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Critical Reflections on Mentoring in Work Settings

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Abstract

Mentoring is presently at the forefront of strategies to improve workplace learning. However as is often the case, functionalist models of mentoring dominate, and as a result, research on mentoring is rather narrowly conceived. This article was designed to redress this imbalance by critically reflecting on mentoring from contrasting theoretical perspectives. Functionalist conceptions of mentoring construct it as a rational and hierarchical process, often involving an older mentoranda younger learner In contrast, critical or Radical Humanist conceptions highlight contests for meaning but, more important, want to expose unequal and often exploitative power relations. Many mentoring relationships undoubtedly involve high levels of nurturance, but as this article demonstrates, taken-for-granted practices need to be brought to the surface for mentoring to be regarded as a useful learning tool in today's work settings.
CRITICAL REFLECTIONS ON MENTORING IN WORK SETTINGS
ADULT EDUCATION QUARTERLY. Vol. 50 No. 3. May 20W 197-211
© 2000 American Association for Adult and Continuing Education
ANN DARWIN is the founder of the Management and Research Centre. South Australia, and has been its director since 1986. She has a
Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia. Canada, and has a background in business management, teaching, curriculum development,
and educational consultancy. She has been a senior manager within the public sector. a business owner, a researcher, and a national
management consultant. She wishes to acknowledge the contribution of Professor Roger Boshier. University of British Columbia, for his
support in conceptualizing this article.
Mentor ing is presentl y a t t he forefront of strategies to improve work place learning. However as is q/ten the case, functionalist models of
mentoring dominate, and as a result, research in mentoring is rather narrowly conceived. This article was d esigned to redress this
imbalance b y criti cally reflecting on mentoring from contrasting theoretical perspectives. Functionalist conceptions of mentoring
construct it as a rational and hierarchical process, often involving an older mentor and younger learner. In contrast, critical or Radical
Humanist conceptions highlight contests for meani ng but, more important, want to expose unequal a nd often exploitative power
rel ations. Many mentoring relationships undoubtedly involve high levels nurturance, but as this article demonstrates. taken-for-granted
practices need to be brought to the surface for mentoring to be regarded as a useful learning tool in today's work settings.
Most adults can identif y a person who had a significa nt influence on their learning and development. They come in many guises:
teachers, bosses, coworkers, and friends. Hence, mentoring has become a major preoccupation of popular media and educational discourse.
In George Lucas's Star Wars trilogy, Luke Skywalker is paired up with veteran Obi-Wan Kenobi, an experienced and supportive mentor,
Other well-known mentor-protege relationships include Ernest Hemingway's mentor, Gertrude Stein; Gail Sheehy claims Marga ret Mead
as her mentor, who in turn was inspired by Franz Boas. In the wor ld of adult education, Alle n Tough's mentor at the University of
Chica go was Cyril Houle .
For centuries, mentoring has been used as a vehicle for handing down knowledge, maintaining culture, supporting talent, and securing future
leadership. In pre-revolutionary China, the passing of the throne by the sovereign to a successor was known as Shan Jang stepping out of the
way. Mentoring flourished in the English feudal system as favored pages and squires became knights. The apprenticeship model was practiced
by the Guilds in Medieval times. During the Renaissance and Baroque periods, patron families supported talented artists. There has been a
strong reproductive element attached to mentoring, well suited to societies relying on ritualized behavior to protect the status quo.
Implicit in traditional mentoring practices are unchallenged assumptions about knowledge and powe r. Learning was a means of
trans mitting knowledge to pr oteges, and the mentor's primary role was to maint ain culture. The mentor was a protective teacher, guide,
or sponsor. This is not sur prising, as the etymological meaning of the term comes from the root men, which means to re member, think,
counsel. The word protege comes from the French verb, proteger, to protect. Thus, traditionally, the mentoring relationship has been
framed in a language of paternalism and dependency and stems from a power-dependent, hierarchical relationship, aimed at maintaining the
status quo.
Most governments and many organizations consider continuous, on-the-job learning as necessary for all employees. The movement
toward competency-based training and education has brou ght ne w res ponsibilities for supervisors to pr ovide learning development
opportunities and career support to members of staff. Therefore, it will become increasingly important to know about mentoring
relationships. Althou gh the language of mentoring has largely been dominated by popular psychology or human resource development,
the presence of an adult learner and a teacher clearly locates it in an ideology of adult education. This has been demonstrated by Daloz (1986),
Merriam (1983), Stalker (1994), and even Knowles (1980) who emphasized the need to create an optimal climate of the kind usually deemed
necessary for mentoring.
Many organizations became interested in mentoring when research indicated it was linked to career success (Roche, 1979), personal growth
(Levinson, Darrow, Klein, Levinson, & McKee, 1978), leadership development (Zaleznik, 1977), and increased organizational productivity
(Zey, 1984). Work settings are far more complex than they were a few decades ago. Yet, what is known about mentoring is rooted in
assumptions developed as part of a surge of interest in the topic in the late 1970s. Researchers continue to confirm exclusive workplace
practices by restric ting studies to samples drawn from successful, high-achieving managers (Clawson, 1980; Kram, 1980). The shortage of
women in senior management positions excluded them from the most prominent early studies (Levinson et al., 1978; Roche, 1979). As many
studies built on earlier works, findings often are based on research condu cted on mainly male samples. Research suggests that women
devel op differentl y from men, thus raising qu estions about the appropria tene ss of anc horing me ntoring practices on research
conducted only with men (Baker-Miller, 199 1; Gilligan, 1982). In addition, much recent research has been directed more toward practice than to
theoretical and conceptual understandings of the mentoring phenomenon (Appelbaum, Ritchie, & Shapiro, 1994). A lack of conceptual clarity may
be due, in part, to ambiguity in definitions of the term mentor.
