Learning to level up: personal narratives about mentoring for the professoriate during a crisis

Abstract

PurposeThe authors' purpose is to illuminate ways in which care within the mentor–mentee relationship influences the efficacy of mentoring for/in the professoriate, within and beyond the novel circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachA narrative inquiry design drew on the authors' distinct positionalities and experiences of mentoring and being mentored by one another to provide a multi-layered analysis of mentor–mentee relationships. Utilizing care theory, we paid particular attention in our narratives and analysis to the affective dimensions of mentoring within the distinct context created by the COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsOur data analysis revealed three themes: (1) mentor humility was relevant to mentees' success, (2) relationship longevity mattered, and (3) caring mentoring relationships were affectively and empirically generative.Research limitations/implicationsNarrative inquiry, generally, is limited in its generalizability but can be a powerful tool to facilitate knowledge sharing. Our analysis suggests areas which merit further research and may have broader implications. Namely, during trying times the normalization of professor humility may enhance the quality and generativity of the mentoring relationships, especially when combined with networking support.Practical implicationsWe make seven recommendations to enhance the efficacy of professors as mentors and mentees in need of mentorship.Originality/valueMentors who practice care-for their mentees, as opposed to care-about, enhance the efficacy of the mentoring relationship.

Guiding Online Students in a Crisis: An Intervention for Mentoring Educational Leadership Doctoral Candidates

“…Ethics reflecting social justice values (Tanner & Welton, 2021) infused the C-19 DOMI. Applicable doctoral mentoring studies relayed institutional injustices and promising prospects for EDLE programs geared around intervention, equity, advocacy, and change (e.g., Geesa et al, 2021; Gooden et al, 2020; Lasater et al, 2020; Sellers et al, 2021).…”

“…The architecture of literature reviewed reflects the priority given to the 2020 to 2021 pandemic timeframe and journals featuring pedagogical theories and practices in doctoral education (Firestone et al, 2021; Geesa et al, 2021; Paufler et al, 2020). Publications were narrowed to EDLE contexts that speak to doctoral mentoring remotely in a crisis (Lasater et al, 2020; Mullen, 2020a; Sellers et al, 2021) and in other disciplines (Börgeson et al, 2021; Pollard & Kumar, 2021). Additional sources were included.…”

“…change or dissolve. Even in a crisis, caring of the self and other propelled “success, motivation, and generativity” (Sellers et al, 2021, p. 28).…”

“…In the global crisis, interactive technologies for delivering pedagogy helped to make mentoring “intentional” (Johnson, 2016), cultivate mentor–mentee relationships, and support dissertation research and PD opportunities (Mullen, 2020a). A discovery was that COVID-19 actually “freed up psychological space to consider alternative paths,” which allowed EDLE mentoring relationships to unfold using technology differently (Sellers et al, 2021, p. 23). Fresh insights emerged from the work of Sellers and colleagues as a three-way mentorship on common projects.…”

“…A limited number of recent online doctoral mentoring implementations describe ways to make program mentorship accessible, effective, and equitable (Geesa et al, 2021; Kumar & Coe, 2017; Lasater et al, 2020; Sellers et al, 2021). The C-19 DOMI (see Mullen, 2020a) is among the practices studied that highlight the value mentoring dyads can bring to complex work and academic priorities.…”