Browsing by Subject "Mentoring"

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African American and West African males’ perceptions of mentoring: Exploring the role of Cultural Intelligence
(2015-09) Omari, Abdul
The current study used qualitative methods to explore the perceptions of mentoring for West African and African American males in Minnesota. A semi-structured interview protocol was used to conduct 16 in-depth interviews, which led to over 18 hours of interview data. Three research questions were addressed: How do West African and African American males define and describe mentoring? How do West African and African American males perceive their relationship with mentors in the Northern Star Mentoring Program? What do African American and West African males identify as characteristics of effective mentoring relationships? A total of 55 codes and 16 themes emerged. These themes were grouped into four domains. Several findings emerged about the mentoring process, mentoring relationships, mentoring effectiveness, and mentoring practices. Findings show that there are various definitions of mentoring, descriptions and experiences with the mentoring process, and various conceptualizations of effective mentoring. Second, there are large intersections between mentoring components. Third, mentors and mentees perceive a need for more than one mentor and recognize the effectiveness of having more than one mentor. Fourth, all mentoring relationships should be approached from an emic yet fluid perspective and assume that they all have unique dynamics and individual nuances. Finally, while there is an overwhelming need for mentors in multiple areas of a person’s life, participants perceive that mentoring during transitions could be the most impactful.
Beyond The Barriers: Women-To-Women Mentoring In/To Secondary School And Central Office Leadership
(2015-04) Anderson-Hume, Bobbi
Despite the fact that the pool from which most school leaders come is made up of a majority of women, most school leaders are men. Notwithstanding extensive research regarding this issue, the number of women principals in secondary schools and in the office of the superintendent remains low. The barriers, for those women not hired, identified by the reviewed literature can be classified as issues of job structure, age, and career paths. Because these issues are ones connected to women's family and domestic responsibilities, a simple solution for increasing the number of women school leaders has remained elusive. However, one barrier, a lack of mentors, has not been as widely explored. The impact a mentor has is undeniable and having a role model serves to make positions of school leadership more achievable. Further, having a woman mentor not only identifies the barriers, but also allows an aspiring women school leader assistance in their navigation. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the concept and practice of women-to-women mentoring through the perceptions of women school leaders who were seated secondary school principals, assistant principals, and superintendents, and are or were mentored by other women school leaders. Specific questions included: 1) How do study participants perceive the concept and practice of mentoring? 2) What are the lived experiences of women who have been mentored by women school leaders? 3) Why and how are or are not study participants supporting, through mentoring, other women who aspire to school leadership? This qualitative study, used interviews, observations, and documents/artifacts to gather data regarding the concept and practice of women-to-women mentoring. A phenomenological approach, including bracketing and reduction, was used to bring forth the prominent themes. Findings emphasized and illustrated original learning in the areas of: 1) mentor theory, 2) the practice of mentoring school leaders, 3) women-to-women mentoring, 4) the specific needs of women school leaders, 5) the gender of the mentor, 6) benefits to mentoring for women, 7) misuses of mentoring, and 8) a seated woman leaders choice to mentor.
Crossing cultures: a qualitative Study of expatriate experiences with mentors during international assignments.
(2011-05) Cooper, Diana C.
In response to the changing global business environment and to contribute to scholarly work in the areas of expatriate adjustment, mentoring, and organization and employee development, this study explores ways expatriates experience mentoring and social support while working for multinational enterprises in different cultural contexts. Extant research on cultural dimensions, leadership development, and international assignees indicates that cultural factors affect work behavior and, thus, organization performance. In the wake of conflicting findings from studies on expatriates with mentors, hermeneutic inquiry was used to interpret narratives collected from thirteen international assignees of four nationalities to gain new knowledge about mentors in an international context. The findings indicate that the construct of mentors is defined by the cultural background of the mentor and protégé, calling into question “traditional measures” (Mezias & Scandura, 2005) of mentoring developed in the US scholarly community to assess mentor outcomes. The expatriates in this study showed an eagerness to learn and sensitivity to cultural differences, evolving into mentor roles themselves, guiding host country colleagues and home country leaders to find intercultural solutions to accomplish the organizational development goals. Although the integration of expatriate knowledge gained on overseas operations is at the core of leadership development lessons for those who aspire to roles as future global managers in transnational organizations (Adler, 2008; Bartlett & Ghoshal, 2003; Dalton, 1998; Harvey et al., 1999; Kanter, 1995) the majority of organizations represented in this study failed to go “beyond skill formation and competence creation, to embrace the diffusion and transmission of knowledge across borders and cultures” (Kamoche, 2000, p.769). These findings from the rich description of the expatriate experience reveal new knowledge, challenges and opportunities for study of organizations striving to build talent suitable for transnational leadership positions.