Workplace mentors were traditionally defined as older, powerful members of an organization who provided career and psychos ocial
support to a younger, less powerful person. Defin ition s today are often less restrictive. How mentoring is defined and used appears to
depend on one's point of view.
NEED FOR A MAP
There is much more to mentoring than givin g advice. Moreover , although mentori ng clearly involves adult learners, significant
chunks of literature about it a regenerated by people with little or no understanding of adult education. There is a contest between those who
construct mentoring within a functionalist perspective (where the task is to yield efficiency) and others who consider it a matter of social
justice. To understand what lies beneath this contest, a map is needed.
Social cartography is the process of mapping theory. This study was informed by Burrell and Morgan's (1979) mapping of organizational
theory but, more particularly, by Paulston's (1996) recent cartographies of education. Figure I shows Paulston's latest mapping of social theory
that buttresses education. Ben eath the overlapping circles are two axes. The horizontal axis concerns ontology, the essence of phenomena.
Researchers vary with respect to the extent that they think there is an objective reality out the re, extern al to the individual . On t he left side
of Paulston's model-on the horizontal axis-are the oretica l formulations wherein it is assumed that reality is subjectively constructed. On
the right are theories that assume an objectivist orien tation. Realit y exists outside the individual. The vertical axis concerns power and
self-interest. It a sks, Who benefits (from, e.g., mentoring relationships)? At the bottom of the vertical axis are theories that reinforce existing
power relations. At the top are the more critical formulations that challenge extant power relations. Think of this map like Microsoft Windows.
The horizontal and vertica l axes are opened f irst . Next, the two over lapping circles are laid down. Fina lly, the oret ica l formulations
(e.g., critical theory) are laid onto the map and an effort made to show their interrelationships. This yields four q uadrants. The zone at the
lower right-hand side of the map is concerned with functiona list perspectives (Mic has human capital and modernization theory). The
lower left identifies theories (such as phenomenography or ethnography) that can be charact erized as Inter pre tivist. Th e upper left zone
concerns Radi cal Humanist f ormulations ( suc h is critical or poststructuralist theory) and the upper right the Marxian or Radical
Structuralis t perspectives (such as those in historical materialism and dependency theories).
Contemporary workplaces pose problems for older notions of mentoring constructed from within a Functionalist frame of reference.
Although Interpretivist and Radical Humanist formulations have much to contribute, the purpose of this article is to compare and contrast
Functionalist with Radical Humanist notions of mentoring by deploying two corners of Paulston's map to analyze mentoring. With this in
mind, the first task is to consider the workplace of the future.
Figure 1. Social Cartography of Theory About Mentoring
Source. Paulston (1996)
WORKPLACE AT THE DAWN OF THE 21st CENTURY
Women and men employed in factories in 1899 would barely recognize today's workplace. Quite apart from the silencing of noisy
machinery and demise of smokestacks, mentoring is unlike that of yesteryear. Two major changes have influenced the way mentoring is
defined and used: advances in technology and all embrace of diversity.
TECHNOLOGY
As a result of information technology, computers and telecommunications have become faster and more affordable, enabling
organizations to produce goods and provide services with little requirement for human beings. Many organizations have re-engineered and
downsized, resulting in increased redundancies and flatter organizational structures. These changes have had an impact on the way work is
performed. More people are working part time and, in many cases, from their homes. This trend is like ly to continue, so that by 2001, less
than half the wor kforce in the industrial world will be in full-time employment, and work, as we currently know it, will come to an end
(Rifkin, 1995). Although not everyone agrees with these predictions, work settings will continue to be transformed by technology discoveries.
Consequently, old career development models have lost their potency as 1'ewcr organizations olli;r "onc job for lilc" in return for loyalty-
L'unhermore, this ctireer instability in cludes middle-age employees who find themselves having to rel earn and comp ete for j obs in an
open marketplace. They may be more vulnerable than younger people who ha ve been raised in an age of greater uncertainty, Mentoring
is now more likely perceived as an activity relevant to young and old alike,
These da ys many older workers are being encouraged into early retirement. Consequently, senior pe ople able to provide experienced
career advice are fewer, and those who remain may be out of step with new rules of the ga me. In addition, as organizations change, there
is an increase in part-time and contract work, a rise in unemployment, and massive restructuring efforts in the name of efficiency, People are
being forced to reframe the notion of work. The organization will not provide a job for life . Mentor ing models may be use ful when times
are stable, but re production of the status quo may not be what organizations need when faced with rapid changes.
Two revie ws of mentoring literature were published in which Merria m (1983) cautioned against potentially negative effects, and
Hunt and Michael (1983) proposed the establishme nt of formal ment oring pr ograms. The latter's optimism appea rs to c apture the etho s
of the ea rly 1980s as lar ge amounts of funds and energ y poure d in to th e de velopmen t, implementation, and evaluation of formal
mentoring programs (Carden, 1990). A North American survey in 1996 suggested that the percentage of businesses planning mentoring
programs doubled between 1995 and 1996, from 17% to 36% (Jossi, 1997). These programs may be a result of organizational guilt in the
aftermath of downsizing, a need to ease the pain of those
left behind in organizations and to retain some vestige of intellectual capital and organizational loyalty. The questions that must continue to
be asked are, "Whose goals are being pursued'? Who benefits? Whose interests do such programs serve?
