Science & Justice 62 (2022) 785–794

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Science & Justice

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scijus

Research Paper

Student mentoring to enhance graduates’ employability potential

Rachel S. Bolton-King *
Department of Society, Crime & Environment, School of Justice, Security & Sustainability, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper considers whether the adoption of a subject-specific, classroom-based, voluntary extra-curricular
Andragogy student mentoring scheme could provide an effective mechanism and andragogic approach to enhance higher
Confidence education students’ employability potential pre-graduation.
COVID-19
Over the three-year pilot, 26 more advanced (second to fourth year) undergraduate students actively mentored
Employability
Forensic
nearly 400 first year undergraduate students during workshops delivered annually within forensic and policing
Graduate focused courses. In total, 17 mentors anonymously completed online, post-scheme surveys. Survey data was
Mentor quantitatively analysed to evaluate the scheme, establish which skills and attributes mentors had developed and
Pedagogy investigate whether mentors could appropriately identify example skills within professional terminology used
Policing during employer recruitment. In addition, this paper reflects on the implementation of remote student mentoring
Science during the COVID-19 pandemic and its adoption within a blended learning framework.
Self-efficacy The results from this research strongly support mentoring as an effective mechanism to develop undergraduate
Skills
employability skills, significantly developing mentors’ self-confidence and self-efficacy in their interpersonal and
Undergraduate
communication skills. Although mentors were aware of university graduate attributes and thought they could
evidence these with appropriate examples, in practice this was not necessarily the case. As a result, a framework
is proposed to enable mentors to identify their skills and how they may align with competencies sought by
relevant forensic and policing employers. However, other andragogic practices may need to be implemented to
maximise the potential for successful graduate employment.

1. Introduction year students valued the new workshop content, learners felt they could
benefit from further support due to the novelty of the skills and concepts
This paper focuses on the adoption of a new mentoring scheme into a being developed and the relatively large class sizes (approximately 40
core, introductory first year undergraduate module delivered across students per workshop). As a result, in 2013 the author designed and
forensic and policing-related degree programmes at a United Kingdom implemented the School’s first informal mentoring [6] scheme to sup­
(UK) university. The module initially comprised of lectures and labo­ port workshop activities (see section 2.1 for more detail). This scheme
ratory practicals to develop theoretical understanding and subject- aimed to;
specific skills, with tutorials to develop personal attributes and aca­
demic skills to higher education (HE) level. In 2012, weekly 1-hour 1) provide a safe, nurturing environment to support first year under­
tutor-led workshops were also introduced to further support core skill graduate students (junior learners, mentees) learn within a HE
development and application of theoretical knowledge to meet graduate environment
employer needs in the sector [1–5]. Workshop activities included; wit­ 2) provide an extra-curricular opportunity to develop subject-related
nessing and responding to a simulated firearm incident, attending a employability skills and enhance the professional development of
mock crime scene, investigating contamination reduction through use of second-, third- or fourth-year undergraduate students (senior
personal protective equipment (PPE), critically evaluating and learners, mentors)
describing packaged evidence, sampling and packaging suspected drug 3) create a cross-level community to facilitate student transition into
evidence, writing contemporaneous notes, and producing group videos and progression through the student HE journey.
related to quality assurance. Although initial feedback established first

* Address: R132 Science Centre, Staffordshire University, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 2DF, United Kingdom
E-mail address: [email protected].

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2022.04.010
Received 26 October 2021; Received in revised form 13 March 2022; Accepted 29 April 2022
Available online 4 May 2022
1355-0306/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
R.S. Bolton-King Science & Justice 62 (2022) 785–794

Mentoring has become an increasingly popular mechanism to sup­ workshops by actively asking questions, providing constructive peer
port learners as they progress through education [7] and training. Being feedback on mentee’s responses and offering relevant advice from a
mentored can develop competence in a work-based environment [8,9], student’s perspective. For example, if a mentee asked for the direct
and enhance professional performance [10], career development answer to a question, the mentor may instead ask “What do you think
[11,12] and career success [13]. In the context of HE, mentoring has the answer is?”.
increased academic performance in a subject-specific discipline [14] The author’s mentoring scheme was implemented and evaluated
and holistically improved integration, retention and satisfaction [15,16] over a three-year period (September 2013 to December 2015). During
of the students receiving mentoring (mentees). this three-year evaluation, 26 individuals mentored nearly 400 in­
Mentoring-based interventions benefit from incorporating both dividuals (approximately 130 mentees and 7 mentors per academic
pastoral and academically targeted components [17,18] and have been year). Mentors volunteered for up to 11 weeks of workshops and up to
effective after major transitions, such as within 10 weeks of moving into six repeat sessions each week based on their availability. The numbers of