A Tale of Two Mentees: Conceptualizing Academic Mentorship through Critical Systems Thinking

ABSTRACTAcademic mentorship is a vital step in preparing the next generation, yet little information exists on what successful mentorship looks like—particularly the process by which one ascertains a mentor, builds and maintains mentoring relationships, and achieves success in doctoral programs. Systems thinking is applied here to conceptualize academic mentorship within doctoral education as perceived by three doctoral students in social work programs across two institutions. The purpose of this article is to (a) describe the seminal literature on academic mentorship, (b) conceptualize exemplar cases of academic mentorship for doctoral education, (c) center the perspectives of doctoral students and their mentorship experiences, (d) use a systems-thinking lens to map and visualize the important variables related to mentorship processes, and (e) hypothesize potential levers for successful mentorship within doctoral programs. Authors’ contributionsA.A.B. devised the project, the main conceptual ideas, and proof outline. A.A.B. developed the literature review and theory. All authors created initial causal loop diagrams of their mentorship experiences. B.G. and M.V. translated these with system dynamics software. B.G. created the tables and wrote results. F.C. wrote case conceptualizations and the conclusion. All authors provided critical feedback and helped shape the research, analysis, and article.Availability of data and materialsThere were no datasets generated or analyzed in the preparation of this article.Code availabilityThere were no datasets generated or analyzed in the preparation of this article.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Ethics approval and consent to participatePreparation of this article did not involve human subjects and no Institutional Review Board approval was required.Additional informationFundingThere was no direct funding supporting the preparation of this article. FC is supported by Grant Number [T32MH019960] from the National Institute of Mental Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Institutes of Health.Notes on contributorsAutumn Asher BlackDeerAutumn Asher BlackDeer is an Assistant Professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.Braveheart GillaniBraveheart Gillani is a doctoral candidate in social work at Case Western Reserve University.Flora CohenFlora Cohen is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.Mia T. VogelMia T. Vogel is a doctoral student at Washington University in St. Louis.