Literature Review

Mentoring efficiency: and the role it plays

in a

Higher Educational Environment

Henry Sanchez

LDRS 595

Dr. Barron

September 25, 2018

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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the efficiency of mentoring students in

higher education environment. Through my literature review I found there to be beneficial

outcomes in being a mentor to students in higher education. With the process of the mentoring

process becoming popular in higher education and on many university and college campuses, it

is my goal to gain a deeper understanding of mentoring effectiveness through existing research

studies. It is my goal to increase the awareness of research studies and knowledge regarding the

efficiency of mentoring and the important roles that demonstrated by the influence and impact

the mentor has with their mentee.

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Today in many College campuses, in leadership studies there is leadership competency

called “Inspiring developer” and one of the main components of this competency is mentoring. It

is a competency in which a person engages intentionally to create collaborative and

developmental environment through a mentoring process. For this study, the decision to focus on

the efficiency of mentoring in higher education and the main objective is to gain further insight

into research on the mentoring process in a high educational environment. As a student of the

MAiL program at Azusa Pacific University, the study of mentor efficiency has shown to be a

foundational topic when describing foundational component of a leadership competency of an

Inspiring developer.

For this study in my Literature review, my goal is to get a deep understanding of factors that

are related to mentoring such as: importance of mentoring, benefit of the mentor process, role

models, and the transformational experience. For example, the mentoring practices includes 1)

welcoming, 2) mapping the future, 3) teaching the job, 4) supporting the transition, 5) providing

protection, and 6) equipping for leadership (Jakubik, L. D. , 2016). These practices’ play an

important part of establishing the mentoring process in a university or colleges campus, which

allow the mentor to engage in an educational environment.

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Review of Literature
Introduction

In order to build upon the literature review, the conceptual frame work pertaining to

mentoring and higher education, I have decided to conduct a literature review covering the topic

of mentoring and how efficient of roles it plays in a higher educational environment. The

gathering of literature resources reveals that mentoring plays an important factor in promoting

growth, leadership, and academic development in mentoring relationship between and student

and faculty/staff in a educational environment. Through the literature review, I will cover the

frame work pertaining to the importance of mentoring, benefit of the mentor process, role model

mentors, and the transformational experience.

Important of mentoring

To explore how mentoring is efficient among leaders and students in a higher education, we

need to gain an understanding of what exactly a mentor is and the important role a leader plays

as an inspiring developer in mentoring process of an another individuals journey in life. A Study

conducted reveals the process of mentoring can be traced back all the way to Greek mythology.

Where leaders would go off to war and ask a trusted leader to watch over their son. Since then,

mentors have been referred to as advisors coaches teachers and advocates (Gotian,2016). This

demonstrates how a leadership role to inspire and influence their Protege as an adviser, teacher

and to engage in a relationship as a mentor for decades. According to researchers, the borderline

success research repeatedly observed the importance of faculty and student interaction and

mentorship to undergraduate students’ progress and success (Museus & Neville,2012).

According to (Crisp & Cruz, 2009) describes mentoring in four points according their study

such as:
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1. Mentoring relationships are focused on the growth and development of students and can

be constructed in various forms.

2. Mentoring experiences may include broad forms of support that include professional,

career, and emotional support.

3. Mentoring relationships relationship are personal and reciprocal.

4. Relative to their students, mentors, have more experience, influence, or achievement

within the educational environment.

The study reveals that mentors have a connection and relationship building process who are

involved in an engaging and developmental environment. According to Crisp, G., Baker, V. L.,

Griffin, K. A., Lunsford, L. G., and Pifer, M. J. (2017) notes mentorship involves an emotional

investment by both the mentor and protege to a caring and commitment to the professional and

personal development of the protege. Both individuals have responsibility in the relationship

and are aware of and interested in pursuing a mentorship. This reveals the importance

of the mentoring process in developing relationships and develop potential in others. The

mentoring process requires both mentor and mentee to willingly and responsibly to engage

in the mentor process to be effective.

Benefits of Mentoring

Regarding the benefits of mentoring, Jakubik, L. D. (2016) discovered that mentoring

benefits are those positive outcomes of mentoring relationships that are experienced by the

Protege and mentor and or the workplace. The mentoring benefits include belonging, career

optimism, competence, professional growth, security, and leadership readiness. In similar

research, Komarraju, M., Musulkin, S., and Bhattacharya, G. , (2010) expands further that

colleges and universities that actively foster such interaction are likely to realize benefits at
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the institutional and individual levels. In further research, Brittian, A. S., Sy, S. R., and Stokes,

J. E. (2009) highlights that mentoring programs and associated efforts can be effective means of

supporting student development and academic success. Some notable outcomes of mentoring

undergraduate students include increase in academic performance as measured on exam scores

and in grade point averages, and involvement in program related activities.

Role Modeling as a Mentor

To get an understanding of how being a role model is important is in mentor process, Fries,

B.S., and Snider, J. (2015) explains that role modeling critically is important in the mentoring

process for minorities. By their very existence, mentors provide proof that the journey can be

made. The mentor is able to speak into the lives and set the example that overcoming obstacles

in life, developing potential, and achieving goals are obtainable. In similar research, Komarraju,

M., Musulkin, S., and Bhattacharya, G. (2010) explains that substantive student-faculty

interaction had been found to have a positive impact on students and intellectual development.

These findings suggest that student-faculty interaction have a multidimensional influence on the

cognitive and emotional needs of students validating the importance of faculty members as role

models.

