).

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

136

Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar

There are also implications for future research based on this review. First, it is important to point out the methodological limitations related to the intervention studies above. As mentioned, partly due to the young nature of this body of literature, much of the published work is primarily descriptive in nature. Though some of the work above (i.e., Powers et al., 1995; Hibbard et al., 2002) presented solid evaluation methodology and results that provided both support for and cautions regarding the application of peer-mentoring, this was not the norm. Most of the studies instead talked more briefly about the results of their preliminary evaluation efforts, and did not provide detailed information as to the research design or data analysis (Cullen & Barlow, 1998; Hernandez et al., 2001; Vines, 2000). While program description is critical to understanding how peer-mentoring can be applied to this new context, future work should continue to expand upon evaluation components as well. In general, future research in this area must continue to gather information regarding how peer-mentoring can be applied across various disabilities and life contexts. While it is difficult to measure and evaluate peer-mentoring because of the individualized nature of each relationship, options include continuing to borrow flexible methodologies from our colleagues in such fields as community psychology and anthropology (e.g., Hibbard et al., 2002). Community-based methodologies may provide more insight into how relationships evolve, what supports mentors need, and how mentees can maximize program benefits. Program developers and researchers can also continue to be creative in applying more traditional methodologies to understand program outcomes and effects. Specifically, future research should continue to examine the role of the peer-mentor in the socialization of people with disabilities, the effects of expanding social support through the addition of a peermentor, how peer-mentors may be used successfully to promote a vision for appropriate independent living, how peer-mentors may be successful in working with parents, caregivers and families to support and promote self-determination among individuals with disabilities, and what other intervention components may be necessary to help introduce someone to living with a disability. Taken together, a more complete understanding of these issues can help build our knowledge around peer-mentoring and disability. In conclusion, research to date highlights the potential application of peer-mentoring in the area of disability. The work above provides an important first-step in terms of helping begin to understand how to build peer-mentor programs for people with disabilities, including the importance of involving people with disabilities in the process, what mentor- and menteerelated supports are important in programming, and what outcomes can potentially be impacted. Further, peer-mentoring is a way of affirming that the presence of a disability does not mean that the individual’s capacity to serve and be helpful to others has been diminished. Future work should continue to investigate the impact and role of peer-mentoring as an important source of social support that can complement the support provided by health care providers, educators, family members, and friends.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors appreciate the thoughtful comments on earlier drafts provided by our colleagues Katie McDonald and Bianca Wilson. We would also like to thank Thilo Kroll for his helpful guidance, support, and generosity throughout this process. Finally, we would like

Peer-Mentoring and Disability: Current Applications and Future Directions

137

to thank the peer-mentors and mentees with whom we have worked over the past several years; it is because of their amazing spirit and willingness to share with us that we have been able to begin understanding the strength and potential application of peer-mentor approaches.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Allison, K. W., Crawford, I., Leone, P. E., Trickett, E., Perez-Febles, A., Burton, L. M., & LeBlanc, R. (1999). Adolescent substance use: Preliminary examinations of school and neighborhood context. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27(2), 111-141. Altman, B. (2001). Disability definitions, models, classification schemes, and applications. In G. L. Albrecht, K. D. Seelman, & M. Bury (Eds.), Handbook of Disability Studies (pp. 97-122). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Balcazar, F. E., Hayes, E., Engstrom, M., & Keys, C. B. (under review). Peer-mentors as agents of change: A case study of participatory action research. American Journal of Community Psychology. Balcazar, F. E., Keys, C. B., Kaplan, D. L., & Suarez-Balcazar, Y. (1998). Participatory action research and people with disabilities: Principles and challenges. Canadian Journal of Rehabilitation, 12, 105-112. Barone, C., Trickett, E. J., Schmid, K. D., & Leone, P. E. (1993). Transition tasks and resources: An ecological approach to life after high school. Prevention in Human Services, 10, 179-204. Berkman, L. F. (1986). Social networks, support, and health: Taking the next step forward. American Journal of Epidemiology, 123(4), 559-562. Block, P., Balcazar, F. E., & Keys, C. B. (2002). Race, poverty and disability: Three strikes and you are out! Or are you? Social Policy, 33(1), 34-38. Blondis, T. A., Roizen, N. J., Snow, J. H., & Accardo, P. J. (1993). Developmental disabilities: A continuum. Clinical Pediatrics, 32(8), 492-498. Boschen, K. A., Tonack, M. & Gargaro, J. (2003). Long-term adjustment and community reintegration following spinal cord injury. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 26(3), 157-164. Campbell, R. (1998). The community response to rape: Victim’s experiences with thelegal, medical, and mental health systems. American Journal of Community Psychology, 26, 355-379. Campbell-Whatley, G. (2001). Mentoring students with mild disabilities: The ‘nuts and bolts’ of program development. Intervention in the School & Clinic, 36, 211-216. Campbell-Whatley, G., & Algozzine, B. (1997). Using mentoring to improve academic programming for African American male youths with mild disabilities. School Counselor, 44, 362-367. Carling, P. J. (1995). Return to Community: Building support systems for people with psychiatric disabilities. New York: The Guilford Press Cullen, L. & Barlow, J. (1998). Mentoring in the context of a training program for young unemployed adults with physical disabilities. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 21, 389-391.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

138

Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar

Dalton, J. H., Elias, M. J., & Wandersman, A. (2001). Community Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Dowrick, P. W., & Keys, C. B. (2001). Community psychology and disability studies. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 21(2), 1-14. DuBois, D., Holloway, B., Valentine, J. & Cooper, H. (2002). Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: A meta-analytic review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 157-197. Duggan, C. H., Lysack, C., Dijkers, M., & Jeji, T. (2002). Daily life in a nursing home: Impact on quality of life after spinal cord injury. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, 7(3), 112-131. Ensher, E. A., Thomas, C., Murphy, S. E. (2001). Comparison of traditional, step-ahead, and peer mentoring on proteges’ support, satisfaction, and perceptions of career success: A social exchange perspective. Journal of Business and Psychology, 15(3), 419-438. Fine, L. M., & Pullins, E. B. (1998). Peer mentoring in the industrial sales force: An exploratory investigation of men and women in developmental relationships. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 18(4), 89-103. Foster-Fishman, P. G., & Keys, C. B. (1997). The person/environment dynamics of employee empowerment: An organizational culture analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25(3), 345-369. Goldstein, H. & Wickstrom, S. (1986). Peer intervention Effects on communicative interactions among handicapped and nonhandicapped preschoolers. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 19, 209-214. Grummer-Strawn, L. M., Rice, S. P., Dugas, K., Clark, L. D., & Benton-Davis, S. (1997). An evaluation of breastfeeding promotion through peer counseling in Mississippi WIC clinics. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 1, 35-42. Gulam, W. & Triska, J. (1998). Students with special needs: a paradigm for the transition from school to college in the UK. Journal of Postsecondary Education & Disability, 13, 29-36. Hailey, B. J., Lalor, K. M., Byrne, H. A., & Starling, L. M. (1992). The effects of selfreinforcement and peer-reinforcement on the practice of breast self-examination. Health Education Research, 7, 165-174. Hammel, J. (1999). The life rope: A transactional approach to exploring worker and life role development. Work, 12, 47-60. Hasazi, S. B., Gordon, L. R., & Roe, C. A. (1985). Factors associated with the employment status of handicapped youth exiting high school from 1979 to 1983. Exceptional Children, 51, 455-469. Hayes, E. & Hernandez, B. (in press). Peer Support. In G. Albrecht (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Disability. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Hernandez, B., Hayes, E., Balcazar, F., & Keys, C. (2001). Responding to the needs of the underserved: A peer-mentor approach. Psychosocial Process, 14(3), 142-149. Hibbard, M. R., Cantor, J., Charatz, H., Rosenthal, R., Ashman, T., Gundersen, N., IrelandKnight, L., Gordon, W., Avner, J., & Gartner, A. (2002). Peer support in the community: Initial findings of a mentoring program for individuals with traumatic brain injury and their families. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 17(2), 112-131. Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61(4), 505-532.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Peer-Mentoring and Disability: Current Applications and Future Directions

139

Kelly, J. G. (1966). Ecological constraints on mental health services. American Psychologist, 21, 535-539. Kelly, J. G. (1967). Naturalistic observations and theory confirmation: An example. Human Development, 10, 212-222. Kelly, J. G. (1971). Qualities for the community psychologist. American Psychologist, 26, 897-903. Kelly, J. G., Ryan, A. M., Altman, B. E., & Stelzner, S. P. (2000). Understanding and changing social systems: An ecological view. In J. Rappaport & E. Seidman (Eds.), The handbook of community psychology. New York City: Plenum. Kemp, B. J., & Vash, C. L. (1971). Productivity after injury in a sample of spinal cord injured persons: A pilot study. Journal of Chronic Disabilities, 24, 259-275 Klein, D. C. (1987). The context and times at Swampscott: My story. American Journal of Community Psychology, 15, 531-538. Leach, L. R., Frank, R. G., Bouman, D. E., & Farmer, J. (1994). Family functioning, social support and depression after traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury, 8, 599-606. Lee, M., Storey, K., Andersen, J., Goetz, L. & Zivolich, S. (1997). The effect of mentoring versus job coach instruction on integration on supported employment settings. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 22, 151-158. Levinson, D. J., Carrow, C. N., Klein, E. B., Levinson, M. H., & McKee, B. (1978). The seasons of a man’s life. New York: Ballentine. Lindemann, E. (1953). The Wellesley project for the study of certain problems in community mental health. In, Interrelations between the social environment and psychiatric disorders (pp. 167-185). New York: Milbank Memorial Fund. Mathews, R. M., Mathews, S. A., & Pittman, J. L. (1985). Peer counseling: Consumer involvement in independent living programs. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 28, 161-166. Mauss-Clum, N., & Ryan, M. (1981). Brain injury and the family. Journal of Neurosurgery Nursing, 13, 165-169. McDonald, K.E., Balcazar, F. & Keys, C.B. (in press) Youth with disabilities. In. D. DuBois & M. Karcher (Eds.), Handbook of Youth Mentoring. SAGE Publications. Microsoft Encarta. (1999). Encarta World English Dictionary. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Odom, S. L., McConnel, S. R., & McEvoy, M.A. (1992). Social competence of young children with disabilities: Issues and strategies for intervention. Baltimore: Paul Brookes Publishing Co. Odom, S. & Strain, P. (1986). A comparison of peer-initiation and teacher-antecedent interventions for promoting reciprocal social interactions of autistic preschoolers. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 19, 59-71. Odom, S. & Strain, P. (1984). Peer-mediated approaches to promoting children’s social interaction: A review. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 54(4), 544-557. Osguthorpe, R., Eiserman, W. & Shisler, L. (1985). Increasing social acceptance: Mentally retarded students tutoring regular class peers. Education and Training of the Mentally Retarded, 20, 235-240. Ozer, E. J., Weinstein, R. S., Maslach, C., & Seigel, D. (1997). Adolescence AIDS prevention in context: The impact of peer educator qualities and classroom environment on intervention efficacy. The American Journal of Community Psychology, 25, 289-323.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

140

Erin Hayes and Fabricio Balcazar

Park, P. (1993). What is participatory research? A theoretical and methodological perspective. In P. Park, M. Brydon-Miller, B. Hall, & T. Jackson (Eds.), Voices of change: Participatory research in the United States and Canada (pp. 1-19). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey. Pledger, C. (2003). Discourse on disability and rehabilitation issues: Opportunities for psychology. American Psychologist, 58, 279-284. Powers, Sowers & Stevens (1995). An exploratory, randomized study of the impact of mentoring in the self-efficacy and community-based knowledge of adolescents with severe physical challenges. Journal of Rehabilitation, 61, 33-41. Ragland, E. U., Kerr, M. M., & Strain, P. S. (1978). Behavior of withdrawn autistic children: Effects of peer social initiations. Behavior Modification, 2(4), 565-578. Rhodes, J. (1994). Older and wiser: Mentoring relationships in childhood and adolescence. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 14, 187-196. Roach, M. J. (2002). Community social structure as an indicator of social integration and its effect on quality of life for persons with a spinal cord injury. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, 7(3), 101-111. Sable, J., Craig, P., & Lee, D. (2000). Promoting health and wellness: A research-based case report. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 34(3), 348-361. Santosh, P. J., & Baird, G. (1999). Psychopharmacotherapy in children and adults with intellectual disability. Lancet, 354(9174), 233-242. Sarason, S. B. (1972). The creation of settings and the future societies. San Fransisco: JosseyBass. Sarason, S. B. (1976). Community psychology, networks, and Mr. Everyman. American Psychologist, 31(5), 317-328. Sarason, S. B., Levine, M., Goldenberg, I., Cherlin, D. L., & Bennett, E. M. (1966). Psychology in community settings: Clinical, educational, vocational, social aspects. New York: Wiley. Schulz, A., Williams, D., Israel, B., Becker, A., Parker, E., James, S. A., Jackson, J. (2000). Unfair treatment, neighborhood effects, and mental health in the Detroit metropolitan area. Journal of Health & Social Behavior, 41(3), 314-332. Sherman, J. E., DeVinney, D. J., & Sperling, K. B. (2004). Social support and adjustment after spinal cord injury: Influences of past peer-mentoring experiences and current live-in partner. Rehabilitation Psychology, 49(2), 140-149. Stainback, W. & Stainback, S. (1990). Support networks for inclusive schooling: Interdependent integrated education. Baltimore: Paul Brookes Publishing Co. Taylor-Ritzler, T. (2002). Conceptual Approaches in the Assessment of Parenting with Intellectual Disability. Unpublished manuscript, University of Illinois at Chicago. Thoits, P. A. (1986). Social support as coping assistance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54(4), 416-423. Thoits, P. A. (1995). Stress, coping, and social support processes: Where are we? What next? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Spec No, 53-79. Thoits, P. A., Hohmann, A. A., Harvey, M. R., & Fletcher, B. (2000). Similar-other support for men undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. Health Psychology, 19(3), 264-273. Topping, K. (1996). Reaching where adults cannot: Peer education and peer counselling. Educational Psychology in Practice, 11(4), 23-29.

