Abstract:

The literature has highlighted the benefits of mentoring programmes in supporting the academic, social, and personal transitions of first-year students. Understanding student development is crucial to assessing the effectiveness of these programmes. This study assessed first-year students' levels of creativity, emotional intelligence, and self-esteem at the start of the academic year. A convenience sample of 131 first-year students (112 females, 85.5%; 19 males, 14.5%) aged 17 to 56 years (M = 21.30; SD = 7.14) completed the Test for Creative Thinking - Drawing Production, Wong and Law's Emotional Intelligence Scale, and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale. Of these, 102 (77.9%) engaged in the mentoring programme. Students who participated in the programme showed higher levels of creativity, particularly in the innovativeness domain (U = 901.50, p = .02, rpb = .31). These findings suggest that despite similar characteristics between participants, those who chose to engage in the programme demonstrated higher levels of innovativeness. This might indicate that the effectiveness of mentoring programmes depends on a multifaceted interaction between programme features and the characteristics of the participating students. The promotion of commitment to the mentoring programme by both mentees and mentors is discussed. Future studies could benefit from using mixed-methods designs to capture the engagement and potential impact of the mentoring programme on both students and mentors, while also considering a greater number of variables to assess the programme's broader impact. To foster a more supportive and productive work environment, this study also recommends that both universities and organisations invest in formal mentoring programmes.

Keywords:

Higher-education, Mentoring Programs, Creativity, Emotional Intelligence, Self- Esteem.