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

Abstract

This study investigates how computer mediated communication (CMC) can sustain nourishing and emotionally enriching peer mentoring relations. A peer electronic mentoring program was implemented in an Irish university to facilitate freshmen's transition to college. A sample of 123 participants (42 mentors and 81 mentees) was evaluated with a combination of mixed methods including a pre-program adjustment scale, online participation records, content analysis of online interactions and end of program interviews. Results reveal that volunteer freshmen experienced greater psychoemotional needs than the general student population. Personal and emotional interactions often developed, especially if the mentoring pair met face-to-face first and the fresher did not have an alternative support network. However, mentors often expected to develop intimate and lasting support relationships while mentees did not always share this expectation. Perceptions of CMC were strongly determined by individual preferences. Implications for e-mentoring programs and Web 2.0 use are discussed. *Title Page (WITH Author Details) Volunteer freshmen experienced greater psychoemotional needs than the general student population.  Psychoemotional support developed when the mentoring pair met face-to-face first and the fresher did not have alternative support  Mentors often expected to develop intimate and lasting support relationships while mentees did not always share this expectation.  Perceptions of CMC were strongly determined by individual preferences.

Nine years of online mentoring for secondary school girls in STEM: an empirical comparison of three mentoring formats

“…Therefore, our third aim was to examine the influence of communication and networking (as defined for Aim 2) on interindividual differences in the development of the three mentoring outcomes—STEM activities, elective intentions in STEM, and certainty about career plans—for each of the three mentoring formats, respectively. In light of the justifications of Aims 1 and 2, communication behavior and networking behavior are likely also explain interindividual differences in the effectiveness of online mentoring in STEM for girls 21,24,72,75,76 …”

Characterizing Twitter communication – a case study of international engineering academic units

“…In the context of engineering education, the potential of social media to open new modes of communication, interaction and experimentation between students and teachers has been identified (Kamthan, 2010), and a limited number of examples can be found documented in the literature (Charlton, Devlin, Marshall, & Drummond, 2010;Judd & Graves, 2012;Morgado et al, 2012;Morrow, 2010;Paku & Lay, 2011). Beyond specific learning and teaching applications, a range of uses of social media by universities is noted in the literature, including marketing (Reuben, 2008), student recruitment (Constantinides & Zinck Stagno, 2011;Hayes, Ruschman, & Walker, 2009), connecting with alumni (Kowalik, 2011), student support services (Berg, Berquam, & Christoph, 2007), library services (Burkhardt, 2010), student mentoring (Risquez & Sanchez-Garcia, 2012) and general communication with the wider community (Forkosh-Baruch & Hershkovitz, 2012).…”

E-Mentoring in Higher Education: A Structured Literature Review and Implications for Future Research

“…According to Risquez and Sánchez-García [49], mentoring is a tool that contributes to the development of personal and professional growth strategies for participants. Therefore, the role of the mentor is to train mentees through multiple tools so that they become better observers of themselves and their relationships [32].…”