Mentors' and mentees' intellectual-partnership through the lens of the Transformative Learning Theory

Margareth Santos Zanchetta; Annette Bailey; Olesya Kolisnyk; Lorena Baku; Jasna Schwind; Eunice Osino; Kateryna Aksenchuk-Metersky; Niyat Mehari; Oluwafunmbi Babalola; Joneet Christopher; Aafreen Hassan; Newton Leong; Mohamed Mohamed; Patrice Nemhbard-Wedderbrun; Ann Rodrigues; Rona Sales; Liana Salvador-Watts; Lira Santiago; Terry Sizto; Melissa Stevenson; Lina Yu

doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2017.05.009

Mentors' and mentees' intellectual-partnership through the lens of the Transformative Learning Theory

Nurse Educ Pract. 2017 Jul:25:111-120. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2017.05.009. Epub 2017 May 31.

Authors

Margareth Santos Zanchetta¹, Annette Bailey², Olesya Kolisnyk³, Lorena Baku⁴, Jasna Schwind², Eunice Osino², Kateryna Aksenchuk-Metersky⁵, Niyat Mehari⁶, Oluwafunmbi Babalola⁷, Joneet Christopher⁸, Aafreen Hassan⁹, Newton Leong¹⁰, Mohamed Mohamed¹¹, Patrice Nemhbard-Wedderbrun¹², Ann Rodrigues², Rona Sales², Liana Salvador-Watts¹³, Lira Santiago², Terry Sizto², Melissa Stevenson¹⁴, Lina Yu²

Affiliations

¹ Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada.
³ Centennial College - School of Health Studies, 755 Morningside Ave, Scarborough, ON, M1C 5J9, Canada.
⁴ University Health Network - Toronto General Hospital & Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 585 University Avenue, Munk Building Basement PMB 130, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada.
⁵ Faculty of Nursing, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St., London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada.
⁶ Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.
⁷ Northern Ontario School of Medicine - Sudbury Campus, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada.
⁸ Trillium Health Partners, 100 Queensway W, Mississauga, ON, L5B 1B8, Canada.
⁹ Flemington Health Centre, 10 Gateway Blvd, North York, ON, M3C 3A1, Canada.
¹⁰ St Michael's Hospital - Sumac Creek Health Centre, 73 Regent Park Blvd, 3rd floor, Toronto, ON, M5A 2B7, Canada.
¹¹ Toronto Public Health - East York Civic Centre, 850 Coxwell Avenue, Lower Level, Toronto, ON, M4C 5R1, Canada.
¹² Hamilton Family Health Team, 264 Concession St., Hamilton, ON, L9A 1B2, Canada.
¹³ St Joseph's Health Centre, 30 The Queensway, Toronto, ON, M6R 1B5, Canada.
¹⁴ Anishnwabe Health Toronto, 179 Gerrard St., Toronto, ON, M5A 2E5, Canada.

PMID: 28609686
DOI: 10.1016/j.nepr.2017.05.009

Abstract

In this paper we report reflections about the scholarly mentoring experiences of undergraduate nursing students (mentees) and faculty members (mentors) involved in an intellectual partnership at a Canadian university. The paper specifically recounts the impacts of the transformative process experienced by 18 mentees and three mentors, based on their in-depth written critical reflections. In this collaborative initiative, the constructivist framework of Shor and Freire, and Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory, served as foundations for all interactions between mentees and mentors, and guided the analysis and interpretation of their written self-reflections. Mentees and mentors were motivated by complementary goals for the intellectual relationships. Their combined contexts, self-reflective, critical dialogue, shared assumptions and ideas worked to ignite a critical awareness of their potential and self in their professional world. Sharing new ways of thinking and points of view stimulated their transformation on various levels -emotional, cognitive, and spiritual.

Keywords: Intellectual partnership; Scholarly mentoring; Transformative learning; Undergraduate nursing students.

MeSH terms

Awareness
Canada
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate
Faculty, Nursing / psychology*
Humans
Learning*
Mentors / psychology*
Models, Educational
Students, Nursing / psychology*
Writing*