Mentoring as a development tool

Study Abroad

Mentoring is a process of nurturing whereby an experienced, highly regarded, empathic person (the mentor) guides another usually younger individual (the mentee) in the development and re-examination of their own ideas, learning and personal or professional development.

One of the recommendations of the National Education Policy (2020) is to develop mentorship by experienced, distinguished and retired faculty. The mentorship program for students is a requirement of the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC). The mentor programme is of two types.

Faculty mentorship programmes

New faculty need to undergo an institutional familiarisation programme in order to familiarise them with the culture and ethos of the institution. They need to understand various programmes and courses, good teaching practices, pedagogical tools and other related matters to become an effective member of the faculty team in the Higher Education Institution (HEI).

Each new faculty member may be assigned a faculty mentor having a long tenure and an exemplary track record in the institute. A self-assessment tracking system must be in place to encourage faculty to assess their own progress.

Student mentorship programmes

The leadership in the HEI must recognise and identify the need for mentoring students on campus. There should be a process in place to promote and support a mentoring programme for student development and progression. Guidelines for mentoring programmes should be developed.

All the teachers, as mentors, should be trained in mentoring programmes by an expert. Each student of the institute should be assigned to a teacher as a mentor during the induction programme. Usually, a teacher as a mentor is assigned 8-10 mentees. Teachers as mentors must invest in student development.

A mentor may choose one of the following three models as a framework for mentoring process based on the objectives of the mentoring programme.

The 5C’s model

This model supports a mentorship program to focus on a particular set of challenges or has a range of options to decide on. Each letter “C” of the 5Cs Model stands for a stage in the process:

• Challenges: An issue or problem the mentee is currently facing
• Choices: The options available to the mentee for dealing with the issue or problem
• Consequences: The consequences of choosing one option over another
• Creative Solutions: Other solutions that you and your mentee might come up with during the discussion
• Conclusion: A decision about what to do next and a commitment to take action

G-STAR model

This model can provide useful structure to mentoring conversations, particularly if the mentee is facing a specific issue or has a specific goal to achieve. Each letter of the G-STAR stands for a stage in the process:

• What are the mentee’s GOALS?
• What SITUATION is mentee facing?
• What is the mentee THINKING?
• What ACTIONS is he considering?
• What RESULTS does he/she expect?

GROW model

Each letter of the GROW model stands for a stage in the process. Throughout the process, the mentor arranges the tools and techniques to encourage the mentee to think about his situation and his goal.

• G: Goal (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic Timely - SMART)
• R: Reality
• O: Options
• W: Way forward (or ‘will’)

Qualities of a good mentor

An effective mentor should have qualities such as a positive attitude, active listening skills, problem-solving abilities, emotional intelligence, compassion, subject knowledge, eagerness to invest time and energy in others, ability to motivate others and non-judgmental.

Benefits of mentoring

• Creating a learning organisation
• Dissemination of the vision, mission and values of HEI
• Improving work culture
• Contributing to personal and professional development
• Reducing student dropout, improving employee retention and enhancing engagement.

(The author is a retired professor and consultant)