Exploring Women Engineering Faculty’s Mentoring Networks

Ziyu Long; Patrice Marie Buzzanell; Klod Kokini; Robyn F Wilson; Jennifer C Batra; Lindsey B. Anderson

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Conference: 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Publication Date: June 23, 2013
Start Date: June 23, 2013
End Date: June 26, 2013
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Retaining and Developing Women Faculty in STEM
Tagged Division: Women in Engineering
Page Count: 26
Page Numbers: 23.6.1 - 23.6.26
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--19015
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/19015
Download Count: 613

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Paper Authors

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Ziyu Long Purdue University

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Ziyu Long is a doctoral student in organizational communication at Purdue University.

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Patrice Marie Buzzanell Purdue University, West Lafayette orcid.org/0000-0003-0058-7676

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Abstract

Women Engineering Faculty: Mentoring Networks AbstractResearch on mentoring has expanded from examination of traditional mentor-protégé dyadsto developmental mentoring networks (Haggard, Dougherty, Turban, & Wilbanks, 2011;Ragins & Kram, 2007). In these network approaches, the emphasis is on a constellation ofcareer developmental and personally supportive relationships to design career experiences forfocal individuals and to respond to the issues that these focal individuals, or mentees, express(Buzzanell, in press; Dobrow, Chandler, Murphy, & Kram, 2012). To study participants’career experiences, we use a mixed methodological approach: quantitative network analysis,qualitative inductive-deductive analysis, and discourse tracing. First, we utilize structuralhole theory (Burt, 1978) to find out how women engineering faculty members reach out toand accept mentoring sources (e.g., proactive and reactive processes). We examine egocentricnetworks, that is, the individuals’ self-reported linkages between themselves (i.e., “ego” orhub of the network) and career developmental “nodes” (Contractor, Monge, & Leonardi,2011; Monge & Contractor, 2003). These nodes are people in particular roles connected withdepartments, associations, institutions, agencies, and other organizations. Our participantshave reported their nodal structural relationships plus the attributes of the nodes. Second, weutilize inductive-deductive analyses whereby we code our interview transcripts for mentoringrelationships, their feelings about such relationships, and their perceived outcomes (Charmaz,2000, 2006). In particular, our participants have reported indicators of their subjective andobjective career success, in addition to their faculty status. These women describe not onlytheir productive relationships but also needed additional resources. Third, we utilizediscourse tracing (LeGreco & Tracy, 2009) to uncover mentoring that we categorize asepisodic, spontaneous, and/or mentoring moments. In our closing we discuss participants’formal, informal, and episodic mentoring opportunities. We also map out complexconfigurations of network mentoring structures as well as emergent relationships. Werecommend theoretical implications and pragmatic applications of developmental mentoringnetworks in the context of engineering faculty development.

Citation
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Long, Z., & Buzzanell, P. M., & Kokini, K., & Wilson, R. F., & Batra, J. C., & Anderson, L. B. (2013, June), Exploring Women Engineering Faculty’s Mentoring Networks Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--19015

TY - CPAPER
AB - Women Engineering Faculty: Mentoring Networks AbstractResearch on mentoring has expanded from examination of traditional mentor-protégé dyadsto developmental mentoring networks (Haggard, Dougherty, Turban, &amp; Wilbanks, 2011;Ragins &amp; Kram, 2007). In these network approaches, the emphasis is on a constellation ofcareer developmental and personally supportive relationships to design career experiences forfocal individuals and to respond to the issues that these focal individuals, or mentees, express(Buzzanell, in press; Dobrow, Chandler, Murphy, &amp; Kram, 2012). To study participants’career experiences, we use a mixed methodological approach: quantitative network analysis,qualitative inductive-deductive analysis, and discourse tracing. First, we utilize structuralhole theory (Burt, 1978) to find out how women engineering faculty members reach out toand accept mentoring sources (e.g., proactive and reactive processes). We examine egocentricnetworks, that is, the individuals’ self-reported linkages between themselves (i.e., “ego” orhub of the network) and career developmental “nodes” (Contractor, Monge, &amp; Leonardi,2011; Monge &amp; Contractor, 2003). These nodes are people in particular roles connected withdepartments, associations, institutions, agencies, and other organizations. Our participantshave reported their nodal structural relationships plus the attributes of the nodes. Second, weutilize inductive-deductive analyses whereby we code our interview transcripts for mentoringrelationships, their feelings about such relationships, and their perceived outcomes (Charmaz,2000, 2006). In particular, our participants have reported indicators of their subjective andobjective career success, in addition to their faculty status. These women describe not onlytheir productive relationships but also needed additional resources. Third, we utilizediscourse tracing (LeGreco &amp; Tracy, 2009) to uncover mentoring that we categorize asepisodic, spontaneous, and/or mentoring moments. In our closing we discuss participants’formal, informal, and episodic mentoring opportunities. We also map out complexconfigurations of network mentoring structures as well as emergent relationships. Werecommend theoretical implications and pragmatic applications of developmental mentoringnetworks in the context of engineering faculty development.
AU - Ziyu Long
AU - Patrice Marie Buzzanell
AU - Klod Kokini
AU - Robyn F Wilson
AU - Jennifer C Batra
AU - Lindsey B. Anderson
CY - Atlanta, Georgia
DA - 2013/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Exploring Women Engineering Faculty’s Mentoring Networks
UR - https://peer.asee.org/19015
DO - 10.18260/1-2--19015
ER -