Faculty Mentoring in Eritrean Institutions of Higher Education: A Missing Academic Ingredient for Early Career Academics

Abstract

Cultivation of professionalism and dispositional values of junior faculty members/early career academic in higher education institutions is a global challenge. This paper explores how Graduate Assistants are mentored at work in the higher education institutions in Eritrea. The paper assesses the institutional significance and challenges of mentoring the Graduate Assistants in the context of Eritrean higher education institutions. The research involved the leadership of the colleges, the senior faculty members and the Graduate Assistants. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through a Likert scale questionnaire and in-depth interviews. The findings show that Graduate Assistants receive poor professional mentoring at the higher education institutions. A large number of early career academic revealed a need of serious professional molding to effectively shoulder more responsibilities at the colleges. The early career academic are looking for genuine advisement for career aspiration and professional development opportunities. The colleges’ efforts to ensure recognition, delegation, accountability and encouragement of Graduate Assistants are not yet systematic and hardly materialized in practice. The higher education institutions are required of a firm institutional commitment to sharpen the junior staff’s professional competence in teaching and research through mentoring. Based on the findings, alternative mentoring strategies to mentor early career academic at the higher education institutions are forwarded.

Keywords: early career academics, graduate assistantship, mentoring, stimulation, inspiration

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-15-01

Publication date:May 31^st 2020