DIVERSITY
The notion that mentoring is an exclusive activity undertaken predominantly by older males for younger ma les is no longer
appropriate. Stalker (1994) suggests an alternative view of mentoring that endorses the resistance and transformations women mentors bring to
patriarchal cultures and "critiques the existing power bases and explores the ways in which power can be used to challenge the status quo"
(p. 370). Women are allegedly more likely to regard power as a source of "power with" rather than "p owe r over" and c onsequently to value
learning within r ela tionships a s a key developmental experience (Hartsock, 1983; Kirkpatrick, 1975; McClelland, 1975). Learning to
reframe attitudes, emphasizing the importance of interdependence over dependence and intimacy over emotional distance, may be less difficult
for women than men.
Women also face discrimination and identity issues throughou t their careers different fr om those of men (Baker-Miller, 199 1). To
achieve equality, women in the late 1960s attempted to minimize differences between men and women. This was no easy t ask bec ause
the re existed an attitude t hat women "might not provide as good a r etu rn on investment for the corporati on as developing a male
manager wou ld" (Cook, 1 979 ). Du e to the small numb er of women in management positions, it was, and still is, easy for the m to be
entra pped in ste reotypica l roles, ranging from the "iron maiden" to the "mother," "seductress:' or "pet" (Kanter, 1977). Others label
successful women "queen bees" and berate them for not looking to clone their younger sisters.
Developmental theories of mentoring claim knowledge is a passive process. Knowledge needs to be viewed as an active process in which
curiosity is enc ouraged and learning becomes a dyna mic, reciprocal, and participa tory process. Fr om this perspec tive, learning is about
knowing diffe rently, and chan ge is more likely to occur as a result of individual learn ing. Mentoring partnerships will continue to happen
serendipitously, as they have done for centuries. Exclusive, power-dependent mentoring practices, however, cannot continue in wor k
settings. To understand this, it is necessary to consider the way orthodox functionalist views of mentoring are challenged by Radical
Humanist conceptions.
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVES
Traditional mentoring practices fulfilled two main functions: The first was to help younger proteges advance their careers by showcasing
their work. The second was a psychosocial function that helped proteges gain self-confidence required in a leadership situation. The more
functions present in the relationship, the more it resembled traditional mentorship.
A mentor was commonly viewed as a powerful member of an organization who sponsored career advancement. Relationships usua lly
occurred informally, between se nior (in age and position) and junior (usually male) members of the organization for the purpose of fast-
track promotion and succession planning. This Darwinian survival -of- the- fittest process ensures that proteges learn techniques for operating
successfully within a corporate culture, thus placing them "ahead of the pack." Mentors "go to bat" for their proteges, provide access to scarce
resources, help with visibility, protect from harm, and promote and recommend for challenging assignments. In return, mentors fulfill
"some deep-seated need to teach, assume a parental role, or indulge various altruistic yearnings that presumably haunt executives in late
careers" (Zey, 1984, p. 77).
Functionalist-oriented research suggests that having a mentor leads to career success and higher salaries; finding a mentor has become a
functional an d socially desirable acti vity (Roche, 1979). There are ext ensive mentor -protege relationships among business elites, Young
execut ives with mentors are allegedly happier with their career progress and work than are non-mentored colleagues. Although female
executives are far less prevalent, mentors are alleged to be equally important for the career advancement of women (Collins, 1983; Hennig &
Jardim, 1977; Jeruchim & Shapiro, 1992; Missirian, 1982),
There are, however, problems in perspectives that assume one right way to advance a career. People in senior positions looking for a
succ essor often identify prote ges who have cer tain charact eristic s and tend to advance people most like themselves (Kanter, 1977).
Individualistic and competitive notion s of social stratification embedded in functionalist perspectives imply that those who succeed have
done so solely through their own efforts. Such views ignore inequalities of race, gender, a nd class. This process is reinforced by
researchers who assume th e workforce consists entirely of White, mi ddle-class male s. Yet, the rela tionshi p between mentorin g and,
care er success is not fou nd in those from lowe r socioeconomic groups who receive significantly less mentoring than people with higher
socioeconomic status backgr ounds (Whitely, Dougherty, & Dreher, 199 1).
RECYCLED POWER RELATIONSHIPS
From a functionalist persp ective, mentor ing is associated with recycling of power within workplace relat ionships. First, proteges seek
more powerful individuals within the organization. The mentor holds power until the protege is independent, and then the cycle starts again, only
this time, the protege is now the mentor for someone else. Mentors give their proteges a pre view of what it means to have power, thus
removing some of the myster y, This recycling of power is base d on the assumption that mentoring is a power-dependent, hierarchical
activity, which initiates the protege and renews the mentor. A high degree of correlation between identity and work group membership, which
mirrors power relations, is also assumed.
Women and ra cial minorities have mainly been exc luded from organizational nor ms and, as such, ha ve been granted limited access to
this cycle of power. For example, women have had mentoring relationships almost entirely with men, but the degree of mutuality in the
relationship often was limited, and "the barriers to empathy and identification often prevented the development of it fuller mentoring
relationship" (Levins on, 1996, p. 270). They have often been forced to move outside the orga niza tion for psychosocia l support in
devel oping their professional identities "because the peop le inside their workplace often can not provide the core inter nal sense of
career that is so crucial to buildin g a total car eer self-concept" (Thomas & Higgins. 1995. p. 9).
