Chapter 1: Introduction: Mentoring as a Facilitator of Wellbeing in Higher Education Settings

Mentoring is a developmental relationship which has become a widely used practice in higher education within many fields such as education, engineering, business, and health (Kochan, 2002). There are hundreds of definitions of mentoring. Dominguez and Kochan (2020) have identified 5 elements present in most definitions: a) qualifiers; b) defining word; c) participants; d) functions; and, e) activities. The overarching characteristic of mentoring, commonly accepted across disciplines, is that it is a developmental relationship (Dominguez & Kochan, 2020) that has a goal of supporting professional growth and development of mentees (Wong et al., 2005). In this book we define mentoring as the process of matching a knowledgeable, skilled, or experienced individual or professional (i.e., mentor) with beginning or novice individuals (i.e., mentee) with the aim of forming a mutually supportive, trusting, and meaningful association between these individuals in particular contexts.