Abstract:

Objective:
This study presents an investigation into mentees’ perceptions of their mentors’ characteristics in postgraduate programmes for international students.

Method:
The study uses quantitative inferential approach. The instrument used is based on the Mentorship Effectiveness scale developed by John Hopkins University School of Nursing with six additional items. The sample is 85 international students who participated in the research by completing a questionnaire.

Findings:
The study reports very strong endorsement among mentees of positive mentors’ characteristics. The endorsement by mentees was in the range of 83% to 95%. The margin of error for each question was between 3.91% and 8.16%.

Limitations and Future work:
The main limitation is that the instrument used has not been validated and contains an approach and elements that prevents validation in its current form. Future work will include development of two robust validated instruments: one to measure mentors’ characteristics and one to assess students’ stress levels.

Keywords:

International education, peer mentoring programme, mentees perception, mentors’ effectiveness.