In an attempt to make mentoring more accessible to women and disadvantaged groups, organizations created specialized programs, the
benefits of which have been documented (Collin, 1988; Hunt & Michael, 1983; Klauss, 1981; Wilson & Elman, 1990; Zey, 1984). This
functionalist approach to mentoring allegedly provides mutual benefits to the protege the mentor, and the organization. Benefits to the mentor
include satisfaction, loyalty, and peer recognition; benefits to the protege are assumed to include greater understanding of organizational culture,
career advice, and promotion; and benefits to the organization include increased motivation and productivity, stability of culture, reduced
turnover, leadership development, and improved communications,
Rese archers e lude to potential dange rs of such pr ogra ms, s uch as over-de pen denc e, je alousy, and the poss ibility of unwanted
romantic or sexual involvement sometimes associated with cross-gender mentoring. The experience and skill of the mentor and the
willingness of the protege to take responsibilit y f or t he relation ship are also me ntioned (Kram, 1985; Merriam, 1983; Shapiro,
Haseltine, & Rowe, 1978). Even if conditions are optimal, formal programs place heavy burdens on human resources as there are few
managers at the top available to act as mentors. One of the inevitable results of organizationally spon sored mentoring programs is the
temptation to mechanize the process. Although the notion of organizations encouraging career development of employees has
considerable merit from a functionalist perspective, difficulties occur when mentoring programs are made compulsory and seen to be the
only valid means of on-the-job learning. Formal mentoring models are authoritarian because they are introduced and controlled by senior
managers (Caruso, 1992). MENTORS AS PROVIDERS OF PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT
Adult development perspectives suggest that early ad ulthood is one of initiati on and that middle adulthood is one of reappraisal (Kram
1983; Levinson et. al., 1978; Missirian, 1982; Phillips-Jones, 1982). Each of these phases involves unique developmental tasks that must be
mastered to advance to the next stage (Erikson, 1980). In these conceptual frameworks, the mentor is viewed as a transitional figure who
guides and nurtures the protege into the adult world through a series of phases, from dependence to independence.
Career development research also suggests that people proceed through stages separated by a transitional period, a time of adj ust ment.
Mentoring is fi rst enc ountered during th e establ ish men t st age , usual ly when youn g pe ople first e nter an organization and are in most
need of guidance and support. Mentors, in their mid- to late 40s at the maintenance stage of their career, pass on their acquired knowledge to
young people who have just started, enabling them to build a sense of identity and p urpose. One of the be st-known mentoring models
was postul ate d by Kram (19 83). She suggested that mentoring relationshi ps pr oceed fro m initiat ion (a period of 6 months to I year),
during which time th e relationship gets started; cultivation (a period of 2 to 5 years), during which time the range of career and
psychosocial functions provided expands to a maximu m; separation (a per iod of 6 mon ths to 2 years), afte r a significant chan ge in the
struc tural role relation ship; and redefinition (an indefinite period), during which time the relationship is ended or takes on different
characteristics, making it more peer-like. There are allegedly reciprocal benefits.
The protege gains competence and insights, whereas "the mentor acts almost as an instrument of God, continuing the 'creation' of the
individual, and gains an unusual sense of singularity and importance" (Sheehy, 198 1. p. 182).
Development models are now being questioned (Kram & Hall, 1995) as career paths are less predictable and people are less likely than in the
past to receive life-long deve lopmental support from one person. Furthermore, development models assume that the mentor has more
career-related experie nce and knowledge tha n does the protege H oweve r, mid career workers, at the maintenance stage, are now having to
learn new skills: those in which younger workers may already be more
competent. Career age, rather than chronological age, may be more important. Career growth will be a process of continuous learning, which
combines relationships and work challenges. Moreover, it is probable that Kram's (1983) work on stages has lost relevance because mentoring
relationships are more likely to be shorter than in the past.
These developmental models are also based on the need for separation, with intimacy reemerging at the redefinition stage. This does not
appear to be the case in Gilligan's (1982) research, which suggested a fusion of identity and intimacy for wome n, rather than id entity prec edi ng
intimac y. Developmen tal theory has establi shed men's experience a nd competence as a baseline against which everyone's development
is judged, often to the detriment or misreading of women (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986),
There is an eth erea l qualit y in mentoring rela tionships, and "magic is available to anyone willing to stand in the right place" (Daloz,
1986, p. 18). There is nothing wrong with the notion of a person who will appear serendipitously to provide guidance and direction. What
is troubling about this vie w is that like all fairy storie s, it may lea ve many p eople waiting patientl y and powerlessly for such a person to
materialize. It may a lso perpe tuate the myth of meritocracy in explaining success, suggesting that anyone can become successful if they
attra ct a mentor, work hard, and live happily ever after. Moreover, i t appear s tha t not eve ryone is f ortuna te enough to be standing in
the right place. Mentor s who offer comprehensive support to protege are reportedly rare (Clawson, 1985; Hanlan & Weiss, 198 1; Levinson et
al., 1978; Merriam, 1983). Mentoring is allegedly critical to adult development, yet few people have had a mentor. Could this mean that most
people are not fully developed? Or that perhaps mentoring is meant only for the scions of industry?
There are flaws in theories that suggest that there is a pr edictab le path for devel opme nt throughout adulthood, tha t emotional
boundaries must be present within such relationships, and that there exists in the work-place a successful core of White, middle-class
successors to or ganizational hierarchie s. A gr eat deal of mentor ing r esearch has been base d on this assumption and remains relatively
unchallenged. Traditional assumptions about mentoring, aimed at replicating the status quo, may have been relevant in a time befor e
women entered the workforce and before downsizing and flatter str ucture s reduced the role of hierarchy within organizations. These theories
are anchored in a world that no longer exists.
RADICAL HUMANIST PERSPECTIVES
Recall that in Paulston's (1996) cartography of social theory, Radical Humanism is located at the subjectivist end of the ontology axis and at the
"transformation" end of the vertical axis. The field of adult education is replete with theory or frames of reference that can be characterized as
Radical Humanist. Freire's (1972) work is the best known example of Radical Humanism in adult education. But, as well, there is
participa tory resea rch, the Ca nadian Antigonish movement; literacy campaigns in Latin American countries; certain AIDS-education
programs (that foreground power relations and subjectivity); most branch es of critical pedagogy; much of the work done with indigenous
people in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; popular theatre; and various critical strands in postmodern thought
(Paulston, 1999). As well, part of Mezirow's work on transformational learning is located in this paradigm.