Peer-Mentoring and Disability: Current Applications and Future Directions

141

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Trickett, E.J., Kelly, J.G., & Todd, D. (1972). The social environment of the high school: guidelines for individual change and organizational development. In S. Golann & C. Eisdorfer (Eds.), Handbook of community mental health (pp. 361-390). New York: Appleton -Century -Crofts. Trickett, E. J., Kelly, J. G., & Vincent, T. A. (1985). The spirit of ecological inquirty in community research. In E. C. Susskind & D. C. Klein (Eds.), Community research: Methods, paradigms, and applications. New York: Praeger. Trickett, E. J., McConahay, J. B., Phillips, D., & Ginter, M. A. (1985). Natural experiments and the educational context: The environment and effects of an alternative inner-city public school on adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 13(6), 617643. Vines, C. L. (2000). Promoting community reentry: The TIRR PEERS program. Psychosocial Process, 13(4), 185-187. Wehman, P. & Moon, M. S. (1988). Vocational rehabilitation and supported employment. Baltimore: Paul Brookes Publishing Co. Whittemore, R., Rankin, S. H., Callahan, C. D., Leder, M. C., Carroll, D. L. (2000). The peer advisor experience: Providing social support. Qualitative Health Research, 10(2), 260276. Whyte, W. F. (1991). Participatory action research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Short Communication A

WHEN “YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME”: MENTORING ACROSS GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES Janet Bickel Career and Leadership Development, Falls Church, VA, USA

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION Mentoring has never been so important to individual career development or to institutional health. With the intensifying competition for resources, young scientists’ ability to translate their “intellectual capital” into “career capital” depends more than ever on access to mentoring targeted at their needs. While mentoring has always been primarily between generations, with the mentor often serving in some senses in a parental role, generational differences are presenting more of a challenge now than in previous eras. As life spans have increased, for the first time in history, four generations are now active in the workplace at once [see Table 1] [1]. Moreover the younger generations in the workplace are more diverse in terms of gender and ethnicity, so a great deal of heterogeniety is meeting a largely homogeneous pool of available mentors. As is discussed below, other characteristics of these generations and the accelerating pace of change mean that senior professionals are facing multiple mentoring situations unfamiliar to them, distracting them from having the most positive possible impact in the limited time available. At the same time, the complexities of all knowledge and skill domains are increasing in ways that senior professionals often do not appreciate. For instance, for physicians-in-training and junior clinical faculty, hospitalized patients are much sicker, the information flow is intensive, the response time is reduced, the regulatory and paperwork burden has tripled; every pressure has been ratcheted up a number of magnitudes from the previous era. With rising competition for funding and space, the challenges of career-building in science have also risen. Skills in collaboration, communication, organizational politics, negotiation and

144

Janet Bickel

conflict management are no longer optional. The bar is set much higher now than when the Veterans and Boomers started their careers. These and other forces are driving the search for new ways of facilitating and structuring mentoring relationships. This Commentary examines this challenge in science and medicine, particularly in academia, and offers numerous recommendations to both individuals and to organizations on ways to maximize the potential of this critical bridge to the future.

GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The term “generation” refers to a group that “came along at the same time,” experiencing history from the perspective of the same phase of life. While blurry around the edges, generation is a common age location, with identifiable collective attitudes about family and future, shaped by different historical events. The accelerating pace of change means that a single generation can come of age in an entirely different milieu than the one before it. By and large, department heads and mid-career and senior faculty are Boomers, with a few Veterans hanging on. Today’s junior faculty are Generation Xers. The first wave of the Millennial Generation is now beginning to finish graduate school. [While they may be relevant to other populations, the generalizations articulated in the literature and institutions cited here refer to demographics in North America]. The era into which we’re born shapes us in many ways we tend to take for granted. Just as fish did not discover water, the characteristics of one’s own generation tend to be no more visible than the air. This is particularly true of Baby Boomers. Members of the largest generation in US history have been accused of acting as if they were “The Generation” [2]. Currently, the starkest differences are between Generation X and Baby Boomers (see Table 2). While most Boomers had a more traditional upbringing, Generation X was the first one in which both parents were likely to work outside the home. Also parental divorce was twice as prevalent for these generations as for Boomer children. In part because of these life experiences, Generation Xers are less likely to put jobs before family, friends or other interests. Many Generation Xers also witnessed their parents become victims of downsizing in exchange for their loyalty to an organization. So Generation Xers’ first loyalty tends to be to themselves rather than to any institution. Table 1. Four Generations in the Workplace • • • •

Veterans − 55 million Baby Boomers − 80 million Gen X − 47 million Gen Y − 76 million

1922-1943 1944-1964 1965-1982 1983-2000

When “You’re Not the Boss of Me”: Mentoring across Generational Differences

145

Table 2. Characteristics of Generation X and Boomers Generation X (1965-1982) • Work hard if balance allowed • Expect many job searches • Paying dues not relevant • Self-sacrifice is virtue • Question authority Boomers (1944-1964) • Work hard out of loyalty • Expect long-term job • Pay dues • Self-sacrifice is virtue • Respects authority

Table 3. Exploratory Survey for Advisees • • •

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

• •

Looking at last year: What are you proudest of? And what would have done differently? What do you want to accomplish in the next 1-2 yrs? 5-10 yrs? What measures of success will you use? What relationships outside our discipline and institution do you want to build? What if anything is holding you back from reaching your potential? What areas of personal and professional growth do you most want to work on now?

While they may be deeply committed to their work, they are less willing to sacrifice than their parents were at that age, less fixated on titles and the corner office, and less likely to “delay gratification”. In the eyes of Generation Xers, their parents suffer from “vacation deficit disorder.” In terms of upbringing, the Millennials had much more protective parents than Generation X did; these parents have praised and pushed their children, so the Millennials expect respect and frequent positive feedback. Another shaping influence is electronic: they are digital natives, if not addicts, so they are accustomed to working asynchronously and are fearless in embracing new technology. They are more afraid of boredom than of changing. They expect to be treated like a team member, prefer highly interactive educational methods, and seek innovative ways to “make a difference”. For instance, a group of medical students who enjoy biking formed an NPO “Right to Sight”and organized a “bike-a-thon” to raise money to support blindness research; in addition to raising, $200,000, they tenaciously sought and found a way to get academic credit for this endeavor, to the consternation of a number of procedure-denfending administrators. What the Millennials have most in common with Gen X is the expectation of a life outside of work; both generations demand more flexiblility than the Boomers ever imagined for themselves.

146

Janet Bickel Table 4. Sample Items for a Professional Development Climate Survey I know what I need to accomplish in order to be promoted to the next academic level. Within the last year, my division chief/department head has constructively reviewed my work and my goals with me. I am comfortable discussing most critical issues/questions related to my professional development with my immediate boss. To facilitate my professional development, a person senior to me here has: a. Gotten to know me well enough to provide useful advice regarding my career goals and advancement b. Constructively challenged me and critiqued my work in a growthpromoting way. c. Served as a trustworthy sounding board regarding integrating/balancing my personal and professional life. d. Encouraged my participation in professional development activities e. Promoted my participation on important committees/activities

Certainly, each individual has many influences and characteristics unrelated to the year of birth, and individuals do change as they mature. But common differences among these generations offer a lense that can help organizations to improve education, mentoring and wokring together

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

IMPLICATIONS FOR MENTORING These diverging ideas about what it means to be a professional have multiple implications for mentoring relationships. Compared to the more hierarchical-oriented Boomers, younger professionals will ask “why?”; they are more “evidence-“ than “eminencebased.” They expect their mentors to help them achieve their own goals, leading some senior faculty to label them “self-centered.” Younger professionals also tend to be more direct and outspoken than their elders, increasing the chances of this interpretation. They are unmotivated by directives. For example, a chair of plastic surgery reported that when he tells residents to do something, they may question the order or simply do not follow it; one told him “to chill out” [3]—responses unimaginable in his generation. Compared to their parents, younger professionals also reject the message that success means that “you gotta sacrifice” and “do what I did.” Intent on creating a multi-faceted life early on, younger professionals are looking for different models of career development and readily point out the shortcomings of the traditional model of single-minded focus on work. Proud of the two women scientist “superstars” he had recruited, one department chair was surprised when the young women in his department did not view the superstars as role models because they worked all the time. The perspective of many young people might be distilled a follows: “Why are established professionals so defensive? They act as if the way things were for them was the best of all possible worlds. If they really cared about us, they’d be trying to make life easier instead of

When “You’re Not the Boss of Me”: Mentoring across Generational Differences

147

hanging on to the past. Or maybe this is really about validating their own sacrifices and protecting their own privileges.” Thus building productive mentoring relationships between the older and younger generations has become more of a challenge, with each generation blaming the other for the failures [4]. Recognizing the need to create high performing work teams and to attract the best employees, many corporations have taken a pro-active approach, asking, “How crossgenerationally friendly are we?” [5] Science and academia needs to do so as well.

UPDATING APPROACHES TO MENTORING

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

a) Institutional Improvements Mentoring represents the most tangible bridge to continuing the traditions of excellence that are now threatened by decreased funding for education and research. Bringing junior and senior members of the academy together in systematic ways assists junior members to navigate complex environments more smoothly, to assimilate high professional norms and to become excited about academic careers (which usually are less lucrative than other paths). In academia, competition for top jobs and resources of all kinds is intensifying. Since few career or “people” development skills are included in scientific degree programs, young peoples’ ability to translate their “intellectual capital” to “career capital” depends on access to expert mentoring. Institutions and departments that purposely assist their new members to acculturate improve productivity, stability, loyalty, and leadership capacity [6]. Many young professionals have highly functional “mentor receptors” and manage to find and use the career help they need. But there are also those with a great deal of potential who founder without targeted attention, particularly individuals who underestimate their capacities or who lack comfort in drawing attention to themselves; many women and minorities fall into these categories [7]. Department heads and lab directors have traditionally been the primary mentors of those whom they recruit, but most face increasing challenges in meeting these responsibilities— both in terms of the size of their units and potential conflicts-of-interest. For instance, in response to great financial pressures, some department heads may use up rather than nurture the development of junior faculty, even taking credit for their work. Pressures to continue to consolidate their own careers in a very competitive environment mean that many department heads are remaining focused on personal and short-term needs; longer term, generative goals too often take a back seat. Mentoring programs can help overcome some of the negative effects of competitive environments and overburdened bosses. There are a variety of ways to facilitate mentor/protégé pairings, usually with minimal resources [8]. For instance, senior professionals can be surveyed about their areas of strength and willingness to participate in a program; this information can be shared with junior professionals. Or junior professionals might complete a needs/preferences survey, with an administrator matching pairs and facilitating the program. Features of mentoring programs usually include voluntary reassignment, regularly scheduled meetings, garnering feedback from participants, and provision of a variety of supports and events.

148

Janet Bickel

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 5. Activities To Support Mentoring • •

Offer resources and tools such as guidebooks Work with new professionals in selecting a mentor (or a small team of mentors)

• •

Address in faculty/employee orientation Create Peer and Group mentoring opportunities

• •

Establish Mentoring Awards Evaluate mentoring skills

• •

Add mentoring to promotion criteria Hold chairs/chiefs accountable for adequacy of Mentoring supports

Evaluating and Rewarding Mentoring Mentoring is a professional responsibility that institutions should support and recognize as a core responsibility. But too often, mentoring is treated as an activity that senior professionals who are so inclined engage in during their “free time.” And there are no consequences for being a negative role model or failing to mentor effectively. But to improve mentoring practices, departmental leaders and all mentors must be held accountable for their competencies as role models and as mentors. Specific competencies or indicators of effectiveness might include: “provides timely feedback that both challenges and supports me”; “inspires me as a role model”; “is accessible and approachable”; “motivates me to improve my work”; “suggests appropriate resources.” [9] Such data can be used for both summative and formative purposes. Departmental leaders ought also be evaluated on how effectively they create an environment that nurtures junior members, as measured by retention and promotion data and by occasional anonymous surveys of the professional development climate in the unit [Table 4 suggests sample items]. Departments that have created mentoring programs should assess their effectiveness from both the protégés’ and mentors’ perspectives and align these programs with other institutional efforts to optimize their value. [10] Other supportive structures include the expectation that senior faculty annually name their protégés, and trainees and junior faculty their mentors and role models. Promotions committees should count not only first authorships, but also last authorships when the person’s protégés are first authors. A peer-reviewed “Mentor-of-the-Year” award might be created, perhaps including in the criteria successful integration of personal and professional lives. To be sure, since mentoring is for the most part unfunded, realistically this activity will never rank with research productivity when it comes to promotion. None the less, leaders can do a great deal to lift up the importance and value of this professional responsibility. New Models Both the intensifying complexities of organizations and generational differences discussed here are driving the search for new ways of facilitating and structuring mentoring relationships. The traditional one-on-one apprenticeship model assumes both a substantial degree of similarity between mentor and protégé and a relatively slow pace of change, with the wise gray-hairs transferring their knowledge to their protégés over a period of years.

When “You’re Not the Boss of Me”: Mentoring across Generational Differences

149

With the pace of change obliterating these luxuries, it is also clear that one mentor is not enough; trainees benefit from exposure to a variety of styles and options, the better to see what stimulates their own development and assists them to take responsibility for their careers. So instead of the traditional “parenting” or “grooming” model, “facilitative partnerships” and “networking” are more accurate characterizations, that is, encouraging evolving relationships focused on the mentee’s learning objectives. Instead of one-on-one mentoring programs, in a shift out of the dyad model, “mentoring teams” can be established. A department head might assist each new faculty to put together a team based on their needs, possibly including individuals outside the department. [11] Another example is a “vertical” team, ie 2 students, 2 postdocs with 1 faculty member [12]. Collaborative and peer mentoring programs can also provide a framework for professional development, emotional support, and career planning [13]. For instance, a facilitated group-mentoring program might consist of sessions one-day/month for 6 months, facilitated by 1 or 2 skilled mid-career or senior professionals. Learning outcomes might include: identification of values-based career goals, development of close collaborative relationships within the group, improved job satisfaction, and skills developed in areas key to advancement [14]. Informal peer-driven gatherings can take many forms, eg regular “Data ‘n Dine” lunches where postdocs testdrive posters or critique each other’s grants or CVs. Occasionally a facilitator might be invited to offer guidelines and practice on a professional skill such as manuscript review or job interviewing. Such updating of mentoring practices also responds to science’s need for new models of mutuality and facilitative leadership based on collaboration and shared authority. Whatever activities and frameworks facilitate senior professionals to effectively share the gifts of their expertise and stimulate young professionals to take responsibility for their careers deserve consideration [Table 5 lists the activities to support mentoring that are mentioned above].

