Mentoring and career development of university agricultural education faculty in the United States

Abstract

<p>The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the professional careers of university agricultural education faculty have been influenced by mentors, and to examine the relationship between mentoring and professional career development. Data were obtained through a mailed questionnaire from 237 (84.90 percent) university agricultural education faculty members from throughout the United States;Most agricultural education professors (92.06 percent) perceived their professional careers to have been significantly influenced by one or more people who were referred to as mentors in this study. The most important functions of mentors of university agricultural education faculty were: influenced my career in a positive way, supported my efforts to advance in my career, took a personal interest in the development of my career, expressed pride in my success, and recognized my potential as an effective educator;Composite mentoring scores were generated for each individual based on responses to the mentoring function items. Respondents were grouped by extent of mentoring influence experienced, with 10.58 percent having experienced high levels of mentoring influence, 61.38 percent experienced moderate levels of mentoring influence, and 20.10 percent experienced low levels of mentoring influence on their professional career development. The remaining 7.94 percent had experienced no mentoring;Respondents' composite mentoring scores were correlated with their performance on selected indicators of career development, and significant relationships were observed between mentoring and the following variables: number of master's students advised, grants received, satisfaction with one's current position, and satisfaction with one's career progress. No significant relationships were observed between mentoring and the following variables: years to move from assistant to associate professor, years to move from associate to full professor, administrative positions held, national leadership positions held, national awards received, professional awards received at the state or local level, articles published, and doctoral students advised.</p>