Peg Boyle Single

E‐mentoring for social equity: review of research to inform program development

The advent of user‐friendly email programs and web browsers created possibilities for widespread use of e‐mentoring programs. In this review of the research, we presented the history of e‐mentoring programs and defined e‐mentoring and structured e‐mentoring programs, focusing on large‐scale e‐mentoring programs that addressed issues of social equity and educational advancement. The literature reviewed spanned from the mid‐1990s to the present and included journal articles, reports, and book chapters on implemented e‐mentoring programs. The literature indicates that e‐mentoring is not a panacea, neither is it an inexpensive alternative to face‐to‐face mentoring. E‐mentoring is an alternative mode that facilitates the expansion of mentoring opportunities. The research we reviewed supported that the benefits associated with e‐mentoring mirrored the benefits associated with mentoring: informational, psychosocial, and instrumental. In addition, research supports two additional benefits of e‐mentoring: the value of impartiality and inter‐organizational connections, which were facilitated by the use of electronic communications. Research conducted on the programmatic features associated with e‐mentoring programs identified training, coaching, and group e‐mentoring as features that enhanced participant involvement. Our goal in providing a review of the research at this stage in the development of e‐mentoring was to facilitate increased understanding of the current research to enhance future research and programs and to advance e‐mentoring as a field.

Building a Better Bridge: Testing e-training to improve e-mentoring programmes in higher education

Uniting mentoring with e-mail results in expanded opportunities for mentoring, making it possible to overcome the constraints of time limitations and distance to achieve successful mentoring relationships. With these opportunities however, come many of the same challenges that have already been identified through the research on formal mentoring programmes. This article addresses one of these challenges by reporting on the impact of one model of training on e-mentoring outcomes. A series of interactive, web-based case studies was developed as training modules for mentors and prote´ge´s participating in the MentorNet programme. The target group for this research study was undergraduate students. Using a control group experimental design, we randomly assigned half the study group to a condition where interactive on-line training was required. The other half was assigned to a condition where the training was optional. Those in the mandatory group exhibited improved outcomes; specifically, they exchanged e-mail messages more frequently with their e-mentors. This study was focused on MentorNet (www.MentorNet.net), a large-scale electronic mentoring programme that matches women in engineering and related science majors with professionals in industry for year-long, structured mentoring relationships conducted via e-mail, in an effort to encourage their retention in the fields in which women are severely underrepresented. We discuss implications for conducting e-mentoring programmes.

Improved Mentor Satisfaction: Emphasising Protege Training for Adult-Age Mentoring Dyads.

Mentoring and e‐mentoring programmes have traditionally focused on training mentors rather than protégés. In this research study, we examine the effects of mandated training for protégés on mentor outcomes within a large‐scale e‐mentoring programme, MentorNet. The programme paired college students (protégés) at various US colleges and universities with professionals (mentors) from a number of US‐based companies. The results suggest that a paradigm change from mentor training to protégé training for adult protégés is beneficial. In this randomised experiment, 200 protégés were assigned to a mandated e‐training (experimental) group, and another 200 protégés were assigned to a voluntary e‐training (control) group. The mentors who were paired with the protégés in the experimental group were more engaged in the programme, more satisfied with their experience, and held their protégés in higher esteem. Rather than emphasising mentor training, the findings suggest that protégé training may be more appropriate for mentoring dyads.