Mentoring and Coaching

Perspectives of mentoring Student perspective: a good mentor is a nurturing teacher and a ‘knowledgeable friend’ (Bennett 2002) A mentor has multiple roles Requires setting of boundaries (Wilkes 2006) Optimises the helping nature of the interaction Excellent discussion on Mentoring can be found in Dietz, Jansen and Wadee (2006) pages 41 – 64. This workbook is available for free download (see reading list online). The workbook includes a number of scenarios which you might like to work through with colleagues and incorporate into your portoflio.

Core functions of a mentor Develop a personal relationship with the student Provide professional, emotional, psychological and moral support Direct, assist and guide the student’s career and professional development Role-modelling or ‘showing the way’ Develop trust, confidence and mutual respect between the student and mentor Encourage reciprocity within the relationship in terms of derived benefits

Requirements for mentorship Be aware of all the academic requirements for the programme Ensure that the student is aware of requirements and of possibilities for funding etc. Provide personal one-on-one support to student Be aware of needs of student Have the capacity to refer the student, when needed, to appropriate personnel for specialised academic or psycho-social support

Challenges of mentoring Developing dependence (Wilkes 2006) Dysfunctional relationship (Wilkes 2006) Can you think of more challenges?

What is coaching? Helping student researchers to clarify their life purpose, values and goals, and helping them to attain these goals in a creative and conscious way. A coach asks: “What is happening now?” and “What next?” rather than “Why?”

How are coaching and mentoring different? Focus Individual Performance Relationship Self selecting Pre-determined Source of influence Perceived value Position Personal returns Affirmation / learning Bias Biased in your favour Impartial Adapted from Starcevich (no date)

Coaching, mentoring and supervising? How are they the same? How are they different?