Development and Evaluation of a Cellular Phone Based Teen Driver Support System
(University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, 2009-08) Creaser, J.; Hoglund, R.; Manser, M.; Donath, M.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers with speeding, seat belt non-compliance, alcohol involvement, and distractions serving as the primary contributors to this unacceptably high crash rate. In an effort to mitigate this situation, a prototype teen driver support system (TDSS) has been designed and developed. This computer-based system provides real-time feedback to teens regarding speed limit violations and warns of upcoming speed zone changes. A unique feature of this system is that speed limit feedback is relative to the speed limit posted on the roadway on which the teen is driving. By informing teens of speeding behavior, it is hoped that this system will reduce teen crash rates. This project includes a description of the TDSS features and specifications for how the TDSS operates using the Smart Phone technology. A small usability study was completed as part of the project where teen drivers (aged 18-19) drove with and without the system. Overall, the pilot study demonstrated that the TDSS could operate effectively within a vehicle driven by a teen driver. Warnings and messages were presented to the drivers and corresponding text messages were sent when drivers failed to alter their behavior in relation to a warning. The performance data trended in the direction expected, with the TDSS encouraging lower speeds and less speeding overall. The teen participants reported that very little mental effort was required to interact with the TDSS while driving, but they also reported the system increased their perceptions of stress while driving. The second phase of the study proposed the information that should be presented in the real-time text messages and to parents in a weekly report. A potential weekly report format is described. Finally, the project identified the issues associated with using the TDSS as an additional tool to support GDL programs.
The Effects of Outdoor Education Mentoring on Teacher Job Satisfaction
(2012) Erickson, Deanna M
A strong relationship has been demonstrated between mentoring and job satisfaction in research across multiple fields. Job satisfaction is also a key indicator of teacher retention. A few programs in the US are using mentoring to incorporate outdoor education into teacher pedagogy and the broader public school system. In this model, experienced outdoor educators work with teachers individually over a period of time to model curriculum and to provide feedback, logistical and personal support in incorporating this method into the classroom. A case study investigation in the Bioregional Outdoor Education Project on the Colorado Plateau found that outdoor education mentoring resulted in increased use of outdoor education by teachers, reports of enhanced student achievement, especially engagement, and positive change in teacher feelings of satisfaction with work. Meaningful benefits that result from incorporating outdoor education may increase the likelihood that teachers continue to use this method, a topic for future investigation. Infusing outdoor education through the curriculum with the help of mentors may offer a potential means of school reform, if support from peer teachers and administrators is garnered through information about the potential benefits to both students and teachers.
Entanglements of Teenage Motherhood Identities: A Critical Ethnography within a Community-Based Organization
(2017-05) LoBello, Jana
The social construction of adolescence as a distinct developmental stage is based on a hierarchy of age, race, social class, and gender that affords some individuals with the privileges of full participation in the United States yet positions others as subordinate within the progress of the nation (Lesko, 2012). The organization of school as an institution relies on the assumption that development occurs in linear stages where grade levels and labels such as elementary, middle, and high school predict certain characteristics found within each context. Oftentimes, teenage mothers are positioned as those subordinate or deficit within these formal systems of education as they do not “fit” into these traditional labeling practices. Negative labels such as “stupid slut”, “teen rebel, teen mom”, “the girl nobody loved” and “dropouts” show evidence of this deficit mindset (Kelly, 2000). The impact of such labels manifests themselves in perceptions of disengagement within formal school settings (Kalil, 2002; Kalil & Ziol-Guest, 2008) and the policing of aged, racial, social classed, and gendered bodies (Jones, 2007). The purpose of this critical, ethnographic study is to deeply explore the experiences of teenage mothers participating in a community-based organization (CBO) as potential opportunities to take up issues of age, race, gender, sexuality, motherhood, and social class within their ongoing identity construction and schooling experiences. This study takes a critical perspective on the social construction of adolescence in order to contribute to scholarly work that attends to how teenage mothers are socially, politically, and educationally positioned within Western schooling and society. By focusing on hybridity and the intersectionality of identities this research pays attention to the ways in which educational practices have been both disrupted and maintained discriminatory when conceptualizing what it means to educate and involve teenage mothers and their children within existing systems. Findings show that the chronological passing of time as well as the physical representation of the pregnant female figure is reflected within women’s stories as one form of oppression and/or agentic negotiation. Additionally, mixed perceptions around if and how local and alternative high schools provide space for the hybridity and intersectionality of teenage mothering identities was engaged by participants within embodied “fitting in” or “pushed out” discourses. These perceptions seek to complicate traditional practices and identities of student, athlete, and parent within formalized educational spaces. Also, Real Moms both provides opportunity for authentic senses of caring (Noddings, 2005) as well as has limitations in “protecting” participants