skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


  • NSF Public Access
  • Search Results
  • Exploring the mentoring needs of engineering postdoctoral scholars of color: Is systematic change required in the postdoctoral training environment?
Title: Exploring the mentoring needs of engineering postdoctoral scholars of color: Is systematic change required in the postdoctoral training environment?
This phenomenological study (Moustakas, 1994) explores the mentoring needs of 11 engineering postdoctoral scholars of color with an adaptation of the ideal mentoring model (Zambrana et al., 2015) used as the conceptual framework. A critical theory lens (Morrow & Brown, 1994) is applied to Moustakas’ (1994) four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis to examine the interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. The essence of the phenomenon is engineering postdoctoral scholars of color have primary and secondary mentoring needs pertaining to their immediate career acquisition of a tenure-track faculty position. Primary mentoring needs include expanding professional networks for the tenure-track faculty job search and receiving guidance on work-life balance and enhancing technical skills. Secondary needs consist of refining research directions and research expertise promotion, as well as acquiring political guidance on matters of race/ethnicity in academia. These findings reveal the importance of higher education institutions and postdoctoral supervisors assuming greater responsibility for ensuring postdoctoral scholars receive the mentorship and career support they desire, which may require a systematic change in the postdoctoral training environment.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1821019
PAR ID:
10631370
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference
Date Published:
ISSN:
21535965
Format(s):
Medium: X
Location:
Virtual
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. (, 2021 ASEE Annual Conference)
    This phenomenological study (Moustakas, 1994) explores the mentoring needs of 11 engineering postdoctoral scholars of color with an adaptation of the ideal mentoring model (Zambrana et al., 2015) used as the conceptual framework. A critical theory lens (Morrow & Brown, 1994) is applied to Moustakas’ (1994) four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis to examine the interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. The essence of the phenomenon is engineering postdoctoral scholars of color have primary and secondary mentoring needs pertaining to their immediate career acquisition of a tenure-track faculty position. Primary mentoring needs include expanding professional networks for the tenure-track faculty job search and receiving guidance on work-life balance and enhancing technical skills. Secondary needs consist of refining research directions and research expertise promotion, as well as acquiring political guidance on matters of race/ethnicity in academia. These findings reveal the importance of higher education institutions and postdoctoral supervisors assuming greater responsibility for ensuring postdoctoral scholars receive the mentorship and career support they desire, which may require a systematic change in the postdoctoral training environment. 
    more » « less
  2. (, 2021 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition)
    This phenomenological study (Moustakas, 1994) explores the mentoring needs of 11 engineering postdoctoral scholars of color with an adaptation of the ideal mentoring model (Zambrana et al., 2015) used as the conceptual framework. A critical theory lens (Morrow & Brown, 1994) is applied to Moustakas’ (1994) four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis to examine the interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. The essence of the phenomenon is engineering postdoctoral scholars of color have primary and secondary mentoring needs pertaining to their immediate career acquisition of a tenure-track faculty position. Primary mentoring needs include expanding professional networks for the tenure-track faculty job search and receiving guidance on work-life balance and enhancing technical skills. Secondary needs consist of refining research directions and research expertise promotion, as well as acquiring political guidance on matters of race/ethnicity in academia. These findings reveal the importance of higher education institutions and postdoctoral supervisors assuming greater responsibility for ensuring postdoctoral scholars receive the mentorship and career support they desire, which may require a systematic change in the postdoctoral training environment. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research)
    This phenomenological study explores the mentoring needs of 13 Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars who aspire to the professoriate. An adaptation of the ideal mentoring model (Zambrana et al., 2015) is employed as the conceptual framework. Moustakas’ (1994) four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis was utilized to examine the interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. The phenomenon’s essence is: Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars have primary and secondary mentoring needs pertaining to their immediate career acquisition of a tenure-track faculty position. Primary mentoring needs include expanding their professional network and receiving support in being a competitive faculty applicant, as well as coaching on work-life balance. Secondary needs consist of enhancing and promoting their technical skills and acquiring political guidance on racial/ethnic bias in academia. The findings of this study reveal the importance of higher education institutions and postdoctoral advisors assuming greater responsibility for ensuring postdoctoral scholars receive the mentorship and career support they desire, which may require a systematic change in the postdoctoral training environment. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research)
    This phenomenological study explores the mentoring needs of 13 Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars who aspire to the professoriate. An adaptation of the ideal mentoring model (Zambrana et al., 2015) is employed as the conceptual framework. Moustakas’ (1994) four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis was utilized to examine the interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. The phenomenon’s essence is: Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars have primary and secondary mentoring needs pertaining to their immediate career acquisition of a tenure-track faculty position. Primary mentoring needs include expanding their professional network and receiving support in being a competitive faculty applicant, as well as coaching on work-life balance. Secondary needs consist of enhancing and promoting their technical skills and acquiring political guidance on racial/ethnic bias in academia. The findings of this study reveal the importance of higher education institutions and postdoctoral advisors assuming greater responsibility for ensuring postdoctoral scholars receive the mentorship and career support they desire, which may require a systematic change in the postdoctoral training environment. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of STEM education)
    This phenomenological study explores the mentoring needs of 13 Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars with an adaptation of the ideal mentoring model used as the conceptual framework. A documented four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis was employed to examine the interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. The phenomenon’s essence is Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars have primary and secondary mentoring needs pertaining to their immediate career acquisition of a position in the professoriate. Primary mentoring needs include expanding their professional networks and support in crafting competitive application packages and coaching on work-life balance. Secondary needs consist of enhancing and promoting their technical skills, as well as acquiring political guidance on matters of race/ethnicity in academia. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email