Transformational Learning Framework

In another research studies reveals a transformational framework to learning, engaging, and

mentoring, Sherman, J. D. B., and Burns, H. L. , (2015) describes BMPS “Burns model of

sustainability pedagogy” the process refers to opportunities to directly engage students in their

learning about sustainability. The teaching and learning sustainability should emphasize

experimental and participatory learning and according to Burns, the process is a key dimension

of the burns model because it prepares learners with skills, values, and relationships that can only
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be developed by direct participation. Furthermore, Burns (2011) explains BMSP utilizes a

method of ecological course design to integrate the content perspectives process and content

dimensions to create transformational learning experiences. The BMSP embodies the goals of

the sustainability education to empower learners with the ability to understand and solve

complex problems in order to make personal and collective changes that were created more just

and desirable Society.

Mentoring Experiences

In researching the effects of a mentoring program, according to Brittian, A. S., Sy, S. R., &

Stokes, J. E. (2009) Highlights that students participating in the mentorship programs were

surveyed to explore are you unique experiences with program these programs. While most

students 91% found mentorship programs to be helpful and informative, a small number of

students 9% reported negative experiences. Mentorship programs provide students (n =5) the

opportunity for personal growth through inspirational staff. In their critical review of “Mentoring

College Students” Crisp, G., & Cruz, I. (2009) found that a positive relationship between first

year Latina/Latino students’ perception of mentoring and their comfort with the university

environment.

Methodological strengths and weaknesses

In prior research studies Methodological strengths are revealed, according to Crisp, G., and

Cruz, I. (2009) “Mentoring college students: A critical review of the literature” states the

mentoring studies conducted between 1990 and 2007 have contributed to our understanding of

the positive impact of mentoring on indicators students success and the characteristics involved
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in mentoring experience. In addition, recent qualitative work has substantially expanded our

understanding how the mentoring is experienced by non-traditional college students. This

suggest that there is effective contributions to studies of mentoring and the impact it has on

student life.

Looking at the methodological weaknesses of mentoring study, Crisp, G., Baker, V. L.,

Griffin, K. A., Lunsford, L. G., & Pifer, M. J. (2017) “Mentoring Undergraduates” explains that

the present review identified methodological issues that continue to limit the researchers’

abilities to measure the cause-and-effect relationship between mentoring and various outcomes.

Also, assessment of programs effectiveness are almost always limited to the program objectives,

which are often not meaningfully connected to students’ relationships their mentors, making it

difficult to draw conclusions specific to the influence and impact of mentoring. Crisp, G.,

(2017) explains that another enduring limitation of the mentoring literature is the

underdevelopment and relative absence of theory available to guide the administration of

mentoring programs. Although there are a fair number of theories that aim to identify and define

the components of mentoring relationships, scholarship that sheds light on how mentoring is

related to student development, learning, and success was shown to be particularly limited.

In addition to weakness found, Crisp, G., & Cruz, I. (2009) point out that some qualitative

studies have also failed to provide a lack of clear operational definition, despite use of research

design that require a clear definition to properly examine the impact of the mentoring program or

intervention on some measures of student success.

In conclusion, In my literature review the research reveals significant findings regarding

the efficiency and process of being a mentor in a higher education environment. Also, how

students’ experience the being mentored, the existing research reveal that student s are
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influenced and impacted positively by engaging in a mentoring process. On the other hand, there

are some gaps in the research which is the lack of theory regarding mentoring process and that

the success rate of mentoring is limited.

References

Burns, H. 2011. “Teaching for Transformation: (Re)Designing Sustainability Courses Based on

Ecological Principles.” Journal of Sustainability Education 2: 1–15.

Brittian, A. S., Sy, S. R., & Stokes, J. E. (2009). Mentoring: Implications for African American

college students. Western Journal of Black Studies, 33(2), 87.

Crisp, G., & Cruz, I. (2009). Mentoring college students: A critical review of the literature

between 1990 and 2007. Research in Higher Education, 50(6), 525–545.

doi:10.1007/s11162-009-9130-2
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Crisp, G., Baker, V. L., Griffin, K. A., Lunsford, L. G., & Pifer, M. J. (2017). Mentoring

Undergraduate Students. ASHE Higher Education Report, 43(1), 7–103.

Fries, B. S., & Snider, J. (2015). Mentoring Outside the Line: The Importance of Authenticity,

Transparency, and Vulnerability in Effective Mentoring Relationships. New Directions for

Higher Education, 2015(171), 3–11.

GOTIAN, R. (2016). Mentoring the Mentors: Just Because You Have the Title Doesn’t Mean

You Know What You Are Doing. College Student Journal, 50(1), 1–4.

Jakubik, L. D. (2016). Leadership Series: “How To” for Mentoring. Part 1: An Overview of

Mentoring Practices and Mentoring Benefits. Pediatric Nursing, 42(1), 37–38.

Komarraju, M., Musulkin, S., & Bhattacharya, G. (2010). Role of student–faculty interactions

in developing college students’ academic self-concept, motivation, and achievement.

Journal of College Student Development, 51(3), 332–342.

Museus, S. D., & Neville, K. M. (2012). Delineating the ways that key institutional agents

provide racial minority students with access to social capital in college. Journal of College

Student Development, 53(3), 436–452. doi:10.1353/csd.2012.0042

Brittian, A. S., Sy, S. R., & Stokes, J. E. (2009). Mentoring: Implications for African American

college students. Western Journal of Black Studies, 33(2), 87.

Sherman, J. D. B., & Burns, H. L. (2015). ‘Radically different learning’: implementing

sustainability pedagogy in a university peer mentor program. Teaching in Higher Education,

20(3), 231–243.

Crisp, G., Baker, V. L., Griffin, K. A., Lunsford, L. G., & Pifer, M. J. (2017). Mentoring

Undergraduate Students. ASHE Higher Education Report, 43(1), 7–103.

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