The Blackwell Handbook of Mentoring

A Multiple Perspectives Approach

Tammy D. Allen, Lillian T. Eby, Tammy D. Allen, Lillian T. Eby

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781444356151
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psicología
• Subtopic: Psicología industrial y organizacional

Cutting across the fields of psychology, management, education, counseling, social work, and sociology, The Blackwell Handbook of Mentoring reveals an innovative, multi-disciplinary approach to the practice and theory of mentoring.

• Provides a complete, multi-disciplinary look at the practice and theory of mentoring and demonstrates its advantages
  
• Brings together, for the first time, expert researchers from the three primary areas of mentoring: workplace, academy, and community
  
• Leading scholars provide critical analysis on important literature concerning theoretical approaches and methodological issues in the field
  
• Final section presents an integrated perspective on mentoring relationships and projects a future agenda for the field

Part I

Introduction

Chapter 1

Overview and Introduction

Tammy D. Allen and Lillian T. Eby

Interest in mentoring as a means to foster individual growth and development continues to flourish among researchers, practitioners, policymakers, educators, and the public at large. An impressive body of research has developed that has yielded insight into many aspects of the mentoring process. The majority of mentoring research has concentrated on three different focal points, mentoring of youth, student–faculty mentoring relationships, and mentoring within the workplace. Research has been conducted primarily within each of these three defined areas with limited consideration of similar research on mentoring found across areas. The isolated nature of mentoring research to date inspired the development of the current volume.

For the first time, the efforts of leading mentoring scholars focusing on different types of mentoring relationships are organized together to provide a comprehensive review of the broad field of mentoring research and practice. This book is designed as a cross-disciplinary volume that incorporates multiple perspectives on mentoring research. By bringing together several perspectives within one volume, researchers from various disciplines and areas of focus can readily become familiar with one another’s work. Comparisons across areas of mentoring scholarship and the subsequent integration of knowledge gained from these varied perspectives can help advance the overall state of mentoring theory, research, and practice.

Objectives for the Handbook

There is a growing realization among scientists from all disciplines that multidiscip-linary work is critical to answering the major research questions of the day. One objective of this handbook is to break down the disciplinary silos that exist in the field of mentoring. This is important because different areas of scholarship have unique perspectives and there is much to be learned by integrating existing knowledge across youth, student–faculty, and workplace mentoring. A second objective is to provide a single source for scholars interested in state-of-the-art reviews and critical analysis on mentoring. By bundling scholarship together in one comprehensive multidiscip-linary volume, we enable researchers and practitioners to obtain a richer and more inclusive perspective on the primary themes in mentoring research and practice today than has been available in the past. Finally, we aim to provide practitioners with empirically based, yet accessible information on the practice of mentoring. With the proliferation of formal mentoring programs and initiatives in community, educational, and organizational settings this volume is an important resource for those charged with developing, implementing, and evaluating mentoring programs.

Overview of Handbook Structure and Chapters

After this introduction, Part I of the handbook continues with a chapter on the evolution and definition of mentoring. This is important in that one common denominator across mentoring areas is the struggle to define the term (e.g., Applebaum, Ritchie, & Shapiro, 1994; Friday, Friday, & Green, 2004; Garvey, 2004; Gibb, 2003; Jacobi, 1991). It could be said that much of the empirical research concerning mentoring has focused primarily on substantive validity versus construct validity (Schwab, 1980). That is, the literature has been more concerned with understanding the relationship between mentoring and other constructs, rather than defining the nature of mentoring itself. More work is needed toward the development of comprehensive theoretical explanations of the mentoring construct. Eby, Rhodes, and Allen provide some initial advancement toward this goal and outline some of the ways that mentoring relationships differ from other types of relationships. Chapter 2 also provides the reader with an overview of the three types of mentoring relationships that are the focus of the handbook, youth mentoring, student–faculty mentoring, and workplace mentoring. We recommend that readers begin with chapter 2 as an overview for the entire volume.

