Mentoring is a burgeoning activity, occurring in a large variety of organisational settings. Although the gains for all parties are well recognised the emphasis in much of the mentoring literature is on benefits for recipients. This study highlights the lack of attention paid to mentor development and through a qualitative study of a community mentoring project, draws out a number of important aspects aimed at informing future training and support for mentors. A multi-method approach, incorporating documentary and experiential analysis, together with focus groups and interviews, provides details of recruitment and selection, training and matching, and reveals mentors' responses to different aspects of their role. In particular a tension is detected between the voluntary nature of mentoring and the recruitment requirement for `mentor readiness' in order to meet mentees' needs. The potential for enhancing mentor development through role-play during training is emphasised, and exposes the need for contextual understanding. The crucial need for an understanding of the mentoring context is discussed alongside the ongoing modification of that understanding through interaction with the mentee during mentoring practice. This process of practice-based learning is considered vital in the development of mentors and mechanisms for enhancing and capturing learning through self-reflection are described. The need for mentor networks in which mentors can share good practice and begin to build communities of practice is also stressed. Another important aspect which is accented in this study is the definition of mentoring itself. The term `transactional mentoring' is introduced in order to distinguish between spontaneous mentoring and formal mentoring which is usually time constrained and reliant upon a negotiated scheme definition and agreements made between the mentor and mentee
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:484206 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Cox, Elaine Rosalie Jane |
| Publisher | Lancaster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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