Factors Influencing Relational Satisfaction Within An Agricultural Education Mentoring Program

Abstract

Agricultural education is facing a teacher shortage. As a result, many states have implemented a mentoring program to help retain early career teachers. One of the challenges facing mentoring programs is the process of creating successful pairs. The purpose of this study was to determine if Mind Styles™ of mentors and protégés influenced satisfaction with the mentoring relationship. The study also describes demographics, Mind Styles™, and relational satisfaction scores of both mentors and protégés. Data were collected using the Gregorc Style Delineator™ as well as the Mentoring Relationship Questionnaire. The subjects for this study were all mentors and first year protégés in Missouri. The average age of mentors was 40.83 with the average protégé being 25.28 years of age. The mentor group was 80% male while protégés were 69% male. The group was largely Concrete Sequential, but all styles did appear at least once. Differences in relational satisfaction based on Mind Style™ combinations were found for three different combinations. A large effect size was found for Concrete Sequential mentors paired with Abstract Random protégés, indicating a difference in satisfaction.