Two Cultures Collide: Bridging the Generation Gap in a Non - traditional Mentorship

Authors

Lisa R. Merriweather, University of North CarolinaFollow
Alberta J. Morgan, Ball State UniversityFollow

Abstract

Cross - cultural mentoring relationships between younger mentors and older mentees are increasing in frequency across all levels of post - secondary education. Generational cultural differences can result in conflict and misunderstanding and therefore should be considered in non - traditional inter - generational mentoring relationships. Through auto - ethnographic inquiry, we, a younger faculty member and older graduate student, explored our mentoring relationship. We identified communication, respect, and ambiguous roles as issues that significantly impacted our mentorship. The manifestation of power was also highlighted in the study. K

Keywords

Autoethnography, Intergenerational Cross - Cultural Mentoring, Graduate Students, Power Relationships

Publication Date

2-11-2013

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2013.1558

Recommended APA Citation

Merriweather, L. R., & Morgan, A. J. (2013). Two Cultures Collide: Bridging the Generation Gap in a Non - traditional Mentorship. The Qualitative Report, 18(6), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2013.1558