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

b) Individual Improvements The potential of mentoring relationships and programs will not be realized unless senior members are skilled at communicating “across differences”—not just generational but also gender and ethnic differences. Like senior citizens holding the paper further away so their eyes can better focus, mentors sometimes need to loosen their grip on how their proteges “ought to act.” For example, rather than relying primarily on their greater expertise or becoming defensive when junior people ask “why are we doing it this way?,” senior professionals need to acknowledge how much more complex virtually every domain is now compared to 20 years ago —just look at the difficulty of spelling bee words! Rather than over-depending on their version of “reality,” skilled mentors offer learnercentered mentoring. They convey ideas, criticism and challenging feedback while leaving the protégé feeling that she has been heard; they help protégés feel secure enough to take risks and confident enough to rise above their own fears. [15] Such effective and comfortable communication depends on active listening, avoiding assumptions, and combining an optimal balance of support and challenge.

150

Janet Bickel

Reflective questions followed by respectful listening assist mentees to develop their own visions and to take responsibility for themselves, for instance: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

How will you develop the necessary expertise? What does success mean to you? What are your goals and timelines? What is your plan for assuring that you can compete successfully? How will you evaluate your progress? Let’s agree about the desired outcome, then discuss methods. Tell me more about your understanding of this dilemma. What was the lesson? How can you lock in the learning? What concerns you the most about…? What are you trying to accomplish? Where are you being too hard [or easy] on yourself? How might you be limiting yourself? What will recharge your batteries? What are you willing/unwilling to change?

While some mentees may be unfamiliar with this style of reflective questioning, mentors who keep encouraging critical self-awareness and accountability will likely have the most enduring impact. Other recommendations: •

• •

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

•

•

•

Begin the initial interaction with the protégé by sharing information about your important influences, eg the advice or experience that made the most difference for you in your professional development. And ask the protégé to share theirs. This exchange may open the door to a productive discussion of differences. Consider having the protégé complete a brief survey before the first interaction [see Table 3]; having this in advance can save time and prevent erroneous assumptions. If questions about their commitment to the work arise, link the discussion to outcomes and performance. Offer illustrations linking effort to competency. Give frequent feedback. Whereas Boomers tend not to seek feedback, and expect substantial documentation to support the feedback they receive, younger professionals tend to look for and appreciate frequent informal feedback. Encourage the protégé to mentor others. If the protégé takes the mentoring relationship for granted and underestimates the time and patience involved, encourage the protégé to become a mentor herself. Adapt your coaching style to the needs of the protégé and create sense of psychological safety so that protégés don’t just “toe the line” but reveal their doubts and hard questions.

By contrast, a “de-mentor” or “tor-mentor” might open a conversation with: “when I was a lad…”; “you remind me of me”; “let’s meet in the hallway”; “just go get a research project”; “take a photo of your children now because you won’t be seeing much of them”;

When “You’re Not the Boss of Me”: Mentoring across Generational Differences

151

“you’ll never be a success because you have too many kids”; or “you say you need a course in financial management, but you just need to make more money.” Dedicated professionals, no matter how senior, can improve their mentoring relationships and outcomes. Offering more learner-centered mentoring begins from an altruistic motivation to nurture the next generation and an openness to differences. For instance, if the mentee’s answer to “what’s most important to you right now” is “finding competent child care,” then begin with that; when you feel out of your league, connect the mentee to other resources. Some individuals can benefit from leadership coaching in acquiring the orientation and competencies entailed in communicating and relationship-building. Many Human Resource divisions offer a vetted list of coaches. [16]

CONCLUSION Mentoring has never been so important to individual career development or to institutional health. The business case for improving mentoring is self-evident in terms of retention and development of the best intellectual capital. Institutions that assist their new members to grow are improving their return on their investment in their talent. Bringing junior and senior members together in systematic ways assists junior members to navigate complex environments more smoothly, to assimilate the highest professional norms and to build critical career development skills not usually addressed in the educational program. In order for these critical relationships to reach their potential, generational differences must be bridged. This means assisting senior professionals to sharpen their skills in listening and reflective inquiry. Institutions should create a variety of supports to help senior professionals maximize their impact in the limited time available for this activity and should update their evaluation and rewards practices. Structuring collaborative and peer mentoring options not only takes some pressure off senior professionals but better meets the needs of younger professionals. The goal is building a supportive ecology in which collegial relationships develop as naturally as possible for all.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Lancaster L, Stillman D. When generations collide. Harper, 2002. Queenan J. Balsamic Dreams: A Short But Self-Important History of the Baby Boomer. Picador, 2002 Stauffer D. Motivating across generations. Harv Management Update, March 2003, p 47. Bickel J, Brown A. Generation X: Implications for Faculty Recruitment and Development in Academic Health Centers. Acad. Med. 2005; 80:205-10. Zemke R. Generations X at work: managing the clash of vets, boomers, xers and nexters in your workplace. AMACOM, 2000. Carr, P, Bickel J, Inui T, editors.Taking Root in a Forest Clearing: A Resource Guide for Medical Faculty, Boston: Boston University School of Medicine, 2004

152 [7] [8]

[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

[14] [15]

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

[16]

Janet Bickel Bickel, J. Mentors: Overcoming the Shortage in Women in Medicine: Getting in, Growing and Advancing, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000. Levy BD, Katz JT, Wolf MA, Sillman JS, Handin RI, Dzau VJ. An initiative in mentoring to promote residents’ and faculty members’ careers. Acad. Med. 2004; 79:845-50. Berk RA et al. Measuring the effectiveness of faculty mentoring relationships. Acad. Med. 2005; 80:66-71. Castiglioni A, Bellini LM, Shea JA. Program directors’ views of the importance and prevalence of mentoring in internal medicine residencies. JGIM. 2004;19:779-82. Howell LP, Servis G, Bonham A. Multigenerational challenges in academic medicine: UCDavis’s responses. Acad. Med, 2005; 80:527-32. Levine, Rachel et al. The three-headed mentor: rethinking the classical construct. Med. Educ. 2003; 37:473-89. Pololi LH. Knight S, Dennis K, Frankel, R.M. Helping Medical School Faculty Realize Their Dreams: An Innovative, Collaborative Mentoring Program. Acad. Med, 2002;77:377-384. Pololi, L.H., Knight S. Mentoring faculty in academic medicine. JGIM. 2005; 20:86670. Delong TJ et al. Why mentoring matters in a hypercompetitive world. Harv. Bus. Rev, Jan 2008 Fitzgerald C, Berger JG, editors, Executive Coaching: practices and perspectives. Davies-Black Pub., 2002.

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Short Communication B

MENTORING IN MEDICINE Erin E. Tracy∗ Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

POTENTIAL BENEFITS REGARDLESS OF CAREER STAGE

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

11 March 2008 The importance of mentoring has been recognized since ancient times. The term “mentor” originated in Homer’s Odyssey. In this epic, Ulysses asked Mentor to educate and guide his son, Telemachus, while his father went off to fight in the Trojan War. [1] Indeed Mentor nurtured and protected Telemachus in Ulysses’ absence, and introduced him to other leaders, helping him to understand his role in both the civic and vocational hierarchy. [2] Some of the pioneering work looking at mentoring in modern times was done by Levinson et al, who conducted interviews of 40 men, incorporating the following aspects in this concept of mentor, “teacher, sponsor, counselor, developer of skills and intellect, host, guide, and exemplar.” [3] Levinson also stated that “the mentor has another function, and this is developmentally the most crucial one: to support and facilitate the realization of the Dream.” [4] Erikson, decades earlier, cited the importance of the “psycho-social task for mildlife..to resolve the issue of generativity versus stagnation” (Generativity in this context is defined as a concern for and an interest in guiding the next generation.) [5] Mentoring has been defined in a variety of ways. Ramanan et al defined a mentor as “an active partner in an ongoing relationship who helps a mentee maximize potential and reach personal and professional goals.” [6] In 1997 a joint committee of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine identified a mentor as a faculty advisor, career advisor, skills consultant, and role model. [7] Deloz provided a more descriptive analysis of the mentoring definition, stating “Mentors are guides. They lead us along the journey of our lives. We trust them because they have been there before. They embody our hopes, cast light on the way ahead, interpret arcane signs, warn us of lurking dangers and point out unexpected delights along the way.” [8] Another ∗ Massachusetts General Hospital, Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology, 55 Fruit St. 406 Founders House, Boston, MA 02114, Phone: (617) 726-3564, Fax: (617) 726-4267. [email protected].

154

Erin E. Tracy

eloquent description of the importance of mentoring was described by Dr. Daniel Tosteson, who stated, “We must acknowledge that the most important, indeed, the only thing we have to offer our students is ourselves. Everything else they can read in a book.” [9] Mentoring can be done on a variety of levels. Often individuals have multiple mentors, assisting with various aspects of their professional and/ or personal lives. Kram identified two types of mentoring functions. The first was identified as career related-support, and the second was psychosocial. [10] Along these same lines, Scandura et al labeled three key mentoring functions, including career-related support, psychosocial support, and role modeling. [11] Rose et al identify mentor as “keepers of the meaning”, a developmental task based on research from the Harvard’s Study of Adult Development, stating “”Keepers’ pass on the traditions of the past to future generations with wisdom and justice without taking sides.” [12] There are many studies in the literature evaluating both formal and informal mentoring relationships and programs, some of which will be highlighted here. This subject is more difficult to study objectively, and the limitations of the data will be reviewed, as will a number of outcomes published to date. One paper evaluates factors to consider when choosing a mentor, citing two key characteristics, the first being someone the mentee trusts, who will be open and honest, and with whom there is “chemistry.” [13] The second trait is generosity. These authors say the mentor should

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Serve as a role model for the mentee. Have hand-on experience as a mentor. Be willing to invest his or her time with the mentee. Be someone with whom the mentee is personally comfortable. Most importantly, honestly provide constructive criticism.

Mentoring can be invaluable at different times in a medical career. Studies assessing medical student interest note that 90-95% of students rate mentoring as “important” or “very important” and want to develop mentoring relationships. [14] Unfortunately, only approximately one-third of students report having a mentor. [15] One JAMA paper is a systematic review of the mentoring literature, involving 3640 citations in the literature, noting that “mentoring is…central to academic medicine, but it is challenged by increased clinical, administrative, research and other educational demands on medical faculty.” [16] According to these authors, less than 50% of medical students and in some fields less than 20% of faculty members have a mentor. Despite this, mentoring was recognized in many studies as having an “important influence on personal development, career guidance, career choice, and research productivity, including publication and grant success.” 87% of these studies were cross-sectional surveys (with response rates of 5-99%, and a median response rate of 62%), three were before and after case series, one was a casecontrol study nested in a survey and one was a cohort study, and many had methodological limitations. According to Dr. Sambunjak et al, the authors of this study, none of these studies mentioned the frequency or intensity of the mentor/ mentee interactions, and few noted whether the mentors were assigned or self-selected. Another study involved qualitative techniques, utilizing telephone interviews of 16 faculty members, in which 98% of physicians cited the lack of mentoring as the first (42%) or

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Mentoring in Medicine

155

second (56%) most important factor hindering their advancement in academic medicine. [17] This study cited the importance for maintaining clear boundaries in cross-gender mentoring. It also noted that prized mentors have “clout, knowledge, and interest in the mentees, and provide both professional and personal support.” A survey of 329 internal medicine residents associated with Harvard Medical School is also informative. [18] 93% of residents reported it is important to have a mentor during residency, but only 42% were satisfied with their mentoring during residency, despite the fact that 57% of their residency programs encouraged mentoring relationship development. One half of the program assigned mentors, while 43% of residents initiated the relationship, in contrast to the 8% of mentors who did. In this study, there was no difference in satisfaction with the mentoring relationship regardless of whether the relationship was assigned or not. There was also no difference in satisfaction based on a number of demographic factors including the mentor’s gender, ethnicity or work environment. In this study mentored residents were approximately twice as likely to describe excellent career preparation, compared to those without formal mentors. Trying to identify barriers or strategies to improve mentoring relationships is also important. Dr. Williams et al conducted a study of resident focus groups involving 65 residents and 5 faculty members. [19] Most cited the lack of time as a “main obstacle” to effective mentoring. Both residents and faculty members agreed that faculty incentives such as formal evaluations, protected time and mentoring awards would be beneficial. They also noted that creating a “space” to get together outside of the hospital would be both helpful and feasible for most institutions. One cautionary note from this study involved the research oriented faculty mentor who might expect the resident to be a “clone”, or have the relationship evolve into one that is “too task oriented and noncollaborative.” Other studies found a significant benefit to having mentoring relationships with those involved in research. One such paper, involving a survey of 3,103 full time faculty at 24 randomly selected U.S. medical schools (with a 60% response rate) noted that faculty members who had mentors rated their research preparation and skills higher than those without mentors. [20] 80% of the women respondents in this survey, and 86% of minority faculty who had mentors reported that it wasn’t important to have mentors of the same gender or ethnic background. A study of faculty members at the University of Pennsylvania similarly showed no difference with mentoring satisfaction with relationship to gender. [21] This survey identified the potential benefit of having multiple mentors. Satisfaction with mentoring in general was associated with greater job satisfaction and less expectation of leaving the institution within the next few years. The authors do point out, however, that although their findings do seem supportive of a causal benefit of mentoring relationships, “a plausible alternative is that productive and satisfied faculty were both more likely to stay at the institution and more likely to seek or keep mentor(s).” The federal government has played a role in fostering mentoring in academics. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health convened the National Task Force on Mentoring for Health Professionals in 1998. [22] This Task Force determined that there are 2 principles that are critical for the success of mentoring programs or relationships. The first of these is an institutional commitment. The second is having institutional rewards and recognition for participating mentors. This Task Force subsequently created the “National Centers of Leadership in Academic Medicine”, with centers at 4

