Adaptação e sucesso no ensino superior

: o papel das mentorias por pares

Abstract

Mentoring is a form of intervention used to respond to the challenges that result from the transition and adaptation to Higher Education. The present study aims to map and characterize peer mentoring programs and analyze the perceptions of the students who participate in them, their level of adaptation and academic success in the context of Higher Education. Based on this objective, and adopting a qualitative methodology, this study was developed in two phases. The first, documental analysis, of a set of mentoring programs underway in Higher Education Institutions in Portugal, with the main objective of characterizing Mentoring Programs. In a second phase, a Focus Group was held, made up of nine student-mentors from one of the Higher Education Institutions, focusing on the following point: i) Characterization of the Mentors' Perspective on the experience of participating in Peer Mentoring Programs. After validating the transcription of the participants' responses, a thematic analysis was carried out, considering the questioning blocks of the Focus Group script, using the MAXQDA 2022 software. The results analyzed allowed us to understand the main characteristics of the mentoring programs underway in the selected Higher Education Institutions, particularly regarding: Objectives; Operation; Role of the Mentor; Role of the Mentee; Mentor's Rights and Mentee's Rights. In turn, mentors' perceptions reflect the relevance of their experiences as mentors in the following dimensions: Social interaction; Reception Activities; Study Support and In-person/Online. From this study, relevant implications for practice arise, namely for the relevance of peer support initiatives, such as mentoring, as an impactful institutional strategy in promoting a more successful transition to Higher Education, capable of generating effects at the level of academic support, Course/Career, Interpersonal and Personal/Skills.

Date of Award	8 Jul 2024
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Diana Soares (Supervisor)