Abstract:

Mentoring is a commonly defined as experienced individuals providing support and encouragement to assist others in managing and maximizing their potential and certain skills. It is an effective way of helping people to progress in their careers, education, personal development and other interests. The term mentor is used very often in business and higher education. Mentors are usually involved in a one-on-one relationship with a protégé’ and often offers the benefit of one’s experience and influence (Daloz 1986). It is usually a partnership between two people (mentor and protégé) working in a similar field or sharing similar experiences. It is a helpful relationship based upon mutual trust and respect. Mentoring is associated with positive personal and career outcomes. It has consistently contributed to enhanced promotion rates, higher salaries, accelerated career mobility, improved professional identity, etc. (Johnson & Ridley 2004).

Cultural attachment theory seeks to secure knowledge of family, extended family, community and Nation and their relationship to each other and the world (Simard & Blight, 2011). Cultural attachment will be examined as it relates to mentoring across cultures and helping "sojourners" build capacity to adapt to new situations and maintain a sense of self (Hong, Fang, Yang & Phua, 2013).

There is an abundance of literature on mentoring, mentoring functions, types of mentoring and mentoring programs. For the most part, mentoring has been identified as a crucial element that can determine the failure or success, in one’s endeavors whether they are academic, career related, or adjustment to a new role in society. However, little has been written or said about mentoring at various stages of personal development across cultures.

Donald Super’s career model is based on the belief that self-concept changes over time and develops as a result of experience. The model identifies five stages including growth(0-14 years), exploration(15-24 years), establishment(25-44 years), maintenance(45-64 years), and decline(65 +). There are also specific tasks that are congruent with the five stages. Like career development, mentoring can be a lifelong phenomenon. According to Giannantonio and Hurley-Hanson (2006), image norms may influence career decisions and developmental tasks related to each of Super’s stages. Giannatonio and Hurley-Hanson (2006) further stated that “image norms represent beliefs that individuals must present or possess a certain image, consistent with occupational, organizational, or industry standards, in order to achieve career success.” When the developmental stages of Super’s career model are compared to the stages of mentoring relationships, can the development tasks of each stage be correlated to the functions of mentoring? Furthermore, can the experience be more effective by including culturally relevant relationships, identification of image norms, and relying on identified correlations?

The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for examining the correlation between developmental tasks in Super’s Career Model and cross cultural mentoring functions, and whether utilizing the cultural attachment lens and image norms make the mentoring experience more transformative or effective for the mentor and the protégé.

Keywords:

Mentoring, Mentoring functions, cultural attachment, acculturation, career advancement, image norms.