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

156

Erin E. Tracy

different medical schools: MCP Hahnemann School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, East Carolina University School of Medicine, and Meharry Medical College School of Medicine. Each center had mentoring activities structured based on perceived needs. Some of the innovative approaches utilized included a first year faculty member mentoring program, assistant professor mentoring program, a mentoring skills program (within a group of senior faculty members), programs of faculty performance development and a one-on-one mentoring program. Some of these programs involved protected time. Others involved web-based learning, and still others utilized computerized faculty tracking systems to monitor progress in the program. All of these represent excellent institutional commitment to trying to help mentoring relationships foster personal and professional development. A number of authors provide insight into what characteristics are most potentially beneficial for both mentors and mentees in these relationships. One paper states effective mentors “possess the following characteristics: patience, enthusiasm, knowledge, a sense of humor, and respect.” [23] Bensing advises mentees to “know thyself so that you can actively articulate your career goals, actively target different types of mentors, be bold and ask for health, have something to give back, believe you are worthy of a mentor and exude that selfconfidence.” [24] Another study involved a case report and qualitative analysis of 15 hours of meetings between a junior and a senior faculty internal medicine physician, utilizing audiotaping and transcribing all of the sessions. [25] The authors note that “the personal transformation for the mentee was the discovery of the value of reflection on his work, as well as identifying and strengthening his weaknesses.” The mentor similarly benefited from the relationship, saying, “He said I have the capacity to be either ‘nice and ok’….or on the other spectrum end, I could be a superlative faculty member…I was jolted into thought and action.” Another paper outlines a large mentoring program in the Department of Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s/ Faulkner Hospital. [26] In this program, each mentor receives the following items: (1) a detailed outline of the program, (2) a curriculum vitae for each mentee, (3) a resource fact sheet with confidential contact information for resident-related matters (i.e. housing, loans, legal assistance, faculty contact information), (4) quarterly emails from the Medical Education Office to remind mentors and mentees to formally meet, (5) invitations to house staff events, and (6) a small stipend to help cover meeting expenses. Participants were instructed that this relationship was a “safe haven” (i.e. no aspect of the mentoring activity was to be considered as part of formal resident evaluations.) A survey evaluating this program revealed that 90% of residents thought this assignment of faculty mentors by the department was important. Faculty members are also encouraged to list both their own personal mentors and their own mentoring activity on their curriculum vitas, demonstrating the importance of these activities. Our own institution, the Vincent Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, has a formal faculty mentoring program. An evaluation of this program was recently published. [27] Of 42 eligible faculty members, 32 voluntarily participated in this program, either as mentors or mentees. Focus group sessions were conducted to evaluate the success of the program, with most mentees noting a positive influence in the following ways: having a role model (83.3%), having increased visibility in the department (82.3%), and having someone to whom to turn (93.8%.) A survey revealed that the majority of mentors benefited from increased opportunities for self-reflection, an

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Mentoring in Medicine

157

increase in self-confidence, an increase in job satisfaction, and feeling more connected. Perceived negative aspects of our mentoring program involved the mentor’s lack of time, although 50% said this was “not at all” an issue. Similarly 62.5% of mentees believed that the mentee’s lack of time was a factor. Since reviewing this program, our department has instituted some protected time for these mentoring pairs to meet. Our program is now in its 7th year of existence, and follow up surveys have revealed a significant benefit for both mentees and mentors regarding these activities. Some mentoring programs have been developed in recognition of the challenges some under-represented physicians might face. The National Institute of Mental Health Minority Research Infrastructure Support Program has provided a number of these programs at the University of New Mexico. [28] The central program has multiple objectives, including teaching mentees basic research methods and grant writing techniques, emphasizing health disparities, particularly among Hispanic and Native Americans, facilitating networking, assisting with professional development and developing “exportable” training curricula to utilize in other centers. Other institutions are looking into methods for faculty development. In 2003 the Penn State College of Medicine, in recognition of the fact that as of 2000 only 20% (15) of 76 medical schools had offices devoted to faculty development, instituted the Junior Faculty Development Program. [29] This program has two different components, one involving a curriculum covering research, education, clinical practice and career development, and the other involving an individual project, done with the guidance of a senior faculty mentor. In this program mentors are usually selected from departments different from that of the mentees, and had have no pre-existing relationship with one another. The mentoring is “project-focused and outcome-driven.” Mentors are recognized for their commitment to the program by being inducted into “The Mentoring Academy of the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, an honorary organization established by the Office of Professional Development.” Greater than 90% of participants either “agreed or strongly agreed that they had benefited from the mentoring relationship.” Others have looked at mentoring opportunities based upon the types of relationships that can be established. In 2005 the federally funded National Center of Leadership in Academic Medicine concluded that a “group peer, collaborative mentoring model founded on principles of adult education” is optimal. [30] Other potential relationships are “dyadic”, involving mentor/ mentee paired individuals, and either traditional dyadic mentoring models, with formalized relationships established, or informal mentoring relationships, which happen more serendipitously. The collaborative mentoring program, might involve a facilitated group peer mentoring experience and skill development over a defined period. The one Paloli et al published involved 3 specific aspects: (1) formation of an “academic development plan”, (2) skill development in areas “essential for advancement in academic medicine, and (3) a “scholarly writing program.” The authors contend that facilitated peer group mentoring is superior to dyadic mentoring pairs because of “empowerment, an absence of power differential, the involvement of multiple areas of expertise, mutuality, training for mentoring, and the development of personal awareness.” One paper involved a systematic review of the mentoring literature. [31] These authors point out that “no known research has examined the relationship between perceived formal program characteristics and the degree of mentoring provided or relationship quality.” This review was consistent with other studies that “perceived input into the matching process

158

Erin E. Tracy

appears to be important for both mentors and protégés.” (We similarly observed this finding of our faculty and residency mentoring programs and have changed our programs subsequently with excellent results.) It goes without saying that one of the most critical aspects of any mentoring relationship involves the people involved in the mentoring process itself. As Hollingsworth once stated, “for wisdom to be imparted, there has to be a special bond between the wise person and the one who would choose to become wise.”[1] Selwa pointed out an eloquent description of an ideal mentor outlined in 1967 by Aura Severinghaus, saying he or she possesses “a generous measure of intellectual ability, integrity, both personal and social, honesty so obvious and crystal that someone has called it ‘transparent integrity’, a passion for truth, a motivation that makes social sense, emotional stability, the habit of working under his own drive, a capacity for growth, curiosity, the ability to respond with imagination and creativity to new or challenging situations, tolerance of the differences among people and reverence for life, personality, and the dignity of man.” [1] Dr. Singletary points specific ways mentors can help mentees, saying “it is the duty of mentors to teach their mentees that it is not enough to work hard; they must work hard at the right things.” [32] She says they can provide help emotionally as well regarding some of the challenges practicing clinicians face, noting, “A good mentor will foster an environment in which honest mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn and in which no one is afraid to seek support or information from others.” She notes the challenges of dealing with a terminally ill patient, for example, and how Shanafelt et al described a “reframing of a physicians role from savior to shepherd.” [33] A good mentor will help give these problems perspective, and serve as a “sounding board for the expressions of anger and grief.” Physicians certainly have many aspects of their professional and personal development that are potentially benefited by mentoring relationships. Leigh Neumayer pointed out that physicians might need multiple mentors, one for clinical practice, one for research, one for personal life, and one for community service. [34] One thing is clear, to this author at least, mentoring is an activity that can serve both the mentor and mentee in good stead, in many ways, for many years, throughout their professional careers, and regardless of their “stage of development” in the medical world.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Selwa LM. Lessons in mentoring. Experimental Neurology.2003;184:S42-S47. Hill JA, Boone S. Personal perception on mentoring. Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research. 2002;396:73-75. Merriam S. Mentors and protégés: A critical review of the literature. Adult Education Quarterly. 1983;33:161-73. Levinson D et al, The seasons of a man’s life. New York: Knopf. 1978. Erikson E. Childhood and society. New York: Norton, 1950. Ramanan RA, Phillips RS, Davis RB, Silen W, Reede JY. Mentoring in medicine: keys to satisfaction. Am. J. Med. 2002;112:336-41.

Mentoring in Medicine [7]

[8] [9] [10] [11]

[12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

[19] [20]

[21]

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

[22] [23] [24] [25]

[26] [27]

159

National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine (US). Adviser, teacher, role model, friend. Washington (DC): National Academy Press; 1997. Daloz LA. Effective teaching and mentoring: Realizing the transformational power of adult learning experiences. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 1986. Tosteson DC. Learning in medicine. NEJM. 1979;301:690-4. Kram KE. Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL. Scott Forseman;1985. Scandura TA, Viator, R. Mentoring in public accounting firms: An analysis of mentorprotégé relationships, mentoring functions, and protégé turnover intentions. Accounting , Organizations, and Society. 1994;19:717-34. Rose GL, Rukstalis MR, Schuckit MA. Informal mentoring between faculty and medical students. Academic Medicine.2005;80:344-8. Lee JM, Anzai Y, Langlotz CP. Mentoring the mentors: Aligning mentor and mentee expectations. Acad Radiol. 2006;13:556-61. Aagaard EM, Hauer KE. A cross-sectional descriptive study of mentoring relationship formed by medical students. J. Gen. Intern. Med. 2003;18:2998-302. Boyle P, Boice B. Systematic mentoring for new faculty teachers and graduate teaching assistants. Innov. High Educ. 1998;22:157-79. Sambunjak D, Straus SE, Marusic A. Mentoring in academic medicine: A systematic review. JAMA.2006;296:1103-1115. Jackson VA, Palepu A, Szalacha L et al. “Having the right chemistry”: a qualitative study of mentoring in academic medicine. Academic Medicine. 2003;78:328-334. Famanan RA, Taylor WC, Davis RB, Phillips RS. Mentoring matters: Mentoring and career preparation in internal medicine residency training. J. Gen. Intern. Med. 2006;21:340-345. Williams LL, Levine JB, Malhotra S, Holtzheimer P. The good-enough mentoring relationship. Academic Psych.2004;28:111-115. Palepu A, Friedman RH, Barnett RC et al. Junior faculty member’s mentoring relationships and their professional development in U.S. medical schools. Acad. Mec.1998;72:328-323. Wasserstein AG, Quistberg A, Shea JA. Mentoring at the University of Pennsylvania: results of a faculty survey. Soc. Gen. Intern. Med. 2007;22:210-214. Mark S, Link H, Morahan PS et al. Innovative mentoring programs to promote gender equity in academic medicine. Acad Med. 2001;76:39-42. Kanaskie ML. Mentoring-A staff retention tool.Crit Care Nurs Q. 2006;29:248-252. Bensing K. Not just for CEOs. Advance Nurses. 2006;8:14. Rabatin JS, Lipkin M, Rubin A et al. A year of mentoring in academic medicine: Case report and qualitative analysis of fifteen hours of meetings between a junior and a senior faculty member.J. Gen. Intern. Med. 2004;19:569-573. Levy BD, Katz JT, Wolf MA et al.An initiative in mentoring to promote residents’ and faculty members’ careers. Acad. Me. 2004;79:845-850. Tracy EE, Jagsi R, Starr R, Tarbell NJ. Outcomes of a pilot faculty mentoring program. Amer. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 2004;191:1846-50.

160

Erin E. Tracy

[28] Yager J, Waitzkin H, Parker T, Duran B. Educating, training, and mentoring minority faculty and other trainees in mental health services research.. Acad. Psych. 2007; 31:146-151. [29] Thorndyke LE, Gusic ME, George JH et al. Empowering junior faculty: Penn State’s faculty development and mentoring program .Acad. Med. 2006;81:668-673. [30] Paloli L, Knight S. Mentoring faculty in academic medicine: A new paradigm? J. Gen. Intern. Med. 2005;866-870. [31] Allen TD, Eby LT, Lentz E. Mentorship behaviors and mentorship quality associated with formal mentoring programs: Closing the gap between research and practice. J. Applied Psych. 2006;91:567-578. [32] Singletary SE. Presidential Address: Mentoring surgeons for the 21st century. Ann. Surg. Onc. 2005;12:848-860. [33] Shanafelt T, Adejei A, Meyskens FL. When your favorite patient relapses: physician grief and well-being in the practice of oncology. J Clin Oncol. 2003;21:2616-19. [34] Neumayer L. Mentoring: The VA experience. Am J Surg. 2003;186:417-19.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

No financial support and no conflicts of interest

In: Mentoring: Program Development… Editor: Michael I. Keel

ISBN 978-1-60692-287-3 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Short Communication C

MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS IN THE COUNSELING FIELD: A MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE Regine M. Talleyrand and Rita Chi-Ying Chung George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

ABSTRACT

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Although the concept of mentoring has recently received increased attention in the counseling field, the intersection between multiculturalism and mentoring has not been formally addressed. This commentary examines the lack of multicultural models of mentoring relationships which are necessary given the changing demographics in our society. In addition, based on results from an exploratory study conducted by the authors of this commentary, key elements that may be important for Asian American, African American and Latina/o American counseling students who engage in mentoring relationships within an academic (e.g., professor/student) or clinical settings (e.g., supervisor/trainee) are provided. Finally, recommendations for developing positive multicultural mentoring relationships and future directions in research and training are discussed.

MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS IN THE COUNSELING FIELD: A MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE Mentoring relationships have been examined largely in the fields of education, business, and career development, but not until recently in the counseling field (Black, Suarez, and Medina, 2004; Schwiebert, 2000). The mentoring process consists of three components including psychosocial support, role modeling, and professional development (Jacobi, 1991, Schwiebert, 2000). Specifically, in the counseling profession mentoring can be perceived as a “process of support, teaching, protecting, guiding, nurturing, and advising” (Chung, Bemak, and Talleyrand, 2007, p. 21). Given the similarities between mentoring and counseling

162

Regine M. Talleyrand and Rita Chi-Ying Chung

processes, it is imperative to establish the distinctive elements of mentoring in the counseling field. Moreover, the intersections of multiculturalism and mentoring in the counseling profession need to be addressed given the rapidly changing racial and ethnic demographics in the United States (Ragins, 1997).

