A Practitioner Brief by Dr. Ndidi Loretta Okeke and Dr. Andrea Rakushin Lee
Mentorship is a relationship between the mentor and the mentee and has been used in various fields, including academia (Ertkorn & Braddock, 2020; Sargent & Rienties, 2022). The mentor provides advice and guidance to the mentees to help them grow, learn, and develop professionally (Reeves, 2023). Mentorship is a mutualistic relationship in which academic researchers formally or informally mentor one or a group of mentees to nurture their career and research development (Sargent & Rienties, 2022). Moreover, creating mentorships between early career scholars and experienced scholars can foster a deeper understanding of research and academia and provide invaluable support. Early career scholars are typically defined as those who have less than 5 years of experience in higher education settings. They often face various challenges as they learn to navigate the higher education realm, which often requires evaluation of teaching, research, and service. A study of 4,267 early career scholars around the world found that 70% felt stress at work and were dealing with mental health problems (Wellcome Trust, 2020). Mentorships have been identified as an effective method for bridging the gap between experienced and inexperienced scholars.
The benefits of mentoring are numerous and include:
- Increasing professional growth for mentors and mentees by providing the opportunity for mentors and mentees to practice what they know and learn from them (Indeed, 2023);
- Boosting the confidence level of both mentors and mentees by sharing insights about their career paths (Emma, 2019; Indeed, 2023); and
- Connecting mentees to a professional network to which the mentees might never have been exposed (Emma, 2019).
In response to the problems faced by early career academics, the Society of Transnational Academic Researchers (STAR) Millennium Scholars developed a free virtual mentoring program that assists early career scholars by matching them with established researchers based on similar interests (Star Scholars Network, 2023). The STAR Millennium Scholars program aims to use transnational networks to support upward academic mobility for a new generation of scholars and graduate students through mentoring, open-access publishing, leadership development, and community building (Star Scholars Network, 2023). The activities include monthly meetings between mentors and mentees to work on scholarly projects comprising conference presentations, grant proposals, and empirical or theoretical articles; furthermore, these sessions can include discussing tips for improving research and publishing skills. Through this program, inexperienced lecturers and graduate students will develop ethics in the academic profession, grow in research writing, and be exposed to a plethora of verified publishing firms to choose from for their publications. This paper will reflect on one mentee’s experiences in the STAR Millennium Scholars Program.
Discussion of Personal Experiences
I am an early career scholar from Nigeria and was selected to be part of this year’s cohort in the STAR Scholars Millennium Network mentorship program. My mentor quickly scheduled a meeting that same week in January of 2023. During our initial meeting, she prepared a lot of planned activities for us. I introduced myself and discussed my research goals for the 6-month mentoring period. We discussed my research interest and she was able to help me identify a topic of great interest. Our meetings throughout the spring semester went well. I provided updates on my research progress, and she offered encouragement and affirmed that I was doing well. She assisted with research materials and helped with the development of the research instrument.
In addition, my mentor informed me about an upcoming conference on rural education at her institution. We presented together along with another professor from China and a student studying in the United States from Nigeria. The conference was intriguing, and I saw firsthand, different styles and skills in the presentation which were different from what I had experienced. They presented their papers in a simple and easy way. This knowledge increased my self-confidence and self-awareness. This firsthand experience aligns with the findings of Emma (2019) who asserted that mentoring helps mentees develop self-confidence, self-awareness, job satisfaction, aspirations, and the likelihood of promotion. My mentor also drew my attention to grant writing, and we were able to secure a grant for an international students’ project and another one is in progress. She also familiarized me with the process of writing book reviews, providing tips on book selection and structure. She actively involved me in some of her academic activities and frequently asked for my input. I can say that distance, race, age, and experience were never barriers in this mentorship relationship. My mentor also discussed the mutual benefits of this experience including reciprocal learning, developing global perspectives, and learning about the educational system of Nigeria. She also considered the strengths and weaknesses of the mentorship experience and how to enhance this type of program in the future. We continue working on projects together and plan to present at a virtual symposium on this mentorship program.
The program was refreshing and insightful. In some universities, early career scholars may feel abandoned in the world of “publish or perish.” They find themselves plagiarizing others’ works to survive as well as patronizing predatory journals. The publishing process becomes very stressful without the assistance of a mentor. They may also not have access to various library resources that are available at leading institutional libraries around the world making it difficult to find scholarly publications for literature reviews. Having an international mentor can also assist in getting access to international publications. Through this program, I learned the importance of scholarly collaboration, and I am taking it with me to my place of work and sharing what I learned with other early career scholars. I am grateful for this experience and hopeful for further program improvements to benefit the next generation of early career scholars.
I also want to challenge conventional perspectives on mentorship. My mentor is an assistant professor. Some may believe that it is important to be in an advanced rank such as full professor to be able to effectively mentor and guide early career scholars. Her insights as an assistant professor were beneficial because she too understands the rigors of “publish or perish” and can relate in many ways to my experiences. Additionally, studies often highlight the benefits of mentorship through the lens of the mentee, but I would argue that mentorship is equally advantageous for the mentor who can develop leadership skills, learn from diverse perspectives and experiences, and critically reflect on their own productivity and experiences in the field. Furthermore, when examining the topic of mentorship, it is important to explore the bigger picture of how mentorship fits into a more complex academic ecosystem. Mentorship can be valuable in addressing systemic issues in academia; nevertheless, early career scholars will continue to have to deal with job insecurity, excessive competition, and the harsh world of “publish or perish” in many higher education contexts.
References
Etzkorn, K. B., & Braddock, A. (2020). Are you my mentor? A study of faculty mentoring relationships in US higher education and the implications for tenure. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 9(3), 221–237. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMCE-08-2019-0083
Emma, L. (2019). The advantages of mentoring in the workplace. www.smallbusiness.chron.com
Indeed Editorial Team. (2023). What is the importance of mentoring in the workplace? www.sg.indeed.com
Reeves, M. (2023). What is the purpose of mentoring programs? www.togetherplatform.com
Sargent, J., & Renties, B. (2020). Unpacking effective mentorship practices for early-career academics: A mixed methods study. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 11(2), 232–244. http://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-05-2021-0060
Star Scholars Network. (2023). Millennium Scholars. https://starscholars.org/millennium-scholars/
Wellcome Trust. (2020). What researchers think about the culture they work in. https://welcome.org/sites/default/files/what-researchers-think-about-the-culture-they-work-in.pdf
About the Authors
Dr. Ndidi Loretta Okeke holds a Doctor in Management and Planning in Education. She specializes in “Innovation and Change; Leadership Practices; and Quality Teaching” in Education. She is currently teaching in the Faculty of Education at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria. She has served as a teacher for three years (2020 to 2023) and at the tertiary level of education.
Dr. Andrea Rakushin Lee is an assistant professor of educational specialties at Austin Peay State University in the United States. She also serves as the Ed.D. program coordinator and the US country director for the STAR Scholars program. Prior to teaching at APSU, she lived in South Korea for 11 years. Her research interests center on intercultural communication, applied linguistics, and educational leadership.
Critical Internationalization Studies Network 