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Women's lifeprints: Mentoring relationships of our past and our present
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to gain greater understanding concerning women's mentoring relationships. Specifically, the study investigated the bonding patterns, or lifeprints, of women upon identification of significant persons (mentors) during two transitional life stages--adolescent development and professional development. This was a quantitative study with a survey instrument mailed to 243 professional women in the State of Nebraska. These professionals were identified by three organizations: The Nebraska Commission on the Status of Women, I CAN, and NETWORK. The survey tool consisted of demographic information, mentor information, a modified version of LuAnn Darling's Mentoring Potential (MMP), and exploratory questions on the seven power bases and their importance to the mentoring relationship. From the results of the study it was found that 75% of the respondents indicated having had a mentor during their professional development, and of those, approximately 75% identified having had a significant person, mentor, during their adolescent development. Shared characteristics pertaining to the mentors in the two different life stages were compared. Significant correlations were found in some of the physical, personal, and professional factors which were studied. Data regarding the importance of the mentors' power bases indicated the respondents perceived the mentors' "expert" power base to be most important and the mentors' "coercive" power base to be least important in the relationship. The exploratory study indicated the need for more extensive investigation concerning the formation of mentoring relationships and the understanding of the impact a person potentially has on another person.
Subject Area
Adult education|Continuing education|Educational psychology|Womens studies
Recommended Citation
Oleson, Kathleen Brockman, "Women's lifeprints: Mentoring relationships of our past and our present" (1990). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9121932.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9121932