The Power of Mentoring – Uncovering power dynamics in mentoring dyads

The expectations for mentoring in research and practice are high. The close, dyadic relationship between the mentor and the mentee in the workplace setting is assumed to benefit students, mentors, and the organisations involved. Reality, however, proves more daunting. Mentoring dyads show subtle – and sometimes extreme - power dynamics that potentially result in less than positive experiences or outcomes for all involved. This dissertation engages with the question to what extent mentoring is indeed a panacea for professional education. It aims to uncover the power dynamics to better understand mentoring and how it impacts (broadly defined) the learning of students. The first stage of the research will develop a conceptual-analytical framework which purposefully integrates positioning theory and frame analysis. The second stage consists of an ethnographic multiple case study that studies and compares mentoring dyads in two purposefully selected professions: medical education and teacher education. The goal of this dissertation is to deliver a better empirical and theoretical understanding of power dynamics within mentoring dyads, and how these relate to the way(s) students learn.