THE IMPORTANCE OF MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN MENTORING In the past few decades there has been significant dialogue regarding multicultural counseling (e.g., Aponte and Wohl, 2000; Helms and Cook, 1999; Ivey, D’Andrea, Ivey, Simek-Morgan, 2002; Pedersen, Draguns, Lonner and Trimble, 2002; Ponterotto, Casas, Suzuki and Alexander, 2001; Sue and Sue, 2008). Despite the plethora of discourse on multicultural counseling, to date, multiculturalism as it relates to mentoring has been largely ignored (Ragins, 1997). Since mentoring relationships can be paramount to faculty and student success and advancement in academia (Castro, Caldwell, and Salazar, 2005; Johnson and Huwe, 2002), it seems important to explore mentoring processes as they relate to Faculty and Students of Color. Previous research has shown that new Faculty of Color in counseling programs reported feeling isolated and alienated, and the pressure to renounce their ethnic/racial identity if they wanted to “fit in” with mainstream academic institutions (Brinson and Kottler, 1993; Garcia, 1995). “Fitting in” under these circumstances is at a high price, since it results in abandoning one’s own racial/ethnic identity and culture. To avoid this enforced assimilation of professional counselors, faculty and students of color, it is critical that multicultural awareness and responsiveness in mentoring relationships are incorporated into counseling academic departments, community agencies and school systems. Hence, for effective mentoring of People of Color in all aspects of counseling, it is essential that these relationships take into account cultural perspectives and expectations.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

MULTICULTURAL MENTORING IN THE COUNSELING FIELD Most mentoring models used in the counseling field are based on traditional Western mentoring models (e.g., Ivey, D’Andrea, Ivey and Simek-Morgan, 2002; Pedersen, 2000). The Western monocultural mentoring models typically emphasize autonomy, personal achievement and competition. These individualistic values are oftentimes in conflict with the values of collectivistic racial and ethnic groups that stress cooperation, interdependent relationships, and group cohesion (Bemak, Chung and Pedersen, 2003; Triandis, 1994). For example, although it has been found that Asian and Euro-American college women view mentoring relationships as equally important, Asian American women have a more difficult time forging mentoring relationships (Liang, Tracy, Kauh, Taylor and Williams, 2005), presumably because they approach the relationship differently based on their cultural values. That is, findings support the claim that some Asian American students’ may have a more difficult time finding mentoring relationships because they endorse traditional Asian values such as status hierarchy, being emotionally and verbally reserved, and interdependence. These

Mentoring Relationships in the Counseling Field: A Multicultural Perspective

163

cultural values may create a barrier to initiating mentoring relationships with authority figures who endorse different cultural values. In other words, these results could be interpreted as a conflict between cultural expectations for relationship initiation in the mentoring process. These findings underscore the importance of culture in mentees’ and mentors’ definitions and expectations in mentoring relationships. To this end, it is imperative that mentoring relationships be perceived from a multicultural perspective.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

KEY MULTICULTURAL ELEMENTS This section will discuss results from an exploratory study that examined multicultural perspectives in the definitions and expectations of mentoring relationships between faculty and students in a counselor education program (Chung, et al., 2007). Semi-structured interviews were used to explore African American, Asian American and Latina/o American counselor education graduate students’ perspectives in mentoring. Results from these qualitative interviews stressed the imperative need for future mentoring models to include racial, ethnic and cultural identities and worldviews into the mentoring relationships (Chung et al., 2007). Specifically, all three racial groups reported that the quality of interpersonal relationships is a critical dimension of mentoring, and having a mentor who is culturally responsive and aware is also an important variable in the mentoring relationship. Furthermore, all three groups stated that the following three elements were important in a mentoring relationship: trust/comfort/honesty, respect, and teacher/student/guide. In addition, for African American and Latina/o American participants, a key factor in mentoring was the strong emphasis on an extended family network. For the Asian American sample the key mentoring factors were respecting elders and maintaining a long-term relationship. Both the African American and Asian American samples also reported that personal growth was a significant dimension of mentoring, regardless of the type of mentoring relationship (e.g., academic or professional). These findings demonstrate that for all three groups the mentoring definitions, relationships, roles, and expectations were influenced by students’ cultural values, beliefs and worldviews. For example, African Americans in the study reported that the essential components of mentoring were spirituality, extended family networks and trustworthiness. These factors are to some degree characteristic of African American culture (e.g., Burlew, Banks, McAdoo, and Azibo, 1992; Greene, 1994). Similarly, the Latino cultural values of the importance of family and interpersonal relationships (e.g., Comas-Diaz, 1992; Padilla, 1995) emerged as important elements in mentoring for the Latina/o American sample. Thus, mentoring expectations for Latina/os may resemble qualities that are representative of family relationships. The Asian American sample also viewed mentoring from a cultural perspective such that they expected mentoring relationships to resemble a structured teacher-student relationship and/or a hierarchical relationship embedded with respect (e.g., Sue and Morishima, 1982; Uba, 1994). Furthermore, similar to the Asian cultural value of loyalty Asian American students stressed not only the importance of mentoring relationships, but also of maintaining the relationship beyond the immediate context (e.g., Lee and Zane, 1998; Uba, 1994). The findings of our study therefore strongly suggest the importance and the influence of culture on mentoring relationships for African American, Asian American and Latina/o

164

Regine M. Talleyrand and Rita Chi-Ying Chung

American students. Even though only 40% of the participants reported that having a mentor of the same race/ethnicity was important, the other 60% reported that mentors need to be culturally sensitive. For example, the students reported that they looked for their mentors to be open, non-judgmental, aware and understanding about their ethnic/racial life experiences, thus necessitating that the mentor be culturally aware and competent. This indicates that the participants were more concerned that mentors demonstrate a level of cultural competence and sensitivity rather than be of a similar race or ethnicity. These results are similar to other reported findings (e.g., Beyene, Anglin, Sanchez, and Ballou, 2002; Johnson and Hume; 2002)which suggest that same-race and culture pairings may not be essential in the mentoring relationship, however, how individuals address race and culture can affect the quality of cross-cultural mentoring relationships.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL MENTORING Although the literature regarding multiculturalism and mentoring is limited, researchers have demonstrated that culture or cultural awareness can play a role in how mentoring relationships are perceived and developed (e.g., Beyene, Anglin, Sanchez, and Ballou, 2002; Chung et al, 2007; Liang, et al., 2006; Santos and Reigadas, 2005). Given these notable findings the following recommendations are made: First, it is important that mentors understand and accept the role saliency of multicultural variables such as race, ethnicity, gender and class in their mentee’s construction of their personal identity. For instance, if a mentee’s definition of mentoring relationships is dependent on his or her cultural values, it will be important for a mentor to be accepting of his or her mentee’s cultural worldview. It is also critical that mentors acknowledge and accept that they may have limited knowledge regarding the mentees’ cultural, racial and ethnic background. Mentors are not expected to have knowledge about all cultural, ethnic and racial groups. However, if mentors have mentees who come from a different cultural, racial and ethnic background than themselves, then mentors are responsible to educate themselves about their mentees’ cultural background and how their cultural worldview impact mentoring definitions, expectations and relationships. Second, it is also important that mentors are able to understand their own biases in defining mentoring relationships: what are their cultural expectations of the mentoring relationship and how that might influence how he or she views mentoring? This includes exploring how issues of power and privilege (e.g., White privilege) may affect the mentoring relationship since power dynamics can be influence the relationship on multiple levels (Brinson and Kottler, 1993). Third, mentors need to have an awareness, understanding, acknowledgement and acceptance of acculturation and racial identity processes. That is, mentees should be aware that a mentee’s definitions of his or her mentoring relationship may be based on how he or she has internalized his or her cultural and/or racial identity and not generalize a mentee’s behavior based on his or her physical appearance and/or racial and cultural group membership.

Mentoring Relationships in the Counseling Field: A Multicultural Perspective

165

Fourth, it is important for mentors to create a safe psychological space for their mentees to discuss any mentoring issues, challenges and/or concerns. For mentors to be culturally responsive it is essential that they establish a safe space where honest and open dialogue can take place. For example, if the mentor and mentee have different definitions, roles and expectations of the mentoring relationship this should be explored in a respectful, open, honest and safe manner. Hence, there must be an appreciation of different perspectives to the mentoring process and relationship. Fifth, it is important that mentors clearly clarify with mentees their mentoring expectations and mentoring parameters (Castro, Caldwell, and Salazar, 2005; Chung et al., 2007). However, mentors must be realistic in acknowledging mentoring parameters. In other words, mentors must ask themselves can they realistically fulfill the expectations of the mentee? These are important questions, issues and concerns that must be openly and honesty addressed by mentors.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN RESEARCH AND TRAINING Findings from several studies support the notion that cultural differences can affect the initiation and formation of mentoring relationships. Although these findings are notable, there continues to be a paucity of research that examines the intersection between multicultural variables and mentoring relationships in counseling programs. Therefore, empirical research that focuses on multicultural mentoring relationships is greatly needed in counseling programs. Specifically, there is a need to incorporate qualitative studies to isolate variables specific to multicultural mentoring relationships and then use quantitative research studies to assess these variables. In addition, there is a need to develop culturally relevant assessment tools and sample diverse groups of mentors and mentees. Furthermore, given the small but growing numbers of racial and ethnic minorities in counseling, there is a critical need to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse counselors, supervisors, and faculty in the counseling field since the clientele is reflective of the changing racial and ethnic demographics. This is essential given that some research has shown that having a mentor serve as a role model was crucial to them (Chung et al., 2007). Finally, it is important that graduate counseling programs develop formal mentoring programs. This means that graduate programs need to support the role of mentoring in all aspects of the graduate programs including students and tenure-track faculty. To ensure completely effective mentoring in organizations and institutions, the role of mentoring needs to be supported by the administration and ongoing discussions on the benefits of mentoring to mentors, mentees and the organization also must be supported (Johnson and Huwe, 2002). This includes discussions on the importance of the role of culture in mentoring relationships. One way of demonstrating the importance of mentoring is to incorporate a university reward structure that focuses on evaluating mentoring relationships for faculty’s annual evaluation, as well as, to have mentoring included as part of the tenure and promotion criteria. With administration support and encouragement, faculty may see value in taking on mentoring roles. This then in turn, creates a culture of mentoring in organizations and institutions.

166

Regine M. Talleyrand and Rita Chi-Ying Chung

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Aponte, J.R., and Wohl, J. (Eds.), (2000). Psychological intervention and cultural diversity. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Bemak, F., Chung, R. C-Y., and Pederson, P. (2003). Counseling refugees: A psychosocial approach to innovative multicultural interventions. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Beyene, T., Anglin, M., Sanchez, W., and Ballou, M. (2002). Mentoring and relational mutuality: Protégés’ Perspectives. Journal of Humanistic Counseling Education and Development, 41, 87-102. Black, L.L., Suarez, E.C., and Medina, S. (2004). Helping students help themselves: Strategies for successful mentoring relationships. Counselor Education and Supervision, 44, 44-55. Brinson, J., and Kottler, J. (1993). Cross-cultural mentoring in counselor education: A strategy for retaining minority faculty. Counseling Education and Supervision, 32, 241253. Burlew, A.K.H., Banks, W.C., McAdoo, H.P., and Azibo, D.A. (Eds.), (1992). African American psychology: Theory, research, and practice. Newbury Park: Sage. Castro, C., Caldwell C., and Salazar, C. (2005). Creating mentoring relationships between female faculty and students in counselor-education: Guidelines for potential mentees and mentors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 83, 331-336. Chung, R. C-Y., Bemak, F., and Talleyrand, R.M. (2007). Mentoring within the field of counseling: A preliminary study of multicultural perspectives. International Journal of Advanced Counselling, 29, 21-32. Comas-Diaz, L (1992). Counseling Hispanics. In D.R. Atkinson, G. Morten, and D.W. Sue (Eds.), Counseling American minorities: A cross cultural perspective (4th edition ) (pp.241-296). Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown. Garcia, J.A. (1995). A multicultural America: Living in a sea of diversity. In D.A. Harris (Ed.), Multiculturalism from the margins: Non-dominant voices of difference and diversity (pp. 29-38). Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey. Greene, B. (1994). African American women. In L. Comas-Diaz, and B. Greene (Eds.), Women of color: Integrating ethnic and gender identities in psychotherapy (pp. 10-29). New York: Guildford. Helms, J.E. and Cook, D.A. (1999). Using race and culture in counseling and psychotherapy: Theory and Process. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Ivey, A.E., D’Andrea, M., Ivey, M.B., and Simek-Morgan, L. (2002). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: A multicultural perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill. Johnson, W.B., and Huwe, J.M. (2002). Toward a typology of mentorship dysfunction in graduate school. Psychotherapy: Theory/Research/Practice/Training, 39(1), 44-55. Lee, L.C., and Zane, N.W.S. (Eds.), (1998). Handbook of Asian American psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Liang, B., Tracy, A., Kauh, T., Taylor, C., and Williams, L.M. (2006). Mentoring Asian and Euro-American college women. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 34, 143- 154. Pedersen, P. (2000). A handbook for developing multicultural awareness (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Mentoring Relationships in the Counseling Field: A Multicultural Perspective

167

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Pedersen, P., Draguns, J., Lonner, W., and Trimble, J. (Eds.), (2002). Counseling across cultures (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage. Ponterotto, J.M, L.A. Suzuki, and C.M. Alexander (Eds.), (2001). Handbook of multicultural counseling (2nd ed.) (pp.779-798). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Ragins, B.R. (1997). Diversified mentoring relationships in organizations: A power perspective. Academy of Management Review, 22 (2), 481-121? Santos, S.J., and Reigadas, E.T. (2005). Understanding the student-faculty mentoring process: It’s effects on at-risk university students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, theory and practice, 6, 337-357. Schwiebert, V. (2000). Mentoring: Creating connected, empowered relationships. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Sue, D.W. and Sue, D. (2008). Counseling the Culturally Different: Theory and Practice (5th ed). New Jersey: Wiley and Sons, Inc. Triandis, H.C. (1994). Culture and social behavior. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Uba, L. (1994). Asian Americans: Personality patterns, identity and mental health. New York: Guilford.

