New employees often learn an organization's unwritten rules— the "ropes"—through one-on-one relationships with workplace colleagues or mentors. Increasingly, organizations are implementing mentoring programs to foster supportive work relationships—and evaluators are being called on to assess them. This paper presents a systematic literature review of mentoring- type program evaluations and reveals wide gaps in what published studies report. The complex and long-term nature of mentoring programs presents unique challenges to evaluators. To meet these challenges we suggest an evaluation model that attends to local audience needs and addresses four evaluation stages: (1) context evaluation, for assessing needs, objectives and organizational support; (2) design evaluation, to assess mentor and protege characteristics, the process for pairing the mentor and protege, the program duration, activities and recognition/ rewards for participants; (3) implementation stage evaluation, to monitor activities, feedback and revisions; and (4) product evaluation, to assess systematically the planned and unplanned outcomes that consist of program reactions, learning, behavior change, and impact.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bland, C.J., Schmitz, C.C., Stritter, F.T., Henry, R.C., & Aluise, J.J. (1990). Successful faculty in academic medicine. New York: Springer-Verlag.
2.
Boice, R. (1990). Mentoring new faculty: A program for implementation . Journal of Staff, Program and Organizational Development , 3(8), 143-160.
3.
Bolton, E.B. ( 1980). A conceptual analysis of the mentor relationship in the career development of women. Adult Education, 50, 195-207.
4.
Bower, A., Yarger, G. (1989). Mentor-intern relationships in New York State's formal program: Beginnings. Action in Teacher Education, 11(2), 60-65.
5.
Brunk, S.E., & Goeppinger, J. (1990). Process evaluation: Assessing re-invention of community-based interventions. Evaluation & the Health Professions, 13(2), 186-203.
6.
Carruthers, J. (1993). The principles and practice of mentoring. In B. Caldwell & E. Carter (Eds), The return of the mentor: Strategies for workplace mentoring (pp. 9-25). Bristol, PA: Falmer Press.
7.
Chao, G.T., Walz, P.M., & Gardner, P.D. (1992). Formal and informal mentorships: A comparison on mentoring functions and contrast with nonmentored counterparts. Personnel Psychology, 45, 619-636.
8.
Clark, R.W. and B.P. Zimmer. (1989). Mentoring: Does it work? Lifelong Learning: An Omnibus . of Practice and Research, 12(7), 26-28.
9.
Cohen, N.H. & Galbraith, M.W. (1995, Summer). Mentoring in the learning society. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 66, San Franscisco: Jossey-Bass.
10.
Curtis, J.A., Adam, H., & Shelov, S.P. (1995). A formal mentoring program in a pediatric residency . Academic Medicine, 70(5), 453-454.
11.
Droste-Bielak, E. (1990). On being mentored: A personal experience. Nurse Educator, 15, 3-5.
12.
Fagan, M.M. (1988). Formal vs. informal mentoring in law enforcement . Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 4(2), 40-48.
Hamilton, E.M., Murray, M.K., Lindholm, L.H., & Myers, R.E. (1989, July-August). Effects of mentoring on job satisfaction, leadership behaviors, and job retention of new graduate nurses. Journal of Nursing Staff Development, 159-165.
15.
Henry, J.S., Stockdale, M.S., Hall, M., Deniston, W. (1994). A formal mentoring program for junior female faculty: Description and evaluation. Initiatives, 56(2), 37-45.
16.
Huffman, G., & Leak, S. ( 1986, January-February). Beginning teachers' perceptions of mentors. Journal of Teacher Education, 22-25.
17.
Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 6(4), 505-532.
18.
Kirkpatrick, D.L. (1971). A Practical Guide for Supervisory Training and Development. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley .
19.
Kram, K.E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman.
20.
Mann, M.P. (1992). Faculty mentors for medical students: A critical review. Medical Teacher, 14, 311-319.
21.
Merriam, S. (1983). Mentors and proteges: A critical review of the literature. Adult Education Quarterly, 33(3), 161-173.
22.
Morzinski, J.A., Simpson, D.E., Bower, D.J., Diehr, S. (1994). Faculty development through formal mentoring. Academic Medicine, 69(4), 267-269.
23.
Murray, M., & Owen. M.A. (1991). Beyond the myths and magic of mentoring: How to facilitate an effective mentoring program. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.
24.
Noe, R.A. (1988). An investigation of the determinants of successful assigned mentoring relationships. Personnel Psychology, 41, 457-479.
25.
Patterson, R.H. (1989). A counselor mentoring program: A mentor's perspective . The School Counselor, 36, 167-172.
26.
Ragins, B.R. (1989). Barriers to mentoring: The female manager's dilemma . Human Relations, 42(1), 1-22.
27.
Rogers, J.C., Holloway, R.L., & Miller, S.M. (1990). Academic mentoring and family medicine's research productivity. Family Medicine, 22, 186-190.
28.
Smith, A.L. ( 1990). Collaborative induction model to support first-year minority teachers. Action in Teacher Education, 11(4), 42-47.
29.
Smith, K.L., Beckley, W.E. (1985, Fall). Mentoring: Is it for extension. Journal of Extension, 21-24.
30.
Stufflebeam, D.L. (1989). The CIPP model for program evaluation. In G. F. Madaus, M. S. Scriven, & D. L. Stufflebeam (Eds.) Evaluation models. Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff.
31.
Taylor, L.J. (1992). A survey of mentor relationships in academe. Journal of Professional Nursing, 8(1), 48-55.
32.
Van Avery, A.R. (1992). Facing personal evaluation: A mentoring program supports professional staff undergoing tenure review. Reference Librarian, 17(38), 121-131.
33.
VanZandt, C.E., Petty, N.S. (1992). Helping the rookie school counselor: A mentoring project. The School Counselor, 39, 158-163.
34.
Wunch, M.A., (1994). New directions for mentoring: An organizational development perspective. In M. A. Wunch (Ed.) Mentoring revisited: Making an impact on individuals and institutions . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
35.
Zey, M.G. (1988, January). A mentor for all reasons. Personnel Journal, 46-51.