Parts II–VI form the bulk of the book and their format is unlike typical edited volumes. Rather than bring together disconnected chapters from the three areas of mentoring focus, we identified five fundamental themes that were common to all areas of mentoring research. Authors from each of the three perspectives contributed chapters on each of the five themes. To minimize overlap, authors were asked to refer to literature and findings relevant only to their specific form of mentoring. For example, authors of the workplace mentoring chapters were careful not to use research regarding student–faculty mentoring. Our intent is for readers to be able to discern what research is generalizable across areas of study and what findings are unique to certain areas of study. The theme for Part II is mentoring theory and methodological issues, the theme for Part III is naturally occurring mentoring relationships, the theme for Part IV is benefits of mentoring relationships, the theme for Part V is diversity and mentoring, and the theme for Part VI is best practices for formal mentoring programs. At the end of each part is a “reflection” chapter. The reflection chapters provide a brief summary of the similarities and differences across the three areas of mentoring within each theme. For example, the first reflection chapter (chapter 6) integrates the information contained in the chapters on theoretical and methodological issues in youth (chapter 3), student–faculty (chapter 4), and workplace (chapter 5) mentoring.

Figure 1.1 Matrix of themed chapters

The chapters contained in Parts II–VI may be thought of in terms of a 5 × 4 matrix that considers the five themes and the various perspectives (see Figure 1.1). For example, a reader interested in focusing on youth mentoring relationships should turn to chapters, 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19. A reader interested in the benefits of mentoring across all areas would turn to chapters 11, 12, 13, and 14.

The final section of the handbook (Part VII) provides integrative ideas for viewing mentoring and suggestions for future research. In chapter 23, Bearman, Blake-Beard, Hunt, and Crosby discuss cross-cutting future directions for mentoring research. Their chapter raises provocative research ideas for scholars interested in better understanding mentoring relationships and integrating knowledge across the three types of mentoring discussed in this volume. They also challenge commonly held assumptions about mentoring in an effort to promote critical thinking on the topic. The volume concludes with chapter 24. Allen and Eby develop an integrative perspective of mentoring that considers multiple levels of development and multiple levels of analysis as applied to all types of mentoring relationships. They propose that fulfillment of the need to belong plays a central role in explaining why mentoring relationships are a powerful tool for individual growth and development.

The audience for this volume includes a wide range of scholars who are conducting research on all forms of mentoring relationships across a variety of contexts and disciplines. Professionals engaged in the design and delivery of formal mentoring programs will also benefit from this handbook, as will policy makers who have a stake in the successful delivery of mentoring programs. We hope that this handbook will be a useful resource to all interested in mentoring and serve as a guide for charting new directions in mentoring research, theory, and practice.

References

Applebaum, S. H., Ritchie, S., & Shapiro, B. T. (1994). Mentoring revisited: An organizational behaviour construct. International Journal of Career Management, 6, 3–10.

Friday, E., Friday, S. S., & Green, A. L. (2004). A reconceptualization of mentoring and sponsoring. Management Decision, 42, 628–644.

Garvey, B. (2004). The mentoring/counseling/coaching debate: Call a rose by any other name and perhaps it’s a bramble? Development and Learning in Organizations, 18, 6–8.

Gibb, S. (2003). What do we talk about when we talk about mentoring? Blooms and thorns. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 31, 39–49.

Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success. A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61, 505–532.

Schwab, D. P. (1980). Construct validity in organizational behavior. In L. L. Cummings & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 2, pp. 3–43). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Chapter 2

Definition and Evolution of Mentoring

Lillian T. Eby, Jean E. Rhodes, and Tammy D. Allen

The concept of mentoring dates back to Homer’s Odyssey and is discussed in many other literary works including Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing. Famous mentor–protégé pairs can be found in almost every profession, including science (e.g., Sigmund Freud mentored Carl Jung, Harry Harlow mentored Abraham Maslow), literature (e.g., Gertrude Stein mentored Ernest Hemingway, Saul Bellow mentored Phillip Roth), politics (e.g., George Wythe mentored Thomas Jefferson), the arts (e.g., Haydn mentored Beethoven), athletics (e.g., Phil Jackson mentored Michael Jordan, Dale Earnhardt Sr. mentored Michael Waltrip), and entertainment (e.g., Duke Ellington mentored Tony Bennett, Tina Turner mentored Mick Jagger). Mentoring has also made its way into popular culture. It is depicted in sitcoms, reality television shows, and featured in print media stories. In short, mentoring is everywhere, everyone thinks they know what mentoring is, and there is an intuitive belief that mentoring works (Rhodes, 2005; Wrightsman, 1981).

