Mentorship Among Educational Leadership Doctoral Students Enrolled at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Introduction

Doctoral student completion rates in the United States have hovered around 50% for years. The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) scholars (n.d.) confirmed this average through a longitudinal study of completion and attrition among PhD students and candidates. The variability of completion and attrition varies based on requirements. The spectrum of requirements, along with the expectations for doctoral students, is wide. Likewise, the expectations for the doctoral candidate, whose classification is based on course completion and the requirement to conduct a unique study and document it through dissertation, can also prove just as vast. Although many doctoral students and candidates may have completed a thesis in their master’s programs, many have never engaged in research congruent to the expectation and rigor associated with a doctoral dissertation.

Even programs within the same field include vary in requirements. Increased commonalities among in-field programs with the same accrediting body or similarities in mission are likely. Educational leadership, for example, is a program among the social sciences that prepares scholars and practitioners to assume academic leadership positions or further their capacity as academic leaders. The same students who are unsure how to conduct research could, however, have a vision for their post-doctoral professional endeavors but may lack insight into how to position themselves for the future they desire. This is certainly the case among doctoral students and candidates who are seeking careers in the academy. According to Bice et al. (2021), when doctoral students are engaged with a mentor on multiple projects during their degree program, these students are more likely to be productive faculty members. They also found that graduate students who communicate with their mentor were more likely to be productive scholars.

Among educational leadership doctoral students, navigating the doctoral terrane often evokes feelings of uncertainty and isolation. For educational leadership doctoral students enrolled at one of the few programs at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU), isolation can prove more inherent. Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Albany State University, Fayetteville State University, Florida A&M University, Grambling State University, Hampton University, Howard University, Jackson State University, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T University, Prairie View A&M University, South Carolina State University, Tennessee State University, Texas Southern University, and Virginia State University are among the only HBCUs that offer doctorate degrees in educational leadership.

The extent of clarity surrounding the doctoral expectations—no matter the institution—often contributes to setbacks, prolonged completion times, and attrition. While individual, institutional, and program variables exist, CGS (n.d.) identified six institutional and program factors to influence doctoral student completion: (a) selection, (b) financial support, (c) program environment, (d) research mode of the field, (e) processes and procedures, and (f) mentoring.

Mentorship, in particular, provides a social support that fosters academic and professional development. While various definitions for mentorship exist, Mullen and Kilmatiis (2021) examined meaning among the mentorship terrain and identified personal-professional, educational, organizational, cultural, and global contexts of mentorship. Their examination emphasizes the multifaceted nature of mentoring. Bell et al. (2021) described mentorship as an overlooked and loosely defined factor of career development. Regarding their individual relationships with mentorship, the authors further stated that “it is our shared experience that mentorship more than mattered; it defined us as professionals, as leaders, and as individuals that have dedicated their careers to generational continuity” (p. 1).

Specific programming as well program modality distinctions foster further disparity among various doctoral programs. To promote a sense of community, belonging, and continuity among doctoral program students, many institutions admit in cohorts. Among the HBCU educational leadership program, several, including Alabama State University and Florida A&M University, admit doctoral students in cohorts.