The theory

The etymology of the word mentor goes back to ancient Greek. Mentor looked after young Telemachus, son of Odysseus, when the latter was away fighting the Trojan war. According to mythology, the goddess Athena impersonated Mentor when the going got tough. Over the centuries a mentor came to signify somebody experienced who takes a kind interest in a less experienced person, offering guidance and support.

In the web of learning, where does mentoring belong? There are four distinct ways of helping others to learn – by being a teacher, tutor, coach or mentor. The teacher–pupil relationship is distant and is dominated by the teacher providing explicit information to the pupil. In the tutor–student relationship, the student goes beyond the given facts and hones his or her understanding through discussion, whereas in coaching, knowledge is transferred through demonstration and feedback to the learner. Mentoring differs from all of the other forms in that learning is less tangible – intuitive knowledge and wisdom are transferred in an environment of encouragement and stimulation. Wisdom here means the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills to a new situation (Clutterbuck, 2004).