Turner - Mentoring as transformative practice: supporting student and faculty diversity

MENTORING AS TRANSFORMATIVE PRACTICE: SUPPORTING STUDENT AND FACULTY DIVERSITY
Caroline S. Turner
New Directions for Higher Education, no. 171
Betsy O. Barefoot and Jillian L. Kinzie, Co-editors

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Research on diverse students and faculty in academe invariably identifies mentoring as critical to their persistence and advancement (Turner & Gonzlez, 2014; Turner, Gonzlez, & Wood, 2008). Definitions of mentoring vary in concept and practice due to its complex and highly individualized nature. Blackwell's (1989) definition was used to begin discussions for this special issue. Blackwell defines mentorship as a process in which a person of superior rank, achievement, and prestige counsels, instructs, and guides the intellectual development of his or her mentee(s). This process can also guide the protg's social and career development. In essence, the mentorship relationship is one that is built on trust and can result in lifelong, bidirectional benefits for both the mentor and the protg. Delving into the nuances of the mentoring relationship, researchers conclude, The goal of mentoring is not simply to teach the system, but also to change the system so that it becomes more flexible and responsive to the needs and pathways of its membersmentors and protgs (Bernstein, Jacobson, & Russo, 2010, p. 58).

In Mentoring as Transformative Practice: Supporting Student and Faculty Diversity, several education scholars, recognized for their contributions as mentors, provide the reader with chapters describing their successes. They articulate the emergence of successful interpersonal mentoring relationships and mentoring programs. Chapters 1 through 5 provide insights into mentorprotg relationships for men and women of color, within and across race and gender. They illustrate the importance of investing in the relationship-building process, of mentoring practices as social justice work, and of creating affirming learning environments. Chapters 6 and 7 describe the development of online and in-person mentoring programs that support resiliency, self-efficacy, and the expansion of supportive networks for women and minorities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Chapters 8 through 10 delineate research-based programs targeted to promote college success for Latino males, to explicate a Latina faculty peer mentoring program based on a pedagogy for equity, and to present an interdisciplinary academic writing program based on enacting feminist alliance principles. In sum, the authors not only provide guiding principles underlying successful mentorships, interpersonally and programmatically, but also point to the potential of mentoring, in the many forms presented here, to profoundly transform higher education to better serve the needs of all its members.

Editor

1. Bernstein, B. L., Jacobson, R., & Russo, N. F. (2010). Mentoring women in context: Focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. In C. A. Rayburn, F. L. Denmark, M. E. Reuder, & A. M. Austria (Eds.), The Praeger handbook for women mentors: Transcending barriers of stereotype, race, and ethnicity (pp. 4364). Westport, CT: Praeger.
2. Blackwell, J. E. (1989). Mentoring: An action strategy for increasing minority faculty. Academe, 75(5), 814.
3. Turner, C. S. V., & Gonzlez, J. C. (Eds.). (2014). Modeling mentoring across race/ethnicity and gender: Practices to cultivate the next generation of diverse faculty. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
4. Turner, C. S. V., Gonzlez, J. C., & Wood, J. L. (2008). Faculty of color in academe: What 20 years of literature tells us. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 1(3), 139168.

Informed by the literature and professional practice, this chapter examines the unique mentoring challenges facing women and underrepresented minorities in higher education. Findings indicate that traditional mentoring approaches fall short in fully supporting the needs of underrepresented populations in higher education.

As increasing numbers of women and underrepresented minorities (URMs) gain access to colleges and universities (American Council on Education, 2011), they are likely to encounter academic and social barriers to their success and retention (Hurtado & Guillermo-Wann, 2013; Swail, Redd, & Perna, 2003). Connections to campus agents like faculty and staff are the strongest predictors of success among college students in general (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005), and evidence suggests that faculty also play a critical role in the success of racial and ethnic minority students (Davis, 2010; Museus, Palmer, Davis, & Maramba, 2011; Pascarella, 1980; Patton & Harper, 2003; Waldeck, Orrego, Plax, & Kearney, 1997). The importance of having mentors for women and URM students is well documented (Davis, 2010; Fries-Britt & Turner Kelly, 2005; Grant, 2012; Pascarella, 1980; Patton & Harper, 2003; Turner, 2002). At predominantly White institutions (PWIs), URMs can encounter feelings of isolation and uncertainty about their capabilities in their respective fields of study. Mentoring can be an effective strategy to combat many of these challenges.