Feminism and Mentoring of Graduate Students*

• Author: Michael P. Johnson,Catherine Richards Solomon,Karen R. Blaisure,Katherine R. Allen,Áine M. Humble
• Published date: 01 January 2006
• Date: 01 January 2006
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00352.x

Feminism and Mentoring of Graduate Students*

A

´ine M. HumbleCatherine Richards SolomonKatherine R. AllenKaren R. BlaisureMichael P. Johnson**

Abstract: A small body of mentoring literature exists, but how mentoring relates to feminist supervision of graduate

students has not been explicitly addressed. Because mentoring typically socializes individuals into a preexisting struc-

ture that feminist scholars may be challenging, critiquing, and attempting to change, important considerations arise

for feminist mentoring. Three established feminist educators’ stories of mentoring are presented. Commonalities

and concerns are identified, and implications for graduate pedagogy are presented.

Key Words: feminism, graduate studies, mentoring, pedagogy.

Feminist pedagogy in family studies is concerned

with women’s experiences in families (Allen, 1988);

family diversity on the basis of characteristics such as

structure, race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orienta-

tion (Thompson, 1995; Walker, 1993); and con-

tinuing imbalances of power within families on the

basis of gender and other characteristics (Allen &

Baber, 1992). Understanding how the social struc-

ture affects personal experiences is key, as is working

toward changing unjust social structures (Walker,

Martin, & Thompson, 1988). Feminist pedagogical

approaches such as reflexivity, self-disclosure, and

classroom dialogue (e.g., Blaisure & Koivunen,

2003; Thompson) have been explicated, and various

substantive resources have been described (e.g.,

Baber & Murray, 2001; Walker). However, this

scholarship has focused primarily on undergraduate

education, and such discourse may not be easily

or necessarily transferable to the graduate experi-

ence (Kameen, 1995). Graduate education occurs in

smaller classrooms, and in particular, through one-

on-one relationships in which professors are ‘‘driven

by contradictory combinations of personal and

institutional desires’’ while students oscillate between

the ‘‘originality and conformity’’ of their work (Kameen,

pp. 449–450). The intense and complex nature of

such exchanges sets the stage for mentoring relation-

ships to develop. Yet, faculty members do not

necessarily know how to mentor (Johnson, 2002;

Luna & Cullen, 1998), and graduate students may

not have the opportunity to think intentionally about

professional issues involved in long-term graduate

student–faculty relationships (Johnson & Nelson,

1999).

Moreover, although a small body of literature

exists on mentoring, very little of it focuses on men-

toring from a feminist perspective. The concept and

process of mentoring raises interesting issues for

feminist educators because mentoring is intended to

socialize individuals into a preexisting environment

(Cochran-Smith & Paris, 1995), intentionally or

unintentionally reproducing systems of inequality

(Colley, 2001). The purpose of this article is to

explore aspects of feminist mentoring relevant to

family studies graduate study. We use three feminist

educators’ stories of mentoring and being mentored

to elucidate pivotal issues and challenges. We discuss

their experiences, addressing themes of (a) self-

disclosure, (b) power, (c) resistance to feminism,

and (d) social change and advocacy. We extend

*This paper is based on a symposium presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Vancouver, BC, Canada, November 2003.

**A

´ine M. Humble is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Studies and Gerontology, Mount Saint Vincent University, 166 Bedford Highway,Halifax,

Nova Scotia, B3M 2J6 Canada (aine.humble@msvu.ca). Catherine Richards Solomon is an Assistant Professor at the Quinnipiac University. Katherine R. Allen is

a Professor at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Karen R. Blaisure is an Associate Professor at the Western Michigan University. Michael P.

Johnson is an Associate Professor at the Pennsylvania State University.

Family Relations, 55 (January 2006), 2–15. Blackwell Publishing.

Copyright 2006 by the National Council on Family Relations.