Doctoral student mentorship in social work education: a Canadian example

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to present a thematic analysis investigating the experiences and reflections of doctoral students in social work at a Canadian university who were mentored in the development of teaching expertise, including course design, delivery and evaluation, by a senior faculty member. Recommendations to others who are considering engaging in doctoral student teaching mentorship are presented. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines the authors’ reflections on their experiences of doctoral student mentorship through their involvement in collaboratively designing, teaching and evaluating an online undergraduate course. The inquiry used a qualitative approach grounded in Schon’s concept of reflexive learning. Findings Based on the results of the thematic analysis of the mentees’ reflections, this paper presents the collaborative teaching mentorship model and discusses how receiving mentorship in teaching facilitated the mentees’ development as social work educators. Originality/value Although quality guidelines in social work education recommend that doctoral students should be adequately prepared for future teaching opportunities, there is limited discussion about doctoral student development as educators within the academic literature, especially from the perspective of doctoral students. There is also limited articulation of specific models of doctoral student mentorship in developing teaching expertise. The authors hope that sharing their reflections on their experiences and describing the collaborative teaching mentorship model will serve to deepen understandings and promote further exploration and development of doctoral student mentorship in teaching.

Leveraging critical friendship to navigate doctoral student role transitions

“…Current sources of support such as supervisory relationships, program models, writing groups and peer mentoring have the potential to make a positive impact on program completion, but may lack depth and miss the opportunity to leverage self-regulation. Doctoral students can learn from high-quality supervisory relationships that provide support and impact their professional identity (Fulton et al , 2018; Lechuga, 2011). Supportive supervisory relationships may result in a significant reduction in emotional exhaustion, impression management and facades of conformity (Devine and Hunter, 2016).…”

Research Practicum: An Experiential Model for Social Work Research

“…Several strategies have been proposed to address this challenge by scholars who have evaluated teaching of research skills in undergraduate and graduate social work programs. For example, Horowitz and Christopher (2013) recommended enlisting doctoral students as mentors for undergraduate students, suggesting that doctoral students benefit as mentors by preparing for supervisory and teaching aspects of future roles and undergraduate students benefit from the opportunity to work with emerging scholars who are willing to share their knowledge and enthusiasm (Fulton, Walsh, Gulbrandsen, Tong, & Azulai, 2018). Similarly, Aponte et al (2015) highlighted the potential for peer mentoring to foster learning in research learning programs and suggested that "social interaction and collaboration among peers contributes to better outcomes than learning independently" (p. 323).…”