Mentoring College Students: A Critical Review of the Literature Between 1990 and 2007

Abstract

In response to the mounting national support provided to mentoring programs and initiatives in higher education, the present article updates a review article written by Jacobi (Rev Educ Res 61(4): 1991). The article revisits the mentoring literature in an attempt to re-frame and update the definition and characteristics of mentoring provided by Jacobi. It also synthesizes and critically analyzes empirical literature specific to mentoring college students published between 1990 and 2007. Finally, the article presents broad theoretical perspectives of mentoring from the business, psychology and education literature in preface to a proposed theoretical framework specific to mentoring college students. The article concludes with specific recommendations to advance the mentoring literature.

Mentoring future engineers in higher education: a descriptive study using a developed conceptual framework

“…Only two of the frameworks studied provided a definition of mentoring (Anderson & Shannon, 1988;Johnson, 2003). However, one of the key challenges about mentoring research is the lack of a generally accepted definition of mentoring (Jacobi, 1991;Crisp & Cruz, 2009).…”

“…Whereas Jacobi (1991) identified 15 definitions of mentoring, Crisp & Cruz (2009) counted up to 50 different definitions. Without delving into these definitions, some insights about them can be gained by delineating the actors ("who"), the content ("what") and the purpose ("why") identified in such definitions.…”

“…Given such mentoring benefits have been identified, it is reasonable that higher education institutions, including universities and specifically engineering schools, invest resources to introduce mentoring programmes where they do not exist or increase the effectiveness of existing ones. However, in spite of the benefits, one key challenge of the mentoring field is the lack of a unified and generally accepted conceptualisation of mentoring (Jacobi, 1991;Crisp & Cruz, 2009;Gershenfeld, 2014;Ehrich et al, 2004).…”

The jury is still out: Psychoemotional support in peer e-mentoring for transition to university

“…However, the scarcity of published academic studies that investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of cyberspace as an appropriate context for mentoring is striking. Furthermore, the gaps highlighted by Crisp and Cruz (2009) in research in mentoring in higher education are even more acute for electronic mentoring, as research is mostly based on self-reports rather than content analysis of interactions, and impact is only measured attending to satisfaction. However, there is a need for systematic evaluation of e-mentoring programs in specific contexts, especially as the temptation to escalate programs with no quality assurance is common (Single and Single, 2005).…”

Peer mentoring – is a virtual form of support a viable alternative?

“…The topic attracts a plethora of literature that is reviewed on a regular basis (Jacobi 1991;Ehrich, Hansford, and Tennent 2004;Terrion and Leonard 2007;Crisp and Cruz 2009). Peer mentoring involves more experienced students supporting new students during their academic and personal development, and has been found to be effective in: improving the first-year experience of students (see, for example, Watson 2000;Hensen 2003;Mee-Lee and Bush 2003;Farrell et al 2004;Tariq 2005); increasing student retention (see, for example, Packham and Miller 2000;Boud, Cohen, and Sampson 2003;Muldoon 2008); improving achievement, with some suggesting peer mentoring users gain higher mean grades than non-users (see, for example, Congos, Langsham, and Schoeps 1998;Ashwin 2002;2003); and improving the interpersonal skills of the mentors, which leads to enhanced employability (see, for example, Congos and Stout 2003;McLean 2004;Muldoon 2008).…”