from the risks of being vulnerable within relationship and storytelling. This study will extend the literature by looking at the ways in which teenage mothers are both disrupting and reinscribing discourses of chronological developmental stage theories (Lesko, 2002; Lesko, 2012) by attending to the multitude of social factors that influence the cultural construction of adolescence and adolescents (Vagle, 2012). Additionally, this work looks at how schools are sites for the perpetuation of social contracts that implicitly exclude or push out specific student identities, such as race, social class, and teenage motherhood that do not adhere or assimilate to existing normalized practices (Milner, 2015; Noguera, 2003). For example, the quarantining of teenage mothers into all-female alternative schools or limited participation within local schools attempts to de-sexualize female students against discourses of desire (Fine, 1993). In thinking about authentic, caring relationships (Noddings, 2005), this study also complicates the notion of creative, narrative expression as an automatic form of empowerment as opportunities for vulnerable storytelling stir up both damaging stereotypes (Edell, 2013) and self-interpretations of empowerment (Kelly, 1997). By contextualizing the lived experiences of the female teenage mothers and mentors within this community-based organization, this study thoughtfully and reflexively attends to the existing discourses of teenage motherhood.
Memorable Messages from Mentors: A Qualitative Study of First-Generation Graduate Students
(2019-04) Ojeda, Opal
This study’s inquiry aimed to examine the mentoring experiences of first-generation graduate students, meaning first-generation college students who are currently enrolled in graduate school. Mentors can provide guidance for first-generation graduate students and can have a positive impact on their experience of the graduate school process. This study examined the impact of mentoring relationships on first-generation graduate students and the memorable messages they received from these mentors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen first-generation college students who were currently in doctoral programs. Using the qualitative research approach of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), predominant domains and themes were created to provide a rich description of the entire data set. A total of three overarching domains were identified with ten themes within them. Domains covered the areas of 1) Creating a Positive Relationship, 2) Navigating the World of Higher Education, and 3) Supporting the Emotional Needs of Students. Participants emphasized how mentors created positive mentoring relationships. These relationships often began through connecting over shared backgrounds or interests and then deepened through the supportive environment that mentors created. Within the supportive environment, mentors were open to both a personal and professional relationship with their mentees. Participants also reported that their mentors helped them to navigate higher education. This was done by helping participants with the application process to graduate school and providing them with opportunities that were needed to make them competitive applicants. Mentors also assisted students in navigating the culture of graduate school and in guiding their career paths. Finally, participants stated that mentors supported their emotional needs. This was done in a variety of ways including encouraging students to attend graduate school, building up students’ confidence that they can be successful in graduate school, and increasing students’ sense of belonging in graduate school. Discussion of research recommendations and implications for training and practice are included.
Mentoring in the Moment: Influences of online cultural mentoring on in-country learning and intercultural competencies
(2013-12) Smith, Ann Lynn
The assumption that sending students abroad for extended periods of time will lead to increased understanding of others, one's place in the world, and increased skills required to navigate cross cultural interactions does not hold up in the literature. Recent research in the field of international and intercultural education calls practitioners and policy makers to integrate a formal intercultural education component into the study abroad experience. There is still much to be learned about the effectiveness and impacts of these "interventions". Through an investigation of one of the largest and most established online cultural mentoring courses offered, Global Identity (University of Minnesota), this study aims to show student perceptions and impacts of online cultural mentoring at various stages of the experience. The research questions are: 1) In what ways and to what degree does an online cultural mentoring intervention influence the in-country learning experience? 2) In what ways and to what degree does on-line cultural mentoring influence broader intercultural competencies (intercultural development and/or global-mindedness)? 3) In what ways and to what degree does an on-line cultural intervention influence the way in which participants value, see relevance in, identify and articulate intercultural skills and perspectives in their lives today? A mixed methods approach is utilized, using both quantitative and qualitative methods for purposes of triangulation of data as well as achieving deeper understanding and further explanation of quantitative findings. The population consists of students who studied abroad between Fall 2008 and Fall 2011. Using a matched pair design, students who also participated in an online cultural mentoring (OCM) course were matched statistically to students not exposed to the course. Results suggest significant positive effects of OCM on in-country learning and broader intercultural competencies and skills. These findings, in combination with its relatively low operating and administration cost, suggest that OCM shows promise as a feasible and scalable cultural mentoring option. Qualitative analysis largely supports the quantitative findings and sheds additional light on subtle but important differences in how OCM participants articulate and value intercultural skills and perspectives, compared to non-OCM participants. Policy implications and research recommendations are offered.
