Mentoring of Newly Employed Lecturers: Towards best practices

Abstract

This study set forth to explore the mentoring of newly employed university lecturers and the best practices that would enhance mentoring in Kenyan universities. To achieve this objective, 12 newly employed lecturers both men and women working in two Kenyan universities were interviewed. Two lecturers from each of the two universities who had served for more than five years and a human resource manager were also interviewed. The principles of the Mentoring Theory (MT) were adopted for this study. The data collected were qualitatively analyzed. The general finding of the study was that Kenyan universities lack explicit policies on the mentoring of newly employed lecturers. The study recommended that in order to enhance quality in education, a mentor and a mentee should work together to develop mutually agreed upon goals for the success of both the individuals and the university. The study also recommended that universities should seek for and implement best practices in mentoring.