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INDEX

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

A abdomen, 7, 8, 11 abnormalities, 44 academic, x, 33, 35, 36, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 92, 124, 128, 137, 138, 145, 146, 147, 152, 154, 155, 157, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163 academic performance, 36, 86 academic success, 138 academic tasks, 86 academics, 155 acceptance, 119 access, 66, 76, 78, 79, 87 accidental, viii, 39, 43, 44, 45, 47 accountability, 57, 116, 118, 150 accounting, 46, 159 accreditation, 92 acculturation, 82, 164 achievement, 33, 34, 36, 42, 117, 118, 162 action research, 132, 134, 137, 141 activism, 130 activities, 76, 78, 81 adaptation, 56 adjustment, 129, 137, 140 administration, 22, 165 administrative, 42, 82, 93, 94, 111, 112, 127, 154 administrators, 25, 28, 41, 94, 145 adolescence, 22, 24, 27, 31, 32, 33, 34, 140 adolescents, 33, 35, 133, 140, 141 adult, 2, 12, 30, 33, 35, 36, 53, 61, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 157, 159 adult education, 81, 157 adult learning, 75, 159 adulthood, 24, 37, 62 adults, ix, 25, 27, 30, 33, 34, 75, 76, 85, 86, 87, 130, 131, 133, 137, 140

advocacy, 130 affect, 118 affirmative action, 42 African American, x, 137, 161, 163, 166 African American women, 166 African Americans, 163 afternoon, 101 age, 9, 27, 31, 37, 42, 52, 53, 56, 57, 59, 60, 87, 124, 129, 144, 145 agents, 137 aging, 24, 36, 37, 57, 61 aging process, 24 AIDS, 139 air, 5, 144 alternative, 9, 14, 28, 30, 78, 128, 141, 155 alternatives, 31, 36, 82 alters, 31 ambiguity, 94 ambivalent, 72 American culture, 163 American Educational Research Association, 61 anaesthesia, 7, 8, 15 analysts, 121 anatomy, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 anger, 158 animal models, 14 animals, 10 antecedents, 31 anthropology, 136 anxiety, 54, 56, 57 APA, 83 application, 5, 12, 14, 31, 110, 111, 112, 113, 115, 116, 119, 125, 135, 136, 137 argument, viii, 27, 51, 52, 64 artery, 140 arthritis, 131 Asian American, x, 161, 162, 163, 166, 167 Asian Americans, 167 Asian values, 162

170

Index

assessment, 2, 5, 34, 65, 69, 72, 97, 104, 111, 112, 113, 115, 116, 118, 133, 165 assessment tools, 111, 165 assignment, 58, 81, 111, 156 assimilation, 162 associate teachers, 63, 67 association, 115, 116 assumptions, 76, 149, 150 atmosphere, 17, 47, 81 attachment, 16, 26 attention, 92, 104, 112, 116, 119, 120, 126, 127 attitudes, vii, viii, 37, 52, 53, 57, 63, 65, 67, 72, 118, 127, 144 Australia, 3, 39, 40, 49, 50, 71, 72 authority, 145, 149, 163 autism, 130 autonomy, 66, 162 availability, 76, 78, 128 awareness, 11, 12, 29, 57, 69, 150, 157, 162, 164, 166

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

B babies, 8, 93 bank account, 29 barrier, 163 barriers, 55, 76, 78, 118, 127, 155 basic research, 157 baths, 8 batteries, 150 behavior, 26, 28, 30, 36, 61, 85, 97, 103, 115, 116, 117, 118, 126, 164 behavioral change, 111 behaviours, 72 beliefs, 28, 54, 57, 59, 64, 69, 117, 163 benefits, vii, ix, 26, 33, 87, 98, 110, 119, 123, 124, 127, 129, 131, 134, 135, 136, 165 bias, 27 birth, 146 blaming, 147 bleeding, 6, 13 blindness, 145 blood, 6, 7, 9, 10 blood flow, 10 blood supply, 6 blood vessels, 6, 7, 9 bonds, 29 boredom, 145 Boston, 60, 61, 151, 153, 166 bowel, 4, 7, 8 brain, 11, 132, 138, 139 brain injury, 132, 138, 139 breast self-examination, 138

breastfeeding, 138 Britain, 17 British, 72 brothers, 38 burn, 4 burning, 4 burnout, 58 business, 64 bypass, 140

C Canada, 61, 140 candidates, 112 capitalism, 34 cardboard, 7 career development, vii, ix, 36, 42, 52, 53, 55, 58, 60, 61, 143, 146, 151, 157, 161 career success, 30, 33, 34, 37, 55, 58, 138 caregivers, 136 case study, 65, 129, 137 cast, 153 categorization, 82, 127 causation, 26, 33 CCC, 50 channels, 52, 55, 84 Chicago, 123, 140 childhood, 27, 38, 140 children, 1, 3, 19, 31, 35, 38, 64, 69, 71, 130, 133, 139, 140, 144, 145, 150 Chinese, 95, 98, 100, 101, 103, 106, 107 cholecystectomy, 6, 18 CIL, 130 circulation, 10 citizens, 149 class size, 86 classical, 41, 43, 152 classification, 137 classroom, viii, 51, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 71, 76, 84, 86, 93, 97, 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 139 classroom environment, 139 classroom management, 93 classroom practice, 68 classroom teacher, 51, 63, 66 classroom teachers, 63 classrooms, 93 clinical, 66 clinical psychology, 87 clinics, 138 clone, 70, 155 clones, 65 closure, 29, 31, 33, 120 Co, 139, 140, 141

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Index coaches, 80, 151 codes, 40 coding, 40 cognition, 96 cohesion, 162 cohort, 24, 124, 154 collaboration, x, 64, 66, 67, 93, 143, 149 colleges, 92 commitment, 76, 113, 116, 118, 120 commitments, 86 commodity, 79 communication, x, 47, 49, 57, 64, 65, 67, 68, 70, 77, 79, 81, 83, 86, 87, 112, 117, 118, 119, 143, 149 communication skills, 49 communications, 77 communities, 29, 34, 35, 47, 87, 126, 127 community, ix, 22, 29, 32, 37, 43, 44, 52, 55, 56, 58, 76, 78, 80, 82, 85, 86, 87, 88, 98, 123, 125, 126, 127, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 158, 162 community psychology, 126, 127, 136, 139 community service, 158 comparative research, 31 competence, vii, ix, 1, 2, 3, 5, 47, 52, 53, 55, 72, 91, 92, 111, 139, 164 competency, 14, 15, 113, 116, 150 competition, ix, x, 16, 81, 143, 147, 162 competitive, 77, 87 competitive advantage, 77 competitiveness, 116, 120 competitor, 78 complement, 126, 127, 135, 136 complementary, 67 complexity, 16, 43, 113 complications, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 15, 135 components, 26, 79, 112, 121, 127, 129, 132, 136, 157, 161, 163 compulsion, 6 concentration, 3 conception, 61 conceptualization, 59, 65 conceptualizations, 29, 128 conduct, 110, 111, 116 confidence, 4, 5, 53, 55, 70, 72, 86, 105, 133, 134 conflict, x, 57, 144, 162 conjecture, 59 consensus, 103 constraints, 24, 65, 139 construction, 71, 86, 102, 164 constructivist, vii, viii, 39, 40, 101 consumers, 43, 130 content, 77, 79, 81, 82, 85, 86 context, 116

171

control, ix, 9, 13, 24, 26, 53, 54, 55, 59, 65, 67, 79, 91, 92, 93, 94, 133, 154 control group, 26, 133 conversion, 3 corporations, 147 correlation, 59 corridors, 8 cost-effective, 119 costs, 18 counsel, 54, 58 counseling, x, 52, 54, 55, 56, 59, 78, 81, 82, 110, 113, 130, 138, 139, 161, 162, 165, 166, 167 couples, 118 course content, 78 course design, 81 course work, 64 covering, 157 creativity, 7, 8, 158 credentials, 33, 42 credit, 87, 145, 147 critical analysis, 4, 119 critical period, 24 critical thinking, 82, 86 criticism, 53, 54, 70, 149, 154 cross-cultural, 60, 164 cross-fertilization, 22 cross-sectional, 154, 159 crying, 44 cultural differences, 165 cultural identities, 163 cultural perspective, 162, 163, 166 cultural values, 162, 163, 164 culture, 4, 28, 43, 44, 53, 78, 79, 84, 96, 111, 138, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166 curiosity, 158 curriculum, 55, 64, 65, 68, 71, 72, 93, 97, 115, 156, 157 customers, 120, 121 cycles, 54 cycling, 126, 127, 134

D danger, 125 data analysis, 136 data collection, 79 decision making, 24, 64, 82, 112 decision-making process, 32 decisions, 32, 56 deficit, 128, 145 definition, 30, 42, 58, 76, 85, 124, 127, 131, 153, 164 degree, 72 degrees of freedom, 11

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

172

Index

delivery, 77, 130 demand, 79, 93 demographic factors, 155 demographics, vii, x, 144, 161, 162, 165 density, 31 Department of Education, 77, 88, 89 Department of Health and Human Services, 155 depression, 34, 133, 135, 139 depth perception, 11, 12 destruction, 37 developing countries, 53 development, 76, 77, 78, 80, 82, 85, 86, 87, 88 developmental change, 53 developmental psychology, 27 dichotomy, 54 differentiation, 26 dignity, 158 directives, 146 disability, vii, ix, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140 disabled, vii, 127, 130 disabled students, 130 discipline, 126, 145 discontinuity, 31, 32 discourse, 48, 162 discrimination, 53, 128, 132 disenchantment, 53, 60 dislocation, 32 disorder, 145 dissatisfaction, 67 distance education, 76, 77, 78, 88 distance learning, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80 distribution, 22, 35 diversification, 106 diversity, 36, 76, 94, 125, 166 division, 112, 146 divorce, 144 doors, 54, 55, 56, 58 downsizing, 34, 37, 144 dual task, 56 duration, 31, 131 duties, 59, 78

E ears, vii, 1 eating, 4 ecological, 126, 127, 134, 137, 139, 141 ecology, 127, 151

education, ix, 2, 33, 35, 36, 38, 49, 59, 60, 61,63, 65, 66, 68, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 82, 85, 86, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93, 94, 106, 107, 121, 138, 139, 140, 156, 158, 166 education reform, ix, 91, 92, 93, 94, 106 educational attainment, 32 educational institutions, 29, 51, 58 educational process, 32, 35 educational settings, 22 educators, ix, 41, 64, 91, 93, 94, 98, 100, 102, 105, 136 ego, 30 elders, 133, 146, 163 election, 112 elementary school, 106 e-mail, 40, 43, 73, 79, 81, 83, 84,114 emergence, 116 emotional, 25, 44, 51, 58, 59, 84, 102, 132, 149, 158 emotional stability, 158 employability, 34 employees, viii, 33, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 59, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 130, 147 employers, 32, 117 employment, ix, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 78, 81, 123, 130, 131, 134, 138, 139, 141 employment growth, 38 employment status, 138 empowered, 88, 167 empowerment, 64, 138, 157 encouragement, 52, 165 energy, 7, 55, 57, 58 engagement, 41, 43, 45, 47, 106 engines, 84 enrollment, 77 enterprise, 8 enthusiasm, 53, 67, 68, 70, 156 environment, ix, 10, 13, 25, 26, 28, 32, 41, 42, 43, 45, 48, 56, 69, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 105, 112, 115, 116, 117, 118, 121, 126, 127, 128, 129, 131, 138, 139, 141, 147, 148, 158 environmental factors, 127 equity, 159 ERIC, 88 erosion, 35 ethnic background, 155, 164 ethnic groups, 53, 162 ethnicity, x, 143, 155, 164 Euro, 162, 166 evaluation, 88 evening, 2, 86 evidence, 63, 71, 105 examinations, 137

Index exercise, 117 expectations, 82, 85, 86 expert teacher, 106 expertise, 16, 31, 53, 56, 58, 149, 150, 157 exposure, vii, viii, 1, 2, 5, 18, 52, 54, 56, 58, 59, 149 external environment, 11 eyes, 145, 149

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

F facilitators, 80 faculty, ix, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88 failure, 85, 93, 135 faith, 70 family, 3, 4, 24, 25, 33, 34, 57, 76, 132, 134, 135, 136, 139, 144, 163 family members, 132, 134, 135, 136 family relationships, 163 fear, 8, 56, 83 fears, 133, 149 federal government, 155 feedback, viii, 40, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 76, 86, 113, 114, 118, 126, 131, 145, 147, 148, 149, 150 feelings, 53, 70, 82, 102 feet, 72 female, 79, 81 females, 79 fifth grade teachers, 101 finance, 94 financial support, 160 firms, 25, 159 fish, 144 flexibility, 70 flow, x, 10, 69, 143 fluid, 41, 53 focus group, 79, 80, 155 focus groups, 155 focusing, 58, 82, 102, 128 fragmentation, 78 framing, 43 freedom, 11 friendship, viii, 39, 43, 45, 46, 47, 52, 54, 56, 58, 71 fruits, 55 frustration, 15, 83 FTS, 103, 104 fulfillment, 53, 58 funding, x, 3, 143, 147

173

G gastroschisis, 7, 8 gender, x, 28, 31, 34, 37, 53, 60, 76, 78, 143, 149, 155, 159, 164, 166 gender differences, 60 gender equity, 159 gene, 144 general surgery, 17 generalizability, 27 generalizations, 144 generation, 13, 32, 57, 144, 146, 147 generativity, x, 153 generators, 102 genetic factors, 7 Geneva, 49 Gibbs, 66, 72 gifts, 149 glasses, 57 goal setting, 41, 64 goal-directed, 64 goals, 24, 41, 47, 57, 87, 94, 112, 113, 118, 128, 132, 146, 147, 149, 150, 153, 156 goodness of fit, 110, 113, 116 goods and services, 43 government, ix, 47, 88, 89, 92, 94, 109, 155 government budget, 92 graduate education, 78, 85 graduate students, ix, 75, 77, 84, 85, 163 grandparents, 25 grants, 149 grief, 158, 160 grounding, 116 group membership, 164 groups, 26, 45, 46, 47, 53, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 84, 97, 100, 101, 129, 130, 133, 135, 155, 162, 163, 164, 165 growth, 38, 49, 53, 55, 57, 58, 64, 76, 77, 78, 81, 96, 115, 116, 145, 146, 158, 163 guardian, 110 guidance, 11, 25, 26, 30, 32, 41, 45, 52, 56, 65, 66, 67, 71, 76, 80, 81, 83, 85, 86, 126, 131, 136, 154, 157 guidance counselors, 32 guidelines, viii, 36, 39, 112, 115, 141, 149