Mentoring Relationships in Angling Education: Expert's Perspectives on the Essential Components of a Successful Mentoring Program
(2012) Ryan, Daniel Paul
The purpose of this study was to identify what experts in the field of angling education believe a mentoring program should encompass. The study gathered angling educators’ perspectives in an effort to identify what they believe a mentoring program in angling education should entail so that it leads to increased participation and responsible stewardship behavior. This research is relevant to outdoor educators and recreation professionals as it may identify a tool for increasing participation in angling. It may be possible to adapt the tactic to other types of nature-based outdoor recreation.
Mentoring to change self-concept: a phenomenological study.
(2012-08) Blasen, Kristina M.
Mentoring to Change Self-Concept: A Phenomenological Study. This qualitative research study uses a multi-disciplinary research framework to explore mentoring as an intervention to change self-concept for adults. It applies a phenomenological approach and suggests that it is important to explore mentoring as an intervention to assist in the positive self-concept formation of women. It investigates whether or not mentoring may be a viable alternative or a valuable addition to traditional “work now” welfare-to-work programs which suffer from an inability to keep up with changing economic needs. Furthermore, it suggests that alternative welfare-to-work programs that promote positive work-related identity changes for women on welfare that can assist them with making the transition from welfare to work are needed. The researcher interviewed 12 women participating in a voluntary welfare to work mentoring program hosted by a non-profit, Dress for Success, about their experiences transitioning from welfare to work with the help of mentoring. The researcher explored stories about their work experiences and sense of work identity to better understand this time of transition in their lives. Findings show the importance of understanding the lived experience of women transitioning off of welfare and providing an outlet to give a “voice” to the traditionally underrepresented group that can get their stories in front of policymakers. Lastly, it discusses how mentoring programs designed for low income women transitioning from welfare-to-work may increase the positive “possible selves” of low income women and mothers and it seeks to understand the lived experience of self-concept transformation that is required for them to successfully transition off of welfare. Keywords: work-related identity change in adults, mentoring-based welfare-to-work programs, transformative mentoring, phenomenology.
Oral history interview with Beth Eddy
(Charles Babbage Institute, 2015-12-10) Eddy, Beth
Beth Eddy grew up in rural New York state then graduated with a math degree from Elmhurst College (outside Chicago). She accepted a job in 1966 at Western Electric working on the pioneering ESS, initially in downtown Chicago and then relocating to the Bell Labs Indian Hill facility in Naperville. Her work involved assembly or machine language programming, eventually COBOL, supporting large databases for the ESS project. After three years, she moved into installation engineering for ESS. She describes tactics for women’s “voice” to be effectively heard in meetings. She led a protest against a men-only ‘Stag Picnic’ (described also in Lois Herr’s Women, Power and AT&T [2002]). With a promotion to department chief, she became the earliest women in Western Electric management. To achieve salary parity, she arranged a transfer to AT&T headquarters and worked in maintenance engineering, another male-dominated area, returning to Indian Hill (around 1980) as assistant manager of the data center and a development group. She then took on supervisory positions in Human Relations, building construction, software development, and switching installation. She discusses strategies for attracting women and African-American staff as well as managing a diverse workforce. She shares observations on the 1970s women’s movement and its subsequent evolution. This material is based on work funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation award B2014-07 “Tripling Women’s Participation in Computing (1965-1985).”
Oral history interview with Dana Becker Dunn
(Charles Babbage Institute, 2016-01-07) Dunn, Dana Becker
Dana Becker Dunn graduated from a rural Illinois high school, then attended Southern Illinois University as a math major taking numerous computing courses and graduating in 1972. She joined Bells Labs as one of the last STA ‘courtship’ hires, completing a master’s in electrical engineering and computer science from Northwestern University. Her technical career began in operating systems programming, with a specialty in relational databases; then she was promoted into supervisory positions in the AT&T headquarters in New Jersey. As a Sloan Fellow she completed an executive MBA at MIT in 1984 then went to work for AT&T information systems division. Among her managerial responsibilities were connecting marketing and technical staffs; overseeing large operational groups in marketing and communications; and in 1994 separating Lucent Technologies from AT&T. She retired in 2001 as an officer of Avaya. She reflects on the transformation of women’s issues within AT&T, including a suggestion that with overt forms of discrimination largely banished, it may have ‘gone underground’ and be more difficult to locate. This material is based on work funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation award B2014-07 “Tripling Women’s Participation in Computing (1965-1985).”