The prevalence of mentoring in our daily lives and our vernacular use of the term is a mixed blessing. On the positive side, it has generated considerable interest in the topic of mentoring. Scholars from various disciplines study the phenomenon and mentoring initiatives abound in educational, community, and business settings. Mentoring is discussed as a way to help reduce school dropout rates, increase academic achievement, promote self-identity and positive self-image, reduce risky behaviors, and facilitate career development (DuBois, Holloway, Valentine, & Cooper, 2002; Jacobi, 1991; Kram, 1985; Levinson et al., 1978). However, the application of mentoring to diverse settings and its broad scope of potential influence has created definitional and conceptual confusion about what is mentoring (Garvey & Alred, 2003; Hall, 2003; Jacobi, 1991; Peper, 1994). The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of pioneering and influential research that has shaped how scholars view mentoring, offer a definition of mentoring and differentiate it from other similar types of interpersonal relationships, and present an overview of three types of mentoring that are the focus of this book: youth mentoring, student–faculty mentoring, and workplace mentoring.

Pioneering and Influential Research on Mentoring

Scholarly interest in the role of mentoring in adult development is often traced to Levinson’s (Levinson et al., 1978) seminal study of human development. Levinson and colleagues provided a chronology of the lives of 40 men, focusing on developmental transitions and milestones that they experienced throughout the lifespan. Descriptive accounts of these men’s life experiences highlighted the important role that relationships play in human development: specifically, the relationship with a mentor. A mentor is described as a guide, teacher, counselor, and developer of skills who “facilitates the realization of the Dream” (p. 98), the vision that one has about the sort of life one wants as an adult. Levinson goes on to discuss the influential role of a mentor, elevating it to that of a parent when noting that not having a mentor or having poor mentoring is “the equivalent of poor parenting in childhood” (p. 338). Ainsworth (1989) also notes the powerful role of emotional attachments beyond childhood, suggesting that relationships with parent surrogates (e.g., teachers, coaches) play a critical role in healthy human development and psychological adjustment.

The important role that mentoring can play in adult development is supported by several other influential studies in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Vaillant (1977) studied some of the nation’s most outstanding men and found that those who were most successful tended to have a mentor in young adulthood. Likewise, Roche’s (1979) highly publicized Harvard Business Review article reported that two thirds of nearly 4,000 executives listed in the Who’s News column of the Wall Street Journal reported having a mentor. Moreover, executives with mentors reported earning more money at an early age, attaining higher levels of education, following a specific career plan, and feeling more satisfied with their careers. Kanter (1977) also discusses how those who make it to the top of an organization typically have a “rabbi” or “Godfather” to guide them along the way. These descriptive accounts of mentoring led the way for Kram’s (1985) pioneering qualitative study of 18 mentor–protégé dyads. This was the first in-depth study of mentoring in the workplace in which Kram delineated several key aspects of mentoring relationships such as the functions of mentoring, phases of a mentoring relationship, and complexities of cross-gender relationships. Kram’s study created a flurry of research on mentoring in the fields of education, psychology, and management.

Other streams of research during this same time period supported the important role that relationships with nonfamilial adults can have on individuals, especially college students. Educational research focused on how interactions with faculty outside the classroom influenced academic and affective outcomes among college students. Chickering’s (1969) conceptual model of college impact posited that informal student– faculty interaction positively influenced students’ intellectual development, academic achievement, career aspirations, and academic self-image. Empirical research supported these links, finding that informal contact with faculty related positively to a wide range of student outcomes (see Jacobi, 1991; Pascarella, 1980, for reviews). Two particularly influential works include a longitudinal study by Astin (1977) and another one by Wilson, Gaff, Dienst, Wood, and Bavry (1975). Both studies concluded that student–faculty interaction ...