Developing master's level education students as researchers: mentors' and mentees' experiences

Mentoring within higher education develops capacity of early-career academic staff and doctoral students. For students in taught Master's degree programs who may not envision themselves moving on to doctoral studies, research competencies are still needed as they include transferable skills and enable professionals to undertake research with in their contexts. Those working within educational settings, for instance, can carry out action research to address issues within their institutions.. This generic qualitative study explored the experiences of mentors and mentees in relation to researcher development of graduate research students ineducation at a Caribbean university. The study found that mentoring relationships enhanced students' research capabilities,resulted in students identifying themselves as researchers, and enabled those working within the education sector to translate these research skills into their professional contexts. The findings of the research are useful with respect to fostering a culture of mentorship among academic staff within the discipline of education.

Automated summary

Mentoring within higher education enhances the research capabilities of early-career academic staff and doctoral students, as well as enabling professionals in the education sector to undertake research within their contexts. The study found that mentoring relationships promoted students' identification as researchers and facilitated the translation of research skills into professional contexts. This research highlights the importance of fostering a culture of mentorship among academic staff within the discipline of education.