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Institutional type and the mentoring of women in higher education administration

Linda Gayle Hytrek, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

Even with the increasing numbers of women who graduate with masters and doctorate degrees, the number of women who advance to upper-level administrative positions in these institutions is still less than 20 percent. These women administrators are also more likely to be found in private or two-year institutions and in less prestigious administrative positions. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between the type or structure of the higher education institution and one career advancement factor—having had a mentor to facilitate the advancement of women administrators. Mentoring is often cited as one of, if not the primary, factor needed by women for career advancement (Hetherington & Barcelo, 1985; Holt, 1981; Kalbfleish and Davies, 1991; Luna and Cullen, 1995; McNeer, 1983; Moore, 1982; and others). This study also examined the types of career and psychosocial mentoring functions performed by the mentors of the respondents who reported having had a mentor. The research questions focused on (1) institutional type and structure and their relationship, if any, to the development of mentoring relationships; (2) organizational factors such as institutional support for mentoring programs and inclusion in or exclusion from communication networks that may affect the development of mentoring relationships; and (3) an analysis of the career and psychosocial mentoring functions performed by the mentors. A questionnaire developed from a compilation of surveys used in previous mentoring studies was used to collect the data. The survey instrument was mailed to a sixteen state, stratified (by institutional type), randomly selected sample of women administrators at the dean's level or above whom are employed in higher education institutions. This study adds to scholarly literature as no previous studies were found that specifically relate organizational type and/or hierarchical structure to the availability and types of mentoring functions experienced by women advancing to higher education administrative positions.

Subject Area

Educational administration|Higher education|Womens studies

Recommended Citation

Hytrek, Linda Gayle, "Institutional type and the mentoring of women in higher education administration" (2000). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9962059.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9962059

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