Mentoring as a transformative experience

ABSTRACT

Graduate student mentoring is a key component of successful university experiences, specifically, improved student retention, completion, and satisfaction. Tensions in application of existing mentoring frameworks create difficulties with university-wide approaches. We used a descriptive qualitative study design to explore graduate students’ perspectives about mentoring. We interviewed 54 Canadian participants in 12 focus groups, including masters’ (n= 19), unclassified (n= 1), and PhD (n= 34) students from multiple disciplines. Focus groups ranged in size from two to seven students. After transcribing interviews, we used inductive content analysis to develop themes. Students described mentoring as a transformative experience because mentors smoothed their paths. Receiving mentoring required students to advocate for themselves and access university structures that promoted mentoring. Transformative mentoring supported students’ aspirational goals. Mentoring strengthens institutional supervisory practices and graduate student retention and success but it requires systematic approaches.

KEYWORDS:

• Graduate
• mentoring
• students
• qualitative
• focus groups

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of British Columbia Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (no grant number).

Notes on contributors

Wendy A. Hall

Dr. Wendy Hall is a Professor Emeritus attached to the University of British Columbia School of Nursing and a former Associate Dean in the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at the University of British Columbia.

Sarah Liva

Dr. Sara Liva is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at Trinity Western University. Dr. Liva served as the project coordinator during her PhD studies.