Rebuilding faculty capacities in higher education: An alternative for relational mentoring

The aim of this study is to explore how Hungarian university teachers at a faculty of social sciences adapt developmental initiations in mentoring relationships. These relationships are designed to maximise reflective space through various mentoring structures without predefined mentoring roles. This study presents findings from a pilot faculty mentoring programme involving faculty (n = 13) from the same institution who joined on a voluntary basis for 6 months. For the analysis of the programme, baseline and end of programme survey, participants’ reflective diaries and transcripts of the final focus groups were used. The content analysis of the qualitative data was supplemented by quasi-statistical descriptive analysis of the quantitative dataset. The relational perspective of the mentoring programme design nurtured (1) the multi-directional nature of the learning cycles, (2) the diverse content of the professional discussions, and (3) the programme impact on the individuals’ workplace well-being.