ABSTRACT
Counsellor, confidante, master, inspector, role model, sponsor, coach, teacher, trainer, guide, protector, leader and helper are all used to describe the role of a mentor. Numerous definitions defining mentoring within an array of contexts reflect the lack of consensus on the intent, roles, and functions a mentor serves. Alleman, Cochran, Doverspike and Newman (1984) suggested mentoring is ‘a relationship in which a person of greater rank of expertise teacher, guides, and develops a novice in an organization or profession’ (p. 329). This definition represents a rather sterile view of mentoring devoid of personal commitment or caring on the part of the mentor. The ERIC thesaurus defines mentors as ‘trusted and experienced supervisors or advisors who have personal or direct interest in the development and/or education of younger or less experienced individuals, usually in professional education or professional occupations’ (Houston, 1990). While this comes closer to our view of what a mentor could be within an educational setting it still does not allow for the role of mentor to vary as a function of the context in which it is situated.