Oral history interview with Fran Chessler
(Charles Babbage Institute, 2016-01-14) Chessler, Fran
Fran Chessler attended the University of Michigan as a General Motors Scholar, majoring in mathematics and psychology and graduating in 1970. She went to work at Bell Labs Naperville, working on assembly-language programming to collect call data for 1ESS. She discusses the gender biases in the STA and MTS hiring grades. Promoted to MTS she did a master’s at Northwestern University. She discusses affirmative action and the distinct culture of Bell Labs Indian Hill/Naperville. In part owing to connections from the Men and Women in the Work Environment workshops, she moved to the computer center department doing systems programming on IBM computers. She describes an effective management style by her supervisor, Dana Dunn. She moved into a department chief position at Western Electric’s network system division, and compares affirmative action there to Bell Labs. In the mid-1980s she experienced unsettled times in AT&T computer systems, then returned to Bell Labs (all in Chicago) as a supervisor. In moving to the business side as senior product manager, she completed an executive MBA at Northwestern University; and retired from AT&T in 2001. This material is based on work funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation award B2014-07 “Tripling Women’s Participation in Computing (1965-1985).”
Oral history interview with Jo Anne Miller
(Charles Babbage Institute, 2016-01-04) Miller, Jo Anne
Jo Anne Miller graduated in December 1967 with a degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan, where she had experience with computer programming. She took a job in Boston at GTE Sylvania working on military projects, then moved to St. Louis (when her husband was drafted) and ran a computer center at Parks College of St. Louis University, then did research at University of Colorado where she worked on a Master’s degree. She was recruited (a second time) by Bell Labs and began work at Bell Labs Naperville in March 1976, as a Member of Technical Staff working in software restructuring for electronic switching systems. She describes her experience with affirmative action, the women’s movement, and work culture and career expectations at Bell Labs. In 1978 she became a technical supervisor for 5ESS software development, relating short-term rotational experiences with installing 5ESS in California and in southern Illinois. She describes challenges advocating for part-time managerial positions, child care, and suggests there were changes in the support for affirmative action in the 1980s. Working for the Western Electric organization in the mid-1980s, she completed an executive MBA at the University of Chicago. After leaving Bell she became involved with MentorNet in 2003 and in investing in women-backed businesses. This material is based on work funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation award B2014-07 “Tripling Women’s Participation in Computing (1965-1985).”
Oral history interview with Lynne Anderson
(Charles Babbage Institute, 2015-11-12) Anderson, Lynne
Lynne Anderson grew up in Moorhead, Minnesota, and graduated in 1985 with an electrical engineering degree from North Dakota State University. She joined Sperry (later Lockheed Martin) working at Plant 8 in Eagan, Minnesota (where she worked for 28 years). She joined an electrical engineering design group, and worked on a variety of military aircraft and avionics projects, including the F-4, P-3, P-4 and others. She offers a close description of the design and specification-writing processes, along with the design reviews that accompanied these projects. She discusses her experiences in working with male-heavy teams as well as the characteristics of effective project management. She rotated through several high-profile areas, including cost engineering, project engineering, and program management that gave her wide insight into Sperry/Lockheed projects. Much of her work involved proposal development and project management. Later programs she was involved with were the Q-70 and Joint Strike Fighter. She shares observations about the change in management style with Lockheed Martin’s ownership. This material is based on work funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation award B2014-07 “Tripling Women’s Participation in Computing (1965-1985).”
