The peculiar intimacy of graduate study: A conservative view

The mentor in graduate education

“…Given the less formal atmosphere within which doctoral students learn, it would certainly follow that those who have a mentor are more likely to learn about their academic discipline and their future profession as a result of the "peculiarly intimate" interactions of which Phillips (1979) wrote. The nature of a mentoring relationship may benefit students in Downloaded by [Universidad de Sevilla] at 03:20 25 November 2014 similar ways, but the one-to-one nature of the ~nteractions involved in the relationship contribute to the difficulty associated with evaluating and explaining the significance of mentoring.…”

“…Phillips (1979) was one of the first to point out differences between career mentoring in the workplace and academic mentoring at a university. These differences he found to be so marked that he referred to mentoring in graduate school as a "peculiar intimacy", and having an academic mentor to be the central experience of graduate school study.…”

“…In this function mentors act to initiate the student into the rules, values, and ethics of their discipline, or what Phillips (1979) accurately called "the lore and mysteries of the profession". It is through the role modelling of the mentor that students learn the standards and norms of performance which they will adopt in their own professional lives (Moore, 1982).…”

Supervisory Mentoring by Advisers: Relationships With Doctoral Student Potential, Productivity, and Commitment

“…First, as supervisors of doctoral students, faculty advisers are expected and encouraged to provide mentoring functions, and such mentoring has been identified as a significant influence on the students' professional development (Jacobi, 1991;Merriam, 1983;Phillips, 1979;Rawles, 1980). Thus, the adviser-student relationship provides a rich opportunity to study how supervisory mentoring takes place and its consequences.…”

Lifelong learners: in their own words

“…However some definitions have been offered with Phillips (1979: 2) describing the mentor concept as ' one of intimacy' , and others defining the mentor as: · one with experience and power in an organization who promotes and coaches career development (Chao et al 1992: 624, Phillips 1977 · one who gives their blessing on the goals of their protégés (Bova and Phillips 1981: 5) · one who supports the dreams of the protégé (Levinson et al 1976: 21-25) · one who acts as good father and good friend (Levinson et al 1978: 333) · one who teaches tacit and technical knowledge (Long and McGinnis 1984: 256) · one who instigates a change in the pattern of growth (Weiner 1984) · one who encourages and supports the other (Torrance 1984: 2) Undertaking continuing education for self-knowledge and personal development is a personal, mutual and shared event according to Karpiak (1992), who says:…”