Although advocates of the learning organization appear on the surface to favor the democratization of the workplace and employee
empowerment, a Radical Humanist perspective asks that we dig below the surface and examine power relations and ontologica l commitme nts
nest ed in mentori ng. Great cau tion is nee ded . From within a Radical Humanis t pe rspective, mentoring is a process that places social
justice in the foreground. Power re lations are challenged and worker subjectivity respected. The Ra dical Humanist mentor takes a broad
perspective that goes well beyond notions of efficiency found in a functionalist perspective. This can be seen clearly in the struggle over
what is meant by a l ea rn ing o rg an iz at io n. I s this an organization that has embraced the soc ial democ ratic ethos of lifelong educa tion or a
fancy name applied to well- oiled corporatism of the new right?
Some literature on learning organizations stresses the development of a climate that encourages risk taking, dialogue, and horiz ontal
relationships as a means of creating new knowle dge. Mentoring becomes a collaborative, d ynamic, and crea tive partnership of co-equals,
founded on openness, vulnerability, and the ability of both parties to take risks with one another beyond their professional roles.
Relationships become opportunities for dialogue, and e xp er t and l ea rn e r become arbitrary delineations. Within a Functionalist framework,
mentoring involved the transfer of technical and cultural knowledge from ment or as teacher, to protege as learner. But wit hin Rad ical
Huma nism, th e relatio nship be come s adult-like and interdependent. The concept of co-learning suggests that individuals transcend roles
(or create different roles) and interact as colleagues.
With power relations, employee subjectivity, and learning in the foreground, mentoring is impor tant for all employees, including
sen ior managers havin g to lea rn new rules a nd tec hnologies . Thu s, the y a re mor e likely to find themselves co-i nquirer s in the search
for work me aning a nd care er growth. Suc h a view sits well with t he changing culture of the
workplace and recognition of the need for organizations to encourage different ways of structuring meaning, of perceiving the self and the world
(Daloz, 1986). One of the strengths of mentoring in a Radical Humanist perspective is that it is founded on a learning model that uses tacit
knowledge, typically untaught but essential to thriving organizations.
Organizations must make more, ra ther than less, use of reflexive prac tice. Ra pid change often induces competition, and people react
conser vative ly, with a tendency to descen d into funda men tal ism . There a re pa radoxe s he re. Most people w ork in a competitive
environment yet often are asked to collaborate and care for one another. They are told to engage in intentional learning that requires self-
reflection and yet are asked to do more with less. They are asked to take risks, yet organizational culture does not support risk taking. Within
such a paradoxical environment, organizations need to encourage formation of mentoring relationships through dialogue.
Power and control of knowledge remain barriers to open communications in work settings, as many people are in the dual role of mentor
and supervisor. The need for psychological freedom may be in conflict with the exercise of authority (Collin, 1988; Kadushin, 1985; Wilson
& Elman, 1990). Structural barriers prevent people from being able to transcend roles but also exist in the minds of people. Their removal
must start with a heightened awareness of power and authority and willingness to develop new ways of relating to others (Kahn & Kram,
1994). Whereas traditional leadership theories focus on the behaviors of leaders (Yukl, 1994), a Radical Humanist perspective would dwell on
how power flows between leaders. and followers. In this regard, it appears that leaders who distance themselves from followers are less
effective (Bass, 1990). Leadership and mentorship appear to be closely aligned, as relationships, rather than structures, become more valued
within work settings.
From a Radical Humanist rather than a functionalist perspective, a variety of workplace mentoring relationships would be encouraged, for
example peer mentoring that offers mutually supportive and challenging partnerships of co-equals, marked more by reciprocal influence and
less by notions of downward influence and role-defined relationships (Jeruchim & Shapiro, 1992; Kram & Isabella, 1985, Louis, 1980).
Mentoring circles have been proposed as a way in which diversity objectives can be achieved.
Research that explores heterogeneous relationships is relatively thin due to the unchallenged assumption that mentoring is a one-to-one
developmental relationship between an older and a younger person. Yet, the notion of mentoring as a diffused func tion that should be
embraced by all workers is a critica l element in work settings. People's images of mentoring rarely take into account nonhierarchical,
democratic relationships, although organizational terminology may be changing, with categories such as "superior-subordinate" softening
into "team leader" and "team member."
Finally, from a Radical Humanist perspective, mentoring can no longer afford to be seen as some add-on feature to human resource
development that socializes new recruits. Rather, organizations need to acknowledge power relations and value time for connection between
workers within and outside the organization. Contributions from old and young people are valued, so perspectives are challenged and new
knowledge is created. Bly (1996) calls mentoring a "vertical" process, one in which young members of a society learn how to be in that
society. He believes that the breakdown of these vertical relationships has created a sibling society, one in which members live out a perpetual
adolescence. Relationships need to be both up and down, so older and younger organizational members keep asking, "How do these decisions
today affect tomorrow?"
It will be a challenge for decision makers to shift their focus from functionalist notions of mentoring. A major challenge will be learning to
break away from past mindsets and habits that may act a s barriers to learning. Mentoring wou ld become one of a number of strategies that
are part of an overall plan to share intellectual and emotional resources. Individuals would be encouraged to share both tacit and explicit
knowledge with others, in one-to-one mentoring relationships and a variety of other forms, both homogeneous and heterogeneous. Such
articulation (moving from tacit to explicit knowledge creation) will be critical, as movement in and out of organizations becomes more
frequent. In this way, new knowledge is created and power relationships are exposed. Organizations may learn to become less myopic.
