open access

https://doi.org/10.14943/J.HighEdu.20.15

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/56819

Mentoring for Tenure Track Faculty Members in Japan: Results of Faculty Surveys

日本語

2013-03

北海道大学高等教育推進機構

Journal of Higher Education and Lifelong Learning

20

15-27

In 2006, Japanese universities introduced a tenure-track system in which assistant professors were expected to focus on research in a more independent research environment. In the tenure track in Japan, pre-tenured professors are assigned a “mentor” who is supposed to assist them in the process of becoming a tenured professor. To construct an effective mentoring program for future faculty members, it is necessary to understand the current mentoring practices and perceptions of senior as well as junior professors about mentoring university professors in Japan. As yet, we know little about these practices and faculty perceptions. This study reports the results of two faculty surveys that examined mentoring practices at Okayama University and perceptions of tenure-track professors and their mentors about mentoring. The results indicated that mentoring in tenure tracks generally focused on enhancing assistant professors’ research accomplishments, although the nature and the extent of the mentor’s involvement in the research project varied and both parties were unsure whether the mentoring relationship achieved its purpose. Lack of understanding of the concept of mentoring and the mentee’s developmental stage as a researcher seemed to contribute to the differences.

紀要論文

Version of Record

1341-9374

AN10527626