The Relationship Between Ideal Mentoring And Selected Characteristics Of African American Social Work Doctoral Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine African American social work doctoral students' mentoring values and to determine if these values were associated with socio-demographic, academic, and institutional characteristics. Socio-demographic characteristics of their primary mentor and mentoring relationships were also examined. With a growing number of social work faculty retiring, an increase in student enrollment, the projected need for more social workers and therefore social work educators, there is a mounting concern for the future of academia and how to develop more doctoral students with better doctoral experiences. Questions from the Dixon-Reeves Mentoring Study (2001) were used to collect data on the socio-demographic, academic, institutional, and mentor characteristics, along with descriptions of mentoring relationships. The Guidance, Integrity, and Relationship subscales of the Ideal Mentor Scale (IMS) developed by Rose (2003) were used to assess values that students placed on each subscale. Three research hypotheses were considered. The first was that selected characteristics of the student and the mentor would be associated. The second hypothesis was that there would be significant variations in how doctoral students rate the subscales of the IMS with respect to (a) socio-demographic characteristics, (b) academic characteristics, (c) institutional characteristics of the student/graduate and (d) their primary mentor, separately and jointly where appropriate. The third hypothesis was that students would rate the subscales differently. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), t tests, and multiple regressions were used to analyze data that were obtained from a web-based survey. With respect to demographics, significant variations in ratings were found for age group, gender, and marital status. Values also varied by academic and institutional characteristics, for example historically Black colleges and institutions (HBCU) affiliation. Finally, students valued the Relationship subscale less than the other two subscales. According to Rose, this scale was related to "personal" relationships, concerns, and interactions at social activities. Students rated the Guidance (practical academic assistance) and Integrity (virtue and principled actions of a role model) subscales higher but similarly (Rose, 2003). Information gleaned from this study may be used as a training tool that will improve educational and mentoring experiences, which will ultimately lead to more advanced students in social work, in particular African Americans.