Abstract:

Over the last years, mentoring has emerged as a popular trend in the field of adult education, as theorists worldwide have acknowledged its potential benefits for mentors, mentees and educational organizations (Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2015; Fehring & Rodrigues, 2017). The main objective of this research is to investigate the benefits of mentoring in adult education focusing on a sample of 337 active adult educators in North Greece. Research findings indicate that mentoring can be a useful tool in adult education, having significant benefits for all parts engaged in learning procedures. More specifically, according to participants in the research the main benefits for mentees are: communication skills development, critical thinking enhancement, teaching methodology improvement and self confidence boost. Moreover, for mentors, the main benefits are: professional development, constant self-improvement, communication skills improvement and networking and socializing. Finally, as far as educational organizations are concerned, the main benefits are: cooperation culture creation, better staff planning and promotion of innovative educational practices. The findings of this research highlight the significance of mentoring in modern adult education, providing evidence that implementation of mentoring offers multiple positive outcomes not only for mentees, but also for mentors and educational organizations.

Keywords:

Mentoring, adult education, benefits, mentors, mentees, educational organizations.