My rationale for choosing this topic and research question is simply because I identified a need for such a resource but did not have the capacity to address it until now. As a Graduate Employability Specialist, I frequently work with graduates who are unable to join traditional mentoring programmes due to a variety of factors. Anecdotally, these factors could range from having a Master’s and being a graduate of a college that only allows graduates with a Bachelor’s to join their programme, to graduates wanting to go into a niche area, and subsequently being unable to be paired with a suitable mentor. Some are curious about mentoring but do not have the confidence to commit to a programme where others will have expectations of them, for fear of falling short. While others do not have an awareness of what their situation will look like in six or so months, so cannot commit to a lengthy programme.
This is an issue I see arise frequently when speaking with graduates from several demographics; however, for black graduates, this is compounded (Crenshaw, 1990) when we look at the intersecting elements, making this an undeniable social justice issue. It is also widely documented that they are underrepresented as both mentors and mentees (Walkington, 2017). I wanted my Action Research Project to culminate in the development of a document that detailed actionable steps and useful scripts to help graduates establish their own mentoring relationships, with mentors they felt comfortable to be themselves around.
The document creation was important to me because, when I meet these graduates, it is normally in a twenty-minute one-to-one session where mentoring is just one aspect of what they wish to discuss, usually tacked on at the end. Therefore, we can only briefly engage with it, which is rarely enough time to cover all their questions. However, by developing a tangible resource, it can be sent to them, and they can engage with it whenever they are ready.
I purposefully did not mention race explicitly but carefully chose imagery that includes black professionals in various scenarios. This approach ensures that the document does not other black graduates by making them feel as though their needs and career journeys will always be more difficult. Importantly, it does not unintentionally exclude other graduates, while still making black graduates visible.
There have been extensive articles and studies written on the benefits of mentoring in several iterations, as well as research on supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds. I conducted secondary research in both these areas to inform my Action Research Project. I also used conversations with experienced colleagues as a research method and experimented with autoethnographic exercises to ensure I approached this project in an open and well-rounded way.
Conducting this research and creating this document is pivotal to my role as a Graduate Employability Specialist as one of the many metrics used to assess the effectiveness of my role is Graduate Outcomes (Perrott, 2024). Across the board, there are significant gaps in the graduate-level roles black graduates achieve. I hope this resource can one day contribute to addressing this gap.
UAL actively demonstrates its commitment by funding, sign posting, and running various mentoring programmes, there remains a lack of tailored resources for graduates who are unable to engage in any such initiatives. This Action Research Project aims to bridge that gap by addressing their specific needs.
References
Crenshaw, K. (1990) Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color
Perrott ,L. (2024) ‘Graduate Outcomes 2021/22: Summary Statistics – Graduate activities and characteristics’. Available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/13-06-2024/sb268-higher-education-graduate-outcomes-statistics/activities (Accessed: 16 November 2024)
Walkington, L. (2017) ‘How Far Have We Really Come? Black Women Faculty and Graduate Students’ Experiences in Higher Education’, Humboldt Journal of Social Relations, 39(Special Issue 39: Diversity & Social Justice in Higher Education), pp. 51–65