H handicapped, 17, 138 handling, 11, 54 hands, 10, 11, 19 hanging, 144, 147

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

174

Index

Harvard, 154, 155 harvest, 7 healing, 9 health, ix, 32, 43, 47, 48, 72, 124, 127, 128, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 139, 140, 141, 143, 151, 156, 157, 160, 167 Health and Human Services, 155 health care, 43, 48, 136 health insurance, 32 health services, 139, 160 heart, 6, 7, 10, 13 heterogeneity, 27 high school, 34, 35, 92, 137, 138, 141 higher education, ix, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 85, 86, 87, 92 hip, 82 hips, 79 Hispanic, 157 Hispanics, 166 holistic, 23, 26, 31, 34, 59, 86 holistic approach, 86 honesty, 84, 158, 163, 165 horizon, 29 hospital, ix, 7, 50, 123, 131, 132, 133, 135, 155 hospitalized, x, 143 hospitals, 50, 132, 134 host, x, 153 hostility, 105 House, 17, 88, 153 housing, 156 human, 2, 8, 24, 29, 34, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 117, 119, 120, 121 human agency, 34 human capital, 29 human development, 24, 34, 120 human interactions, 110 human resource development, 109, 110, 112, 114, 121 human resource management, 111 Human Resource Management, 35 humans, 10 hypothermia, 10

I ICT, 105 id, 144 ideas, 82, 84, 85, 110, 114, 117, 118, 119, 120 identification, 85, 87, 115, 149 identity, 54, 55, 60, 79, 86, 162, 164, 167 Illinois, 61, 123, 140 images, 12, 43 imagination, 36, 158

immediate situation, 118 immersion, 76 impairments, 128, 133, 135 implementation, 55, 132 in situ, 124 incentive, 11, 105 incentives, 155 inclusion, 133 independence, 127 indicators, 97, 148 individual development, 115 individual students, 97 individualistic values, 162 induction, 55, 61, 102 industrial, 138 industrialized countries, 31 industry, ix, 109 ineffectiveness, 65 inequality, 27, 28, 34, 36 infancy, 7 infarction, 133 infections, 3 influence, 110 information, 80, 82 information exchange, 86 infrastructure, 77 infrastructures, 78 inherited, 3 initiation, 45, 55, 111, 139, 163, 165 injuries, 129, 131, 132 injury, 8, 128, 129, 131, 132, 134, 135, 137, 138, 139, 140 innovation, 56, 71, 125, 130, 135 input, 111 insecurity, 32, 53, 54 insight, 6, 136, 156 inspection, 93 institutions, ix, 17, 28, 29, 51, 58, 64, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 84, 86, 87, 144, 148, 155, 157, 162, 165 instruction, 55, 76, 77, 78, 81, 83, 84, 86, 93, 97, 139 instructional activities, 76 instructional design, 116 instructors, 15, 84 instrumental support, 132 instruments, 3, 6, 10, 11, 12 insurance, 31, 32, 35 integration, 47, 57, 58, 78, 79, 87, 127, 135, 139, 140, 148 integrity, 158 intellect, x, 153 intellectual capital, ix, 143, 147, 151 intentions, 159 interaction, 25, 29, 88, 97, 105, 117, 124, 139, 150

Index interactions, 44, 45, 70, 76, 80, 81, 83, 110, 111, 115, 119, 130, 138, 139, 154 interdependence, 126, 127, 134, 162 interdisciplinary, 22 interest, 79, 84, 115 interface, 110, 111, 114, 117, 119, 120 intergenerational, 29 internalised, 43 internship, ix, 91, 92, 93, 94, 106 interpersonal communication, 77 interpersonal relations, 163 interpersonal relationships, 163 interpersonal skills, 68, 71 intervention, ix, 121, 123, 126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 138, 139, 166 interview, 65, 132 interviews, x, 40, 65, 79, 131, 132, 153, 154, 163 intimacy, 54 intraoperative, 14, 18 invasive, 2, 10, 14, 15, 19 inventiveness, 68 investment, 151 Ireland, 72, 138 isolation, 30, 54, 125, 128 Israel, 51, 140 issues, 78, 82, 86 Italy, 19

J

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

JAMA, 154, 159 job insecurity, 32 job performance, 61 job satisfaction, 53, 57, 149, 155, 157 jobless, 32 jobs, 33, 38, 57, 110, 144, 147 Jun, 19 justice, 127, 154

K kidney, 3, 5, 9 knots, 11 knowledge, 110, 111, 112, 113, 115, 116, 118, 119 knowledge construction, 86 knowledge transfer, 48 Korea, 106

L labor, 26, 32, 33, 34, 38 labor force, 26, 32

175

labor force participation, 32 labor markets, 33 labour, 44 language, 45, 67, 78, 130 language delay, 130 laparoscopic, vii, viii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 laparoscopic cholecystectomy, 2 laparoscopic surgery, vii, 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 laparoscopy, 2, 3, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19 laser, 18 Latino, 163 law, 8, 127 lawyers, 37 layoffs, 32 lead, 71, 115, 117 leadership, 55, 56, 60, 61, 110, 111, 117, 118, 119, 121, 147, 149, 151 leadership style, 55, 61 learner progress, 81, 86 learners, 64, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 97, 101, 102, 116, 120 learning, vii, viii, ix, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 35, 42, 52, 53, 57, 60, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93, 94, 97, 102, 103, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 130, 135, 149, 150, 156 learning environment, 77, 79, 86, 116 learning outcomes, 81, 110 learning process, 4, 42, 67, 116 learning skills, 83 learning society, 87 learning styles, 68, 85 lenses, 43 lesson plan, 81, 103 licensing, 94 life course, viii, 21, 24, 26, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37 life cycle, 42, 53 life experiences, ix, 28, 123, 124, 144, 164 life satisfaction, 129 life span, x, 143 lifetime, viii, 21, 24 likelihood, 15, 58 limitation, 59, 131, 132 limitations, vii, 1, 10, 11, 12, 125, 128, 131, 134, 136, 154 linear, 54 linkage, 118 links, 30, 71 listening, 44, 78, 149, 150, 151

176

Index

literacy, 95, 106 literature, ix, 81, 123, 124, 125, 129, 131, 136, 138 loans, 156 local community, 43, 52 location, 144 logistics, 15 London, 7, 13, 18, 36, 60, 61, 62, 121 long period, 26 longitudinal study, 38 long-term memory, 12 Los Angeles, 37 love, 70, 82, 88 loyalty, 144, 145, 147, 163 lung, 10

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

M mainstream, viii, 39, 162 maintenance, 53, 132, 135 male, 79, 81 males, 79 malignancy, 4 management, x, 4, 7, 17, 22, 25, 27, 34, 47, 48, 55, 57, 58, 65, 78, 93, 110, 111, 112, 113, 116, 117, 118, 120, 134, 135, 144, 151 manipulation, vii, 1 manufacturing, 32 marginalization, 128 market, 38, 77, 79 marketing, 79 Massachusetts, 153, 156 mastery, 13, 82, 120 mathematics, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101, 103, 104, 106, 107 matrix, 80 MCI, 96 MCP, 156 mean, 82 meanings, 59 measurement, 36, 55, 118 measures, 80, 145 median, 82, 154 medical care, 154 medical school, 155, 156, 157, 159 medical student, 12, 145, 154, 159 medicine, x, 17, 144, 152, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160 membership, 120 memory, 12 men, x, 13, 32, 35, 37, 57, 61, 138, 140, 153 mental health, 135, 137, 139, 140, 141, 160, 167 mental retardation, 130 mentor program, 41, 112, 125, 136

mentoring program, ix, 14, 19, 25, 26, 27, 34, 36, 39, 43, 51, 52, 55, 58, 59, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101, 102, 103, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 138, 147, 148, 149, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 165 mentorship, 33, 49, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 160, 166 meta-analysis, 33 metaphor, 28 metropolitan area, 43, 140 Mexico, 157 Microsoft, 124, 139 mid-career, vii, viii, 51, 52, 53, 57, 58, 60, 61, 144, 149 midlife, 38, 59, 60 Ministry of Education, 92, 106 minorities, 112, 147, 165, 166 minority, 132, 155, 160, 166 misconception, 105 Mississippi, 138 mobility, 30, 37, 129 Model, 80, 82 modeling, 25, 52, 54, 82, 85, 154, 161 models, vii, ix, x, 14, 25, 33, 53, 65, 66, 69, 88, 120, 123, 127, 130, 133, 135, 137, 146, 148, 149, 157, 161, 162, 163 MOE, 92, 93, 94 money, 115, 145, 151 monitoring, 81, 84 morning, 101 mortality, 57 motivation, 13, 17, 46, 84, 85, 86, 117, 151, 158 motor skills, 3 movement, 3, 34, 128, 134 multicultural, vii, x, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167 multiculturalism, x, 161, 162, 164 multidisciplinary, 22 multiple factors, 127 multiplicity, 44 muscles, 2, 9 mutuality, 149, 157, 166 myocardial infarction, 133 myopic, 119

N naming, 47 narratives, ix, 59, 75, 82, 117 national, 87 National Academy of Sciences, 153 National Center for Education Statistics, 88, 89 Native Americans, 157

Index natural, 8, 45, 126, 129 natural environment, 129 natural resources, 126 NCES, 88, 89 needs, 111, 112, 115, 116, 119 negotiating, 86 negotiation, x, 143 neonatal, 7, 8 nephrectomy, vii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 nerve, 9 nerves, 9 nervousness, 83 network, 30, 31, 35, 38, 54, 83, 127, 163 networking, 113, 149, 157 New Jersey, 60, 167 New Mexico, 157 New York, 18, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 48, 49, 50, 60, 72, 73, 88, 121, 122, 137, 139, 140, 141, 158, 166, 167 New Zealand, viii, 63, 72, 73 next generation, x, 151, 153 Nissen fundoplication, 12 normal, 7, 8, 111, 115 norms, 76, 78, 82, 84, 97, 147, 151 North America, 144 North Carolina, 21 Northern Ireland, 72 NSC, 94 nurse, viii, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47 nurses, vii, viii, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 nursing, viii, 22, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 138 nursing home, 138 nuts, 137

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

O objectives, 83 observations, 114, 139 occupational, 27, 31, 129 Odyssey, x, 41, 49, 111, 122, 153 Ohio, 75, 88 oncology, 160 online, ix, 75, 76, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88 online faculty, ix, 75, 78 online learning, 76, 79, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88 online virtual learning, ix, 75 open heart surgery, 10, 13 openness, 151 operator, 2, 11 opposition, 130

177

oral, 70 organ, 6 organization, 104, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121 organizational behavior, 117 organizational culture, 53, 138 organizational development, 141 organizational membership, 120 organizations, ix, 109, 110, 111, 112, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 128, 130 orientation, viii, 11, 28, 39, 41, 47, 84, 113, 116, 148, 151 OSM, 95, 99, 100 ownership, viii, 2, 12, 116, 117, 118

P pacemaker, 10 Pacific, 71 pain, 2, 3, 8, 135 pain management, 135 paradox, 38 paradoxical, 124 parenting, 149 parents, 3, 7, 8, 29, 30, 33, 59, 102, 130, 133, 136, 144, 145, 146 participation, ix, 75, 76 participatory research, 140 partnership, 65, 71, 92, 93, 98, 100, 102, 105, 113 partnerships, 45, 149 passive, 64, 127 pathology, 6, 9, 127 pathways, 32, 36 patients, x, 3, 8, 9, 10, 12, 131, 132, 135, 143 pedagogical, 51, 68 pedagogy, 64, 65, 68, 71, 72, 93, 97, 103 pedestrians, 11 peer, vii, ix, 25, 36, 49, 55, 78, 102, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 148, 149, 151, 157 peer group, 157 peer relationship, 36 peer support, 135 peers, ix, 6, 30, 54, 81, 86, 103, 123, 126, 130, 132, 133, 139 Pennsylvania, 155, 157, 159 pension, 32, 35 People of Color, 162 perceived outcome, 116, 119 perception, 11, 12, 41, 60, 135, 158 perceptions, viii, 35, 63, 64, 68, 71, 72, 84, 87, 133, 138 performance, 69, 78, 81, 82, 86, 97, 102, 103, 104

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

178 performers, 110 personal, 64, 65, 102, 131 personal history, 54 personal identity, 164 personal life, 118, 158 personal qualities, 64 personal relationship, 82, 131 personality, 33, 42, 44, 57, 58, 158 persons with disabilities, 127 Philadelphia, 38 philosophical, 110, 116 philosophy, viii, 2, 12, 13, 60, 72, 128 phone, 81, 131, 135 physical education, 72 physical environment, 134 physical sciences, 22 physicians, x, 143, 154, 157, 158 Pierre Bourdieu, 28 pilot study, 139 planning, 47, 70, 114, 118, 149 plastic, 146 plastic surgery, 146 platforms, 82, 83 play, 16, 32, 44, 85, 105, 118, 128, 130, 164 policies, 78, 81 policy makers, 41 politics, x, 43, 44, 143 poor, 5, 9, 39 population, 5, 17, 27, 93, 128, 130, 132 ports, 6, 11 positive attitudes, 118 positive feedback, 145 positive influences, 128 positive relation, 132 positive relationship, 132 positivism, 49 postmodernism, 49 poverty, 27, 137 power, 28, 37, 78, 79, 124, 127, 157, 159, 164, 167 power relations, 79 practical knowledge, 54 practicum, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 71, 72 pragmatic, viii, 39 pre-existing, 157 preference, 3 pregnancy, 29 preparation, 66 preschoolers, 138, 139 preservice teacher education, 64, 65 preservice teachers, 64 pressure, viii, x, 2, 17, 44, 143, 151, 162 prevention, 139 primary, 78, 83