Perhaps the notion of mentoring as a co-learning, interdependent activity which encourages authentic dialogue and power sharin g across
cultures, genders, and hierar chical levels is too utopia n. However, if mentoring is viewed less as a role and more as the character of the
relationship, it has the capacity to transform workplace relationships.
AFTERWORD
Research has been far from orderly, with little agreement as to how mentoring should be defined and used. Most research on mentoring
remains almost exclusively anchored in a functionalist paradigm. Functionalist perspectives, with their stress on efficiency, are congruent with
economic rationa lism nested in Reganism, Thatcherism, and Mulroneyism. But as the December 1999 demonstrations against the World
Trade Organization meeting in Seattle showed, these perspectives do not command enthusiastic support.
In the same way, there is now dissatisfaction with the utopianism of the "learning organization," which for many workers, involved the
tumult of restructuring, the need to do more with less, the confusion of "multiskilling," and anxiety about losing their job. In this context,
older functionalist f orms of mentorin g seem like a throwback to a past when knowledge, the wor kpla ce, and work relations hips were
more stable and power relations were not challe nged. The wide spread use of technology and importance ascribed to diversity in the
workplace means that there will be a continuing need for mentoring from within a functionalist frame of reference,
But in addition, there is now a profound need for mentoring that foregrounds power relationships and employee subjectivity.
The ta sk here has b een to analyze the wor kplace a t the da wn of the 21s t c entury and to ma ke the ca se for infusing mentoring with a
Radical Humanist perspective. It is not that trainers or Human Resources Development (HRD)-oriented adult educators are entirely wedded
to functionalist perspectives. On the contrary, many realize that "there's more to it." But because of economic rationalism and intense
competitiveness, f ew have time to invoke theory that reach es beyond functionalist orthodoxy.
What is needed is a study of how mentoring looks when viewed from within all the theoretical lenses nested in the four quadrants of
Figure 1. In this article, the task has been to compare and contrast mentor ing from within functionalist and Radical Humanist
perspectives. It is hoped that by so doing, others will be challenged to consider the possibility that there is more to mentoring than giving
advice. Moreover, there is more to mentoring research than surveys that attempt to link program initiatives with work-related outcomes,
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... In general, mentoring is perceived to encompass two principal models: traditional (top-down) and collaborative (with its educative type). For many a century, mentoring has been employed as a means of handing down knowledge, maintaining culture from generation to generation, lending support to talent and securing future leadership (Darwin, 2000). In such a traditional model of mentoring, teaching is viewed as a vehicle for imparting knowledge by an older, experienced teacher to a less experienced novice teacher (Hansman, 2002) in a power-dependent hierarchical relationship (Le Cornu & Ewing, 2008). ...
... In such a traditional model of mentoring, teaching is viewed as a vehicle for imparting knowledge by an older, experienced teacher to a less experienced novice teacher (Hansman, 2002) in a power-dependent hierarchical relationship (Le Cornu & Ewing, 2008). The mentor's duty comprises "filling up" an incomplete protégé with knowledge so as to "fix" them and reproduce skills maintaining the status quo (Darwin, 2000;Mullen, 2005). It can easily be seen that the traditional mentoring model within ITE regards a teacher-mentor as assuming and maintaining the role of an expert to hand down their knowledge, information and provide support to student-teachers, who are seen as recipients of this knowledge. ...
... Conversely, collaborative mentoring is now becoming increasingly common, where mentoring is regarded as an interdependent relationship between mentors and mentees (Darwin, 2000) and where mentors concede authority, and novice teachers develop it (Jones & Brown, 2011) while actively constructing knowledge in a social environment (Richter et al., 2013). This model presupposes "an asymmetrical but collaborative relationship, which facilitates exchange and the generation of ideas and may lead to change and innovations in the prevailing situation" (Pennanen et al., 2015). ...
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The present scientific monograph aims to thoroughly examine the challenges faced by new teachers in Japan, the UK and the USA. Additionally, it will explore how induction programmes in the abovementioned countries support novice teachers. By highlighting these challenges and the broader educational context, we aim to better understand the experiences of novice teachers and offer practical strategies to support their professional growth.
... From a more philosophical point of view, two main theoretical perspectives on mentoring could be distinguished. The earlier, more traditional mentoring literature described mentoring as a hierarchical, power-dependent relationship between a senior and junior member with the aim of advancing the mentee (Darwin, 2000). Mentors would provide career-and psychosocial support, act as teachers, and transfer their knowledge onto the mentee. ...
... Mentors would provide career-and psychosocial support, act as teachers, and transfer their knowledge onto the mentee. This perspective on mentoring is also known as the functionalist perspective (Darwin, 2000). In the following years, a more recent view on mentoring arose, which is also known as the radical humanist perspective (Darwin, 2000). ...
... This perspective on mentoring is also known as the functionalist perspective (Darwin, 2000). In the following years, a more recent view on mentoring arose, which is also known as the radical humanist perspective (Darwin, 2000). This view on mentoring describes the concept as a collaborative and horizontal relationship between co-equals, in which the mentor and mentee co-create new knowledge and learn together (Darwin, 2000). ...
... Furthermore, there is a danger if specific elements of the supervision framework (e.g., modeling and demonstrations of good practices, questioning, sharing ideas, and collaborating) are absent. Such danger was documented by Darwin (2000) and Taylor et al. (2022). Darwin, in writing about strategies to improve workplace learning, explained why these essential elements of supervision and mentoring frameworks might not have been popular: "Perhaps the notion of mentoring as a co-learning, interdependent activitywhich encourages authentic dialogue and power-sharing […]-is too utopian" (Darwin, 2000, p. 208). ...
