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Introduction
The word "mentoring" is often used in a way which implies that it is an easily defined and universally agreed activity. This belies the complexity of the activity and it is arguably better to view mentoring as an umbrella term that relates to a wide range of diverse activities ([30] Saur and Rasmussen, 2003; [23] Philip and Spratt, 2007). This paper reports on part of a qualitative case-study research project focusing on students in higher education in England, who were undertaking voluntary mentoring in addition to their studies. The students were mentoring children and young people who were looked after by local authorities.
The main aim of this research was to examine why students decided to undertake extra-curricular mentoring. The specific research questions addressed in the research were:
- Why do students engage in volunteer mentoring additional to their University studies?
- What do student mentors gain from the mentoring experience?
- Does engagement in volunteer mentoring equip students for professional practice?
- How do students understand the roles they undertook within the mentoring process?
- What are students' perceptions of the challenges they faced as mentors?
This paper addresses the first two research questions: students' motivations for becoming involved with mentoring and their perspectives on what they gained from their experiences.
The first part of the paper sets out the context of the research, both the wider national and social context and the local case-study context. The research methodology is then explained before the findings and emergent themes are discussed through consideration of students' reasons for engaging in volunteer mentoring work and the benefits they gained through the experience.
Background
The wider context
With a focus on students in higher education mentoring children and young people who are looked after by local authorities, this section provides an overview of the national social and political context, within which the research has been carried out, along with a brief review of the literature in this area.
Mentoring has been promoted as an effective way to work with individuals and groups, especially adolescents and those at risk of social exclusion ([23] Philip and Spratt, 2007) and "at risk" children ([16] Miller, 2002, p. 107). The UK Government has supported the general use of mentoring for...