Mentoring – a Valuable Method of Practical Intervention in Need of Theoretical Grounding

Abstract

The present study aims to give a general overview of the information on mentoring that already exists in the specialized literature. The aim of this necessary synthesis is to emphasize the acute need for its systematic research from a more subtle psychological perspective, one from which the psychology of learning should not miss. The theoretical perspective from which we treat this issue is suggested by a classical definition of mentoring (which can be found in many other definitions) that states that mentoring is “a protected relationship in which experimentation, exchange and learning can occur and skills, knowledge and insight can be developed” (Mumford, 2002, p.215). Our central argument is that the difficulties one encounters when trying to discover the efficiency of natural mentoring on the level of programmatic mentoring are due to the fact that research on mentoring to date has overlooked the contribution that the psychology of learning can bring to the shaping of this concept.