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Expected positive outcomes of teacher supervision in Guyana are not always achieved. This qualitative study explores forces that may be hindering desirable outcomes of supervision provided by Nursery Field Officers (NFOs) and is intended to be an attempt to improve practice. Through thematic analysis of interviews with 30 teachers, five critical areas of undesirable encounters were discovered. These encounters were framed as fault-finding, controlling and mechanically oriented, unproductive, emotionally unsettling, and disruptive. Caution about the danger of identification of pedagogical weaknesses in the absence of accompanying solutions and recommendations is flagged, and remedial strategies are identified. The findings reframe, reinforce, and complement existing knowledge about educational supervision, serve to chronicle Guyanese teachers’ experiences with the supervision of NFOs, and might be informative to professional development programs that rely on supervision to sustain pedagogical growth. Program providers and other stakeholders might find the teachers’ experiences a reference point to consider critical issues regarding the quality of and approach to supervision.
... Facilitated mentorship is a method for meeting the requirements of PSTs and addressing their professional insufficiencies by providing them with ongoing professional development (Jacobi, 1991, Darwin, 2000. Teachers may improve their ability to address the needs of their students by taking advantage of the CPD opportunities available to them. ...
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The study aims to investigate the impact of facilitated mentoring on science teachers" practices and attributes in primary schools. The paper also focuses to examine the difference of facilitated mentoring perceived effect on primary science teachers" practices and attributes with regards to gender and sector. The primary school science teachers from public and private schools of Johar Town, Lahore were included in the population. The sample size consisted of 200 science teachers, out of which 100 were from public and 100 were from private primary schools. Further, 88 were male and 112 were female. This research implies quantitative method, data was collected using structured questionnaire based on five key factors to check perceived effect of facilitated mentoring on the primary school science teachers" practices and attributes. The results showed that facilitated mentoring has moderate effect on the attribute and practices of science teachers. The effect of facilitated mentoring on the science teachers" practice of "Modeling" in private and public primary schools is significantly different. Further, the effect of facilitated mentoring on the science teachers" practice of "Modeling" with reference to gender is significantly different. It is suggested that the teachers" facilitated mentorship program needs to be thoroughly examined and improved to make it effective, so that it could influence the science teachers" practices and attributes. This may in turn influence the students" performance positively along with improving the school performance.
... However, we felt limited by the notion that peer mentoring relied on pairs with commonalities in experience, knowledge, and skills (Kram, 1985;Noe, 1988), when our participants had divergent work experiences in the sector and came from distinct cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, the majority of these literatures from North America were claiming that peer mentoring can promote non-hierarchical, democratic relationships that can reduce power hierarchies between mentor and mentees (Darwin, 2000), which jarred with our various trans-national and transcultural lived experiences. Due to the short time frame of the programme, we felt it was far simpler and less burdensome to invite the women to participate in a one-to-one 5 model, emulating a practice that we were already familiar with where we see older members of a family or community guide younger ones in particular cultural settings. ...
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From social expectations and obligations, women in Southeast Asian countries tend to face gender inequality and have less support for their personal and professional development compared with their male counterparts. This chapter draws from our pilot project, Designing Entangled Social Innovation in Asia-Pacific (DESIAP) Young Women Mentoring Programme 2021, which was designed to support Southeast Asian women in social innovation and creative sectors. This four-month-long programme was undertaken from July to October 2021 and it was funded by Northumbria University, United Kingdom. The participants of the programme include nine mentees from Southeast Asian countries and ten mentors from Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and the United States. In this chapter, we explore culturally sensitive and gender-based mentoring practices, focusing on how trusting and caring relationships between mentors and mentees are primarily nurtured and supported. This chapter discusses approaches and principles in prototyping a culturally safe approach to support women practising in designing social innovation in Southeast Asia.
... Mentoring circles or networks, such as the PN, can provide such support. When compared with traditional dyadic mentoring relationships, circles generate different perspectives, demystify academic and institutional cultures, open access to wider networks, and further increase confidence and commitment (Darwin, 2000;Mullen & Klimaitis, 2021). ...
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This article explores the role of Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in providing peer mentorship for new faculty. The Peer Network program (PN) pilot aims to foster a sense of belonging, deepen relationships with CTL, support effective teaching, encourage empathy for students, celebrate successes, and affirm experiences. The study demonstrates positive outcomes, including community building, open communication, support for teaching, and increased engagement with CTL. The authors emphasize the importance of tailored mentoring programs for first-year faculty to enhance engagement and involvement with CTL.
... Mentorship historically involves training youth or adults in skills building and knowledge acquisition (Merriam, 1983), provoking the metaphor of mentoring as training. Technical mentoring involves the transfer of skills within authoritative and apprenticeship contexts whereas alternative mentoring questions hierarchical learning and favors new forms of socialization (Darwin, 2000;Hansman, 2003). The most recent comprehensive review of the mentoring literature was conducted by Crisp and Cruz (2009), who provided a critical synthesis of empirical research conducted between 1990 and 2007. ...
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Globalisation and increased emphasis on an interconnected world only forcefully draw our attention to these needs. As technology becomes important there is an increased need to protect the information technology backbone of the higher education institutions since they are increasingly becoming data driven as well as due to the unique intellectual property that various universities are investing in now-a-days. The recent news that about 750 million email accounts where comprised should be a sufficient cause for concern and should serve as a wakeup call. More importantly, most of our institutions now store the records, including sensitive private/personal information of their students, their economic and social profiles in their information technology systems. Hence, it would be a mistake to think that only large companies have vital data to protect. The higher education system, in its totality, has extremely sensitive and important information that needs to be protected. Hence, it is necessary for universities invest in the right solutions to protect student data from prying unauthorised networks.