Index primary school, 62, 98 prior knowledge, 103 private, 34, 76, 92 proactive, 119 probability, 115 problem solving, 64, 120, 133 procedures, 78, 81, 86 procrastination, 119 producers, 117 production, 32, 118 productivity, 117, 147, 148, 154 profession, 70, 71, 106 professional careers, 158 professional development, 40, 55, 57, 58, 66, 78, 80, 85, 88, 106, 146, 148, 149, 150, 156, 157, 159, 161 professional growth, 49, 53, 57, 64, 81, 96, 145 professionalism, 65, 68 professions, 53 profit, 27, 29, 76 prognosis, 127 program, ix, 7, 17, 37, 40, 41, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, 86, 88, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101, 102, 103, 106, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 119, 120, 121, 123, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 141, 147, 149, 151, 155, 156, 157, 163 program outcomes, 132, 136 programming, 73, 125, 134, 136, 137 programs, 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 84, 85 proliferation, 28, 43 promote, 66, 126, 127, 136 promoter, 120 property, 43, 47 proposition, 56 propriety, 78 protection, 54, 56, 58 psychiatric disorders, 139 psychological processes, 58 psychological stress, 102 psychological well-being, 126 psychologist, 139 psychology, 22, 34, 35, 60, 87, 126, 127, 136, 138, 139, 140, 166 psychosocial support, 154, 161 psychotherapy, 166 public, 92, 102, 141, 159 pupil, 71

Q quality control, ix, 91, 92, 94 quality of life, 127, 133, 135, 138, 140

Index quantitative research, 165 questioning, 5, 97, 150 questionnaire, 79 questionnaires, 131

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

R race, 28, 31, 38, 76, 78, 124, 164, 166 racial groups, 163, 164 rain, 7 random, 41 range, 22, 30, 31, 43, 47, 48, 95, 112, 113, 119, 129 rape, 137 ratings, 133 reading, 4, 9, 57 reality, 53, 57, 102, 110, 119, 149 receptors, 147 reciprocal interactions, 130 recognition, 52, 116, 155, 157 reconstruction, 71 recovery, 2, 4, 7, 8, 38 recreation, 129 recruiting, 112 reflection, 12, 57, 64, 65, 66, 69, 73, 102, 156 reflective practice, 48, 66, 69 reforms, 57 refugees, 166 regressions, 54 regular, viii, 12, 18, 41, 63, 64, 68, 69, 80, 87, 94, 139, 149 rehabilitation, 130, 140, 141 rehabilitation program, 130 rehearsing, 9 reinforcement, 83, 138 relapses, 160 relationship, viii, ix, 2, 6, 13, 15, 16, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, 64, 67, 70, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 87, 93, 102, 109, 110, 111, 113, 115, 116, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 132, 133, 136, 150, 151, 153, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 162, 163, 164, 165 relationship quality, 157 relationships, vii, viii, x, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, 49, 52, 59, 60, 78, 81, 85, 87, 88, 113, 118, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138, 140, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 151, 152, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167 relatives, 30 relevance, vii, 1 remediation, 84 renal, vii, 1, 5, 18 repair, 10

179

reparation, 5 representative samples, 28 reputation, 58 research, viii, 63, 64, 65, 70, 72, 77, 81, 82, 88 Research and Development, 72 research design, 40, 136 resilience, 27, 29, 36, 38, 54 resistance, 54, 81 resource management, 111 resources, ix, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 34, 37, 40, 66, 78, 84, 85, 86, 97, 103, 105, 110, 117, 118, 119, 125, 126, 127, 131, 134, 137, 143, 147, 148, 151 response time, x, 143 responsibilities, vii, viii, 25, 51, 52, 54, 55, 78, 80, 111, 119, 131, 147 responsibility, 76, 80, 109, 111, 114 responsiveness, 162 restructuring, 35, 57, 115 retardation, 130 retention, 9, 39, 47, 48, 76, 77, 80, 87, 117, 148, 151, 159 retirement, 56, 61 returns, 32 rewards, 37, 79, 118, 151, 155 risk, 4, 27, 29, 47, 56, 120, 167 risk management, 47 risks, 36, 37, 47, 56, 67, 69, 70, 149 risk-taking, 56 Rita, vi, 161 robbery, 33 Rome, 19 routines, 60 rubrics, 81 rural, vii, viii, 3, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 129

S sadness, 133, 135 safety, 115, 150 salary, 94 sales, 138 sample, 27, 79, 131, 134, 139, 148, 163, 165 sampling, 40 satisfaction, 53, 56, 57, 67, 129, 138, 149, 155, 157, 158 Schmid, 128, 137 scholarship, 22, 42, 78 scholarships, 39 school, viii, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 34, 35, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 70, 71, 84, 92, 93, 94, 96, 98, 100, 101, 102, 105, 106, 124, 132, 133, 137, 138, 141, 144, 155, 156, 157, 159, 162, 166

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

180

Index

schooling, 57, 58, 140 science, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 106, 107 science teaching, 100 scientific understanding, viii, 21 scores, 81, 104 search, x, 61, 84, 144, 148 search engine, 84 searches, 145 secondary, 82 security, 35 selecting, 148 self, 79, 83, 85, 115, 117, 145, 151 self esteem, 44 self-actualization, 58 self-awareness, 150 self-concept, 59 self-confidence, 54, 58, 133, 134, 156, 157 self-doubt, 54 self-efficacy, 54, 55, 133, 134, 140 self-esteem, 35 self-management, 117 self-reflection, 156 self-renewal, 52, 53, 57, 58, 61 senior citizens, 149 sensation, 4 sensitivity, 55, 164 series, viii, 21, 40, 43, 52, 53, 103, 154 service, 76 service provider, 130 services, 43, 77, 86, 87, 118, 119, 127, 128, 130, 135, 139, 160 sex, 28, 48 sexuality, 132 shape, 28 shaping, 134, 145 shares, 124 sharing, 45, 79, 82, 86, 102, 111, 115, 133, 150 shock, 54, 102 short period, 12 short-term, 47, 147 shy, 83 siblings, 4, 30 sign, 130, 133, 135 signals, 33 signs, 135, 153 similarity, 28, 148 simulation, 12, 14, 18 sites, 84, 132 skeptics, 52 skills, vii, ix, x, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 28, 35, 47, 48, 49, 50, 54, 55, 66, 68, 71, 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 93, 97, 98,

105, 109, 110, 111, 113, 115, 116, 117, 119, 126, 147, 148, 149, 151, 153, 155, 156 skills training, 49 skin, 2 SMS, 43 social, 71 social acceptance, 130, 139 social behavior, 167 social capital, 28, 29, 36, 37 social change, 34 social class, 124 social context, 24, 30, 31, 32, 92, 128 social control, 29 social environment, viii, 21, 26, 28, 32, 127, 128, 139, 141 social exchange, 138 social factors, 54 social integration, 78, 140 social isolation, 128 social justice, 127 social life, 22 social network, 25, 30, 31, 32, 127 social organization, 61 social relations, 24, 29, 30 social relationships, 24, 29, 30 social resources, 24, 28, 30 social roles, 25 social sciences, 22, 28, 36, 37 social skills, 35 social status, 128 social structure, 28, 32, 36, 140 social support, 29, 85, 127, 128, 136, 139, 140, 141 social support network, 127 social systems, 139 social work, 71 socialisation, 69 socialization, 42, 59, 60, 69, 73, 111, 136 society, 92, 125, 126, 127 socioeconomic, 38 sociological, viii, 21, 23, 24, 27, 28, 36 sociology, 33, 36 South Africa, 13 South Pacific, 71 spatial, 11, 12 specialization, 78 specificity, 60 spectrum, viii, 27, 39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 48, 156 speed, vii, 1, 2, 5, 11 spelling, 126, 149 spheres, 22, 57, 76 spin, 83 spinal cord, 128, 129, 131, 132, 135, 137, 138, 139, 140

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Index spinal cord injury, 128, 129, 131, 132, 135, 137, 138, 140 spiritual, 81 spirituality, 163 sponsor, ix, x, 109, 112, 153 springs, 45 Sri Lanka, 3, 8 stability, 147, 158 stages, vii, viii, 1, 5, 9, 11, 12, 51, 52, 53, 54, 59, 60, 134 stakeholders, 52, 55, 58 standards, 17, 69, 85, 95, 96, 97, 106, 107 statistics, 16, 77, 88, 89, 96, 106 stigma, 128 stomach, 4 strain, 85 strategies, viii, 17, 30, 39, 48, 68, 72, 80, 84, 87, 93, 97, 103, 104, 105, 131, 139, 155 strength, 28, 31, 35, 137, 147 stress, 54, 67, 119, 162 strikes, 137 structuring, x, 24, 144, 148 student achievement, 55 student retention, 80 student teacher, vii, viii, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72 students, vii, ix, x, 12, 22, 25, 28, 29, 35, 36, 55, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 92, 97, 102, 103, 104, 105, 130, 137, 139, 145, 149, 154, 159, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167 study, ix, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 84, 86 subjective, 5, 59 substance abuse, 29 substance use, 137 summaries, 9 summer, 98 supervision, viii, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 39, 41, 47, 48, 49, 50, 63, 64, 65, 66, 71, 72, 121, 132 supervisor, x, 67, 98, 111, 113, 161 supervisors, 25, 66, 70, 71, 98, 165 supply, 93, 118 support services, 86 surgeons, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 160 surgery, vii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 140, 146 surgical, vii, viii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 surgical intervention, 2, 10 surprise, 5, 83, 116 surveillance, 29 survival, 37, 54

181

symptoms, 2 synthesis, 23, 72 systems, 77, 78, 92, 117, 137, 139

T Taiwan, ix, 91, 92, 93, 106 talent, 151 tangible, 147 targets, 17 task performance, 60 TBI, 132, 135 teacher preparation, 92, 93 teacher training, 92 teachers, viii, ix, 22, 25, 28, 52, 55, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 84, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 98, 99, 100, 101, 103, 106, 107, 159 teacher-student relationship, 163 teaching, viii, 11, 13, 18, 42, 47, 61, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 78, 81, 84, 89, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 110, 157, 159, 161 teaching experience, 81 team members, 111, 121 technical assistance, 52 technology, 83, 84, 86, 95, 118 telecommunications, 15, 88 telephone, 43, 85, 114, 131, 154 television, 11 tension, 54, 76, 100 tenure, 165 terminally ill, 158 Texas, 12, 121, 122 textbooks, 4, 9, 86 theoretical, 65, 68 theory, ix, 96, 98, 117, 123, 126, 139 thinking, viii, 7, 9, 21, 42, 47, 64, 65, 68, 69, 102, 104, 105, 110, 116, 117, 118 thoracic, 3, 4 thoracic surgeon, 4 threatened, 58, 147 threats, 27 three-dimensional, 11 throat, 4 time, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 93, 94, 98, 100, 101, 103, 110, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 135 time commitment, 42 time frame, 42, 113, 114, 116 timing, 24, 26 tissue, 4 tolerance, 158 toxic, 35 tracking, 36, 156

182

Index

tradition, 29, 117 traditional model, 146 traditions, 76 trainees, vii, 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 41, 115, 116, 131, 148, 149, 160 training, vii, viii, ix, x, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 32, 33, 47, 49, 57, 65, 66, 81, 83, 87, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 121, 131, 134, 135, 137, 143, 157, 159, 160, 161 training programs, 17, 115 traits, 59 trajectory, 61 transfer, 48, 85, 113 transformation, 7, 34, 93, 156 transition, 24, 29, 31, 41, 45, 53, 54, 76, 85, 121, 138 transition period, 31 transition to adulthood, 29 transitions, 24, 31 translation, 11, 12 transmission, 76, 79 transparent, 158 transplant, 6, 7, 13 trauma, 8 traumatic brain injury, 132, 138, 139 trend, 120 trust, 41, 43, 45, 47, 84, 110, 115, 118, 120, 153, 163 trusts, 154 trustworthiness, 163 tuition, 9, 86 turbulent, 34 turnover, 159 tutoring, 81, 130, 139 two-dimensional, 11 typology, 52, 166

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

U uncertainty, 32, 83 undergraduate, 35, 39, 40, 77, 79, 138 undergraduate education, 77 undergraduates, 77 uniform, 94 uninsured, 35 United Kingdom (UK), 1, 5, 6, 19, 138 United States (US), 10, 41, 77, 78, 127, 140, 162 universality, 53 universities, 13, 78, 84, 92, 93, 94 university community, 80 university students, 167 updating, 57, 149 ureter, 5 urine, 3

urologist, 5, 14 urology, 3, 12, 19

V vacation, 145 validity, 53, 60 values, 28, 76, 78, 80, 82, 111, 125, 126, 149, 162, 163, 164 variables, 118, 164, 165 variance, 94 variation, 25 vehicles, 11 venue, 25 vessels, 6, 7, 9 victims, 144 Victoria, 39 video-recording, 12 videotape, 14 village, 3, 4 virtual university, ix, 75, 82 visible, 59, 68, 144 vision, 41, 54, 55, 116, 118, 119, 136 visual environment, 3 vocational, x, 32, 33, 60, 61, 128, 140, 153 vocational training, 32

W wages, 36 walking, 43, 45, 46, 47 water, 4, 144 wealth, 22, 27, 86 web, 84, 114, 156 web sites, 84 web-based, 156 welfare, 34 well-being, 126, 160 wellness, 140 wind, 7 wires, 85 wisdom, 41, 93, 154, 158 women, 2, 27, 33, 37, 57, 60, 61, 112, 138, 146, 147, 155, 162, 166 work, 76, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 111, 112, 113, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120 work environment, 58, 112, 117, 118, 155 work-center, 116 workers, 27, 30, 32, 35, 56, 58, 59, 130 workforce, viii, 39, 49, 116 working hours, vii, 1, 42 workload, 81

Index

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

workplace, viii, ix, x, 21, 39, 40, 43, 44, 47, 48, 49, 56, 59, 109, 110, 111, 113, 116, 117, 118, 124, 143, 151 worldview, 28, 164 writing, 11, 13, 82, 83, 84, 85, 157

183

Y yield, 118 young adults, 131 young men, 35 young women, 146