Mentorship Practices and Research Productivity Among Early-Career Educational Psychologists in Universities

Abstract

Background/purpose -This study analyzed the contribution of three mentorship practices relatively and cumulatively to the research productivity of early-career academics in the field of educational psychology in universities. The study was conducted in the South-South region of Nigeria.Materials/methods -The research method adopted was the quantitative approach, following the ex-post facto research design. The study's population covered 723 early-career researchers (ECRs) in educational psychology distributed across 19 universities located in South-South Nigeria. The "Mentorship Practices and Research Productivity Questionnaire" (MPRPQ) was the instrument used for data collection. The questionnaire was designed by the researchers and then validated by three experts. Reliability analysis was performed using the Cronbach approach with estimates of .80, .79, .87, and .91 obtained for the four clusters. Primary data were collected from the field after copies of the instrument had been administered to respondents.Results -Mentorship practices were generally revealed to significantly contribute to the research productivity of ECRs in educational psychology in universities. Specifically, the adoption of cloning and apprenticeship approaches to mentorship contributed substantially to the ECRs' research productivity. However, the study highlighted that nurturing contributed only negligibly to the ECRs' research productivity.Conclusion -Mentorship practices are important determinants to the research productivity of early-career educational psychologists. In order to boost the productive research capacities of ECRs, there is a need for institutions to strengthen their mentorship practices.

Adoption Of Formalized Mentoring Among Academic Staff in Selected Nigerian Universities

“…The study concluded that university management should support the mentoring programme by formulating and implementing policies to curb the prevalence of the identified challenges. Okon et al (2022) investigated how cloning, nurturing, and apprenticeship practices impact the research productivity of early career academics in nineteen universities in the South-South region of Nigeria. Data collected from 644 respondents were statistically analysed using regression analysis and other descriptive statistics.…”

Hybrid learning environments for professional development in teacher education: university of calabar, nigeria as a case study

“…The quality of teachers in any nation has a lot in common with the standard of education, and the standard of education shares a lot with the available learning opportunities for professional development. The emphasis on teachers" professionalism is affirmed by the National Planning Commission (NPC), ( 2004) that at least 80 percent of teachers at all levels of education in Nigeria should be professionals (Mohammed, 2014, Ukpor, Ashibi, Akpan, & Okon, 2014Okon & Ubi, 2021;Okon, Owan, & Owan, (2022), Obot, Apebende, Okon & Bekomson, 2020). The Teachers" Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) which was established by ACT 31 of 1993 now CAP T. 3 of 2004, in fulfillment of the quest for the professionalization of teaching has a vision of making teachers" quality match with international standards.…”

What is Behind the Shine? The Dark Side of Research Evaluation: A Conceptual Framework

“…Research evaluation (RE) has recently emerged as a hot topic for academia [1]. This topicality stems from the great importance of RE to academic stakeholders, both internal and external [2], [3].…”

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