The term mentoring has traditionally been associated with mentors being senior in age
and experience. However, as more people are entering the workforce or changing career
paths at midlife, it is becoming increasingly common for the mentor to be close in age or
younger than their protégé. There has been limited research that has examined the affects
and outcomes of non-traditional age relationships in mentoring. The aim of the current
study was to shed light on the limited existing literature surrounding the role of age in
mentoring. Specifically, it aimed to investigate how age affects mentoring relationships in
an academic setting, and what factors may be contributing to this. Participants consisted
of students enrolled in postgraduate academic papers (Masters Dissertation, Masters Thesis
and PhD) and their assigned academic supervisor. In total, 95 students and 89 supervisors
were recruited from three universities with a total of 80 matched student and supervisor
pairs. Two surveys were developed, one for postgraduate students and one for their
academic supervisors. The student’s survey consisted of demographic questions, a
measure of psychosocial and career mentor functions, and a measure of student
competence. The supervisor’s survey consisted of demographic information, a measure of
psychosocial and career mentor functions, and a measure of human capital investment.
The results of the research indicate that within an academic setting, age difference does
not have any aversive affects on the processes found in mentoring relationships. In future,
mentoring literature needs to expand the conceptualization of mentors and protégés to
encompass the increasing existence of varying age relationships. This would enable
research to identify the challenges and unique strengths associated with age diversity in
mentor relationships.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:canterbury.ac.nz/oai:ir.canterbury.ac.nz:10092/3819 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Deering, Katherine Anne Macdonald |
| Publisher | University of Canterbury. Psychology |
| Source Sets | University of Canterbury |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic thesis or dissertation, Text |
| Rights | Copyright Katherine Anne Macdonald Deering, http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/thesis/etheses_copyright.shtml |
| Relation | NZCU |
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