Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication

 

First Advisor

Lindsay Hastings

Date of this Version

5-2019

Citation

Knopik, N.W. (2019). Generativity development of college students who mentor. MAS thesis. University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Comments

A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science, Major: Leadership Education, Under the Supervision of Professor Lindsay J. Hastings. Lincoln, Nebraska: May 2019.

Copyright (c) 2019 Nick Knopik

Abstract

Research has shown that college students who mentor demonstrate higher levels of generativity than other college student leaders and general college students; yet, it is unclear whether college student mentors develop generativity over time as a result of their mentoring experience or enter a mentoring relationship because their generativity is already well-developed. This study compared the levels of generativity within individuals and across age cohorts during a one-year time period while controlling for gender for college students who mentor. Three quantitative generativity measures were used to collect data from a sample of 45 college student mentors at two time points, approximately one year apart. Repeated measures MANCOVA data analysis revealed a non-significant statistical change in generativity scores for college student mentors during a one-year time period after controlling for gender. The results from this analysis had limited interpretability due to an insufficient sample size and a lack of power to fully identify a main effect. During the second data collection, a total of 135 college student mentors completed the same three generativity measures and their scores were compared across age cohorts. Cross-sectional MANCOVA analysis revealed a non-significant statistical relationship between years spent mentoring and generativity level for college student mentors after controlling for gender. The findings from the present study substantiate the idea that a college student may seek out a mentoring opportunity because he or she possess a significantly higher level of generativity than other college students upon entering a mentoring relationship.

Advisor: Lindsay J. Hastings

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