Oral history interview with Marda Higdon Jones
(Charles Babbage Institute, 2016-01-06) Jones, Marda Higdon
Marda Higdon Jones went to high school in Iowa City and attended Iowa State University, graduating in 1972 with a major in mathematics and minor in computer science, and accepting a job with Bell Labs in Naperville, IL. In 1976, after being promoted to MTS, she completed a master’s degree at Northwestern University (and, later, an executive MBA from Columbia University). She discuses the influence on her and her colleagues of the 1970s women’s movement and affirmative action programs at AT&T, including the Men and Women in the Work Environment and Urban Minorities workshops. In the 1970s she worked in software development, then after a one-year rotational assignment in New Jersey, she returned to Naperville in a managerial position and then moved to Holmdel, NJ, as department head in systems engineering then division manager for network architecture. In 1988 she was promoted to director at Bell Labs, and the interview relates several instances of managerial and personnel challenges. She joined Lucent Technologies, the Bell Labs spin-off, in 1996 and retired in 2000. She reflects on 1970s-era gendered images of ‘electrical engineer’ and ‘computer scientist’. This material is based on work funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation award B2014-07 “Tripling Women’s Participation in Computing (1965-1985).”
Oral history interview with Mary Shutt
(Charles Babbage Institute, 2015-11-06) Shutt, Mary
Mary Shutt graduated from Purdue University in 1980 with a degree in industrial engineering, finding it a supportive educational environment. After interviewing with a number of companies, she landed a job offer with Sperry Univac in the Twin Cities. Her first responsibilities were material-based planning and manpower projections, working initially at Univac’s Shepard Road factory site. She became a specialist with Univac’s MAPPER software, suitably modified to calculate real-time “what-if” scenarios that were useful in proposal preparation and planning (for example) for the UYK-43 and UYK-44 programs. Subsequently, she worked with industrial automation and factory design, then moved into proposal development, project management, and contracts. A major effort was the Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). When Lockheed Martin’s Eagan facility closed, she moved to PDA which continued work for the U.S. Navy. She remarks on changes she observed in corporate culture with the Unisys merger and Lockheed Martin management. This material is based on work funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation award B2014-07 “Tripling Women’s Participation in Computing (1965-1985).”
The state of new teacher support programs in Minnesota public schools.
(2009-08) Bertucci, John Anthony
Teachers leave the profession at an alarming rate and, many times, the most talented among them (Henry, 1989; Heyns, 1988; Schlechty & Vance, 1981, cited in Gold, 1996; Shen, 1997). Historically and, even sometimes still today, there often has been little support for new teachers. To retain a sufficient number and quality of teachers, it is imperative that districts find solutions. This study aimed to examine the presence and quality of new teacher support programs as one means of providing intentional support to new teachers. The study included a conceptual framework based on the literature to help districts envision the process of implementation and maintenance of new teacher support programs. The study provided a 79 question online survey to staff development coordinators in all of the public school districts in the state of Minnesota. Specifically, letters and follow-up post cards were sent to the coordinators indicating the purpose of the study and providing a link to the online survey. The response rate to the survey was disappointingly low with only 45 of the 339 districts responding. The low response rate raised concerns about the representative nature and validity of the response set. Timing of survey administration likely hindered the response rate. The survey was sent toward the end of the school year and the state education agency had sent a survey to essentially the same respondent group not long before the survey of the present study was sent. No correlations were conducted but some qualified summary statements were suggested from the data that were returned. Of the districts that responded all of the 45 indicated that they have some form of new teacher supports and many offered evidence to suggest that best practices, such as providing mentors and focused workshops, allowing time for teachers to meet, observe, teach, and learn from experienced teachers, were in place. Responding districts also indicated common facilitators of new teacher support programs, including budgets and leadership, as well as common challenges for implementing and maintaining a high quality new teacher support system, such as funding, lack of training opportunities, and lack of leadership.
Structuring synchronicity: mentoring as a component of leadership development programs in higher education
(2014-04) Bonebright, Denise Annette
The need to develop a pool of well-qualified future leaders is a key concern for human resource development scholars and practitioners in higher education. Research indicates that formal leadership development programs are most effective when they are based on experiential models. Mentoring is one experiential component that can enhance such programs by providing context, opportunities to develop and practice leadership behaviors, and assistance with career decision making.This study was a qualitative case study of a leadership development program, the Minnesota Partnership for Executive Leader Development, which included a variety of mentoring options. Two units of analysis were embedded in the case. By examining the program from the viewpoint of the sponsoring organizations and individual participants, the study sought to understand the organizational intent for mentoring and how it was experienced by the cohort members. Findings indicated that mentoring is most effective when activities occur within a formal structure that is grounded in a clearly articulated set of program goals and expectations and when the activities take into account the individual needs, circumstances, and experiences of the program participants. The research related to design of formal mentoring programs is limited. This study added to the literature by proposing a definition of mentoring, identifying mentee characteristics that may influence mentoring outcomes, and proposing mentoring strategies that may be appropriate for meeting specific types of program goals. Results can be used to inform development of similar mentoring programs within higher education.

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