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Purpose There is a lack of application of the adult learning theories as a framework to explore how mentors can encourage mentees to practice different workplace learning approaches. The purpose of this study is to construct and present evidence for the validity and reliability of a scale termed workplace learning in mentoring (WPLM). Design/methodology/approach Study 1 generated items for the WPLM through multiple phases, including input from graduate students ( n = 132) and subject matter experts ( n = 15). Study 2 focused on validating the scale using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to establish a final factor structure. A series of validation analyses (predictive, convergent and discriminatory) were conducted using regression, correlations and structural equation modeling (Sample 1 = 379; Sample 2 = 212). Findings In Study 1, the authors generated items and examined content validity, resulting in a four-factor, 20-item scale. Study 2 refined the final WPLM scale to three factors with 15 items. Validation analyses indicated that the WPLM had strong predictive, convergent and discriminatory validity. Specifically, it significantly predicted mentoring satisfaction and quality, converged with traditional, relational and negative mentorship constructs, and was distinct from relationship and personal learning in mentoring. Research limitations/implications While this study advances the understanding of WPLM, future research should explore more diverse samples, as the participants were predominantly Caucasian from the global north. Further research should also examine the role of specific work contexts and how mentors create conditions for different learning approaches. Originality/value This study highlights the importance of mentors’ role in encouraging learning as an organizational outcome that enriches employees by enhancing their knowledge, skills and abilities.
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This volume brings together experts in generativity and related fields to provide a compelling overview of contemporary research and theory on this topic. Generativity refers to a concern for—or acting towards—the benefit of future generations as a legacy of the self; it has implications for outcomes at the individual, relational and social, and broader societal levels. Understanding the role and expressions of generativity at various stages of our lives is important to the sense of well-being and purpose, and it impacts parenting, caregiving, and social relationships, as well as having implications for activities and experiences in the workforce, and in voluntary activities in communities and the wider society. The chapters in this volume explore the meaning and impact of generativity across development and across life contexts and roles. They address generativity within a particular area or life domain, or period of the lifespan, and outline key methods and findings, as well as theoretical issues and applied implications. The volume represents the first comprehensive exploration of generativity from early to late adulthood; it offers a broad international perspective and will inform research into generativity across multiple cultures.
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Just as there was little debate in the late 1950s about Whyte’s pronouncement, today there is widespread agreement with Lancaster’s. A radical change has occurred: Employers no longer act out of a parental-like obligation to ensure the security of their employees. Just doing your job and being loyal no longer guarantees your career. Today, the new employment contract is more “adultlike” (Kissler, 1994). The focus is on finding a decent match between what the firm needs and what the individual needs, and this fit is sought by the individual, who is now in charge of his or her own career. Perhaps the most significant implication is that the firm can no longer be the anchor for one’s professional sense of self and definition of psychological success. The individual now has the responsibility to develop what Hall (1986) calls a “metaskill”—cultivating adaptability by adopting new work roles and experiences and assimilating them into an integrated sense of identity.
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The significance of the mentor in organisations has been clearly established in the management literature. Having first defined mentoring and described the roles of mentor and protégé, the distinction between “essential” and “instrumental” mentoring is noted. The reasons for the present interest in this topic is discussed and the purposes for which formal mentoring programmes are established are indicated. The several steps to be take in setting‐up a programme are outlined, some of the problems which might be encountered are identified and what such a programme might achieve is indicated.
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This article examines mentor relationships in the public sector, with special attention to the role of formal mentoradvisor systems in management and executive development programs within the federal government. It draws on experience of three case studies of formal mentor systems, as well as other recent experience in the public and private sector.' The intent is to extract from this experience some major themes and lessons which can be used to facilitate the development of more effective mentor relationships. This topic is especially pertinent to federal managers in light of new initiatives in management and executive development that have resulted from the passage of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Recent guidance from the Office of Personnel Management explicitly calls for the assignment of incumbent officials of the Senior Executive Service (SES) as formal mentors or advisors to each SES candidate selected to participate in agency executive development programs.2 While the guidance to agencies does not define specific roles and responsibilities for mentors, the general intent is that these individuals should provide counsel and support to SES candidates as they make the transition from mid-level manager or professional positions to senior level careers.
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This article focuses on how organization members authorize and de-authorize both others and themselves in the course of doing their work. We argue that these authorizing processes are shaped, in part, by enduring, often unacknowledged stances toward authority itself. In turn, we suggest that these stances are enacted in similar ways across hierarchical and collaborative work arrangements and across various roles and positions. These stances are-as Hirschhorn (1990) suggested-internalized models. Working from a theoretical framework that combines concepts from developmental and clinical psychology, group dynamics, and organizational behavior, we define and illustrate three types of internal models of authority: dependence, counterdependence, and interdependence. We offer propositions about how these internal models influence organization members' behaviors during task performances generally, and more specifically, as members of hierarchical dyads and work teams. We also suggest propositions about how these internal models of authority are triggered and change in the context of organizational life. Finally, we offer research methods and strategies by which to empirically examine these propositions.
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This paper reviews the literature on mentorship and presents an intitial framework for research on mentor-protege relationships for both men and women. Critical dimensions of this framework include the context within which a mentor-protege relationship exists, the gender of these role partners, the characteristics each partner seeks in the other, the stages of the relationship, and the positive and negative outcomes accruing to the mentor, to the protege, and to their organization.