Master of Arts in Higher Education (MAHE) Theses

Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

First Advisor

Tim Herrmann

Second Advisor

Skip Trudeau

Third Advisor

Drew Moser

Abstract

Mentorship serves an important role in college student development. It provides individual support and guidance to students as they explore their identities and look for answers to life’s big questions. Over fifty running definitions of mentorship appear in social science literature (Crisp & Cruz, 2009); therefore, this study sought to describe mentorship in the context of university faculty members mentoring their male students. In order to define mentorship in this context, the researcher interviewed ten male college students who claimed to have a mentor. Their perspectives on mentorship provided a deeper understanding of how best to mentor men in college. The results determined the benefits mentees receive as well as the methods mentors employ to develop their students most effectively. Although the participants had differing experiences with mentorship, they universally agreed the personal development spurred on by their mentors would last well beyond college. University faculty members can use this research to find deeper value in mentorship and train themselves to mentor their male students more effectively.

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