RESEARCH THAT MAKES THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE.
Exploring the emotional labour of mentoring and how mentoring expertise develops.
The Emotional Labour of Mentoring
Mentoring is often treated as something experienced professionals should simply know how to do. My research challenges that assumption.
My PhD explored the emotional labour of mentoring; the often unseen work involved in managing our own emotions while responding to the emotions, expectations and needs of others.
I developed and validated a quantitative, psychometric framework to better understand and measure the emotional and relational work involved in mentoring.
In plain English, this means I created a way to measure something that is usually invisible: the emotional effort mentors use when supporting others.
What my research explores:
- ZMentoring expertise develops through mentoring experience.
- ZProfessional experience alone does not automatically make someone a great mentor!
- ZNew and developing mentors particularly benefit from targeted support and training during their early mentoring experiences.
- ZMentoring is complex, relational and emotionally demanding work.
My Publications
My research on mentoring and emotional labour has been published in the International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education.
The following 3 papers detail the design and creation of my framework and scales: Mentoring as Emotional Labour Framework (MEL)
- Putting the cart behind the horse: conceptualising the emotionality of mentoring. READ HERE
Introducing the MEL framework scales: measuring the emotional labour involved in mentoring pre-service teachers. READ HERE
Interested in this work?
I’m always interested in conversations about mentoring, emotional labour, research and potential collaborations.
