Mentorship in a Japanese graduate school: learning through apprenticeship

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate a four-year mentorship program for Japanese graduate students at a private university in Tokyo, Japan. The following research questions were investigated: First, does mentorship provide effective and adequate preparation needed for graduate students to perform competitively (e.g. attending conferences, publishing in journals, etc.) in academic forums? Second, what kinds of benefits are gained by the mentees? Third, what factors are conducive to the benefits accrued by the mentees? Fourth, what are the obstacles to providing an effective mentorship program? Design/methodology/approach – Adopting narrative approach as its research method, this study collected and analyzed reflective essays from 13 Japanese students in a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program. Findings – Particular types of mentoring which encouraged active participation in scholarly activities through appropriately scaffolded inductions into academia led to increased mentee confidence in terms of making the transition from student to scholar. Research limitations/implications – The students should not remain assistants on the periphery of academia, but rather play active roles to extend their knowledge and expertise to something that they can attain only with appropriate scaffolding (Vygotsky, 1981). In order to promote such mentorship, it is emphasized that institutional support is indispensable, and that the significance of solid mentorship programs should be re-acknowledged and discussed on an official level. Originality/value – The study of mentoring within a Japanese context, in particular from the perspectives of sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1981) and Bandura's (1994, 1995) self-efficacy theory, is an under-researched area.

Mentoring Experience at University Level: EFL Mentees' Perceptions and Suggestions

“…More research studies were conducted to investigate the impact of mentorship programs on teachers' professional development. (Cosgun & Atay, 2018;Sakamoto & Lumi, 2014). Cosgun and Atay (2018) explored the impact of a mentoring program provided to EFL teachers.…”

“…The findings showed that the program contributed to the teachers' professional and personal development. Sakamoto and Lumi (2014) investigated the impact of a mentorship program on graduate students. The findings showed that mentoring which encouraged active participation in professional activities could foster mentees' confidence and provides training for them to perform well in forums.…”

Mentoring for educators’ professional learning and development

“…In Japan, for instance, the tradition of respect and authority has implications in the development of the relationship between mentor and mentee (Sakamoto and Tamanyu, 2014). On the other hand, there is also a strong culture of equality in schools and a novice teacher faces the added challenge of being regarded as an equal by other teachers and, therefore, "there is no need to teach a novice what to do (all they need to do is to observe and emulate what they see more experienced teachers doing)" (Asada, 2012, p. 59).…”

“…Although it is hard to define, the authors of the papers reviewed suggest that mentoring is traditionally seen as a process by which a more experienced person (the mentor) gives support to a less experienced person (the mentee) across a wide range of issues relevant to work and professional development (D'Souza, 2014;Garza et al, 2014;Godden et al, 2014;Hobson and Malderez, 2013;Kutsyuruba, 2012;Sakamoto and Tamanyu, 2014;Stephens et al, 2014;Wyatt and Arnold, 2012). Whilst some definitions of mentoring do not explicitly refer to the mentee as having less experience than the mentor, the general notion of mentoring as a "developmental partnering of two professionals, in which one individual is sharing his or her knowledge and expertise to inform or support the professional learning and career development of another" (Parylo et al, 2012, p. 121) is evident in the majority of the 37 papers reviewed.…”

“…Successful mentoring relationships are more difficult to establish if school culture does not allow mentors to choose to become involved and to have time both to prepare for their role and for mentoring meetings. Some studies posit that schools do not give mentors sufficient time to carry out their roles (Hobson and Malderez, 2013;Sakamoto and Tamanyu, 2014;Stephens et al, 2014). In addition, research shows that many schools do not allocate specific times for mentors and mentees to meet (Hobson and Malderez, 2013;Kochan et al, 2015;Stephens et al, 2014;Wyatt and Arnold, 2012).…”