Waddington, K., Husbands, D. and Bonaparte, B. 2023. Leaving egos outside: A ‘reverse mentoring’ study of BAME psychology students and senior university leaders. Journal of Academic Development and Education.
| Title | Leaving egos outside: A ‘reverse mentoring’ study of BAME psychology students and senior university leaders |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Waddington, K., Husbands, D. and Bonaparte, B. |
| Abstract | This Highlight article describes a small pilot study of a ‘reverse mentoring’ study in a UK university, involving five undergraduate Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) psychology students who mentored five senior leaders. Inverted commas were initially used to critique the term, and the associations with backward – rather than forward – direction of travel. The article will show how students were enabled and supported in their mentor role by using the concept of being ‘equal thinking partners’ in the mentor-mentee relationship. This allowed vulnerability, trust, shared humanity, and self-compassion to enter the mentoring space. The article presents early findings of the evaluation as work in progress, and critical reflection on the processes of ‘reverse mentoring’. The study provided a foundation for further funded research into compassionate pedagogy with students as co-researchers; and imposter phenomenon among racially minoritised students. The article includes recommendations on how the concept of being equal thinking partners can be: (i) developed further in pedagogical partnerships; and (ii) extended beyond the higher education sector, to youth justice work with vulnerable and disadvantaged young people. |
| Keywords | Reverse mentoring |
| BAME student experience | |
| self-compassion | |
| Journal | Journal of Academic Development and Education |
| ISSN | 2051-3593 |
| Year | 2023 |
| Publisher | Keele University |
| Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Web address (URL) | https://www.keele.ac.uk/kiite/publications/jade/ |
| Supplemental file | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |