Mentor development in higher education in Botswana: How important is reflective practice?

Abstract

Mentor development in higher education in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Botswana is explored in this article. Changes in education policy require mentors to engage in individual as well as organisational change and transformation. Most studies focus on mentee development and the resulting organisational change but there is very little research into mentor development and its effects. Mentors can develop their mentoring abilities through reflective practice and an overt  transformational approach to mentoring. An action research methodology was used for a framework of cycles used in the data collection from face-to-face conversations, reflective journals and focus group interviews. The findings indicate that reflective practice contributed effectively to mentor learning and development and improved mentoring ability. This study is important for its insight into the sparsely researched area of mentor development and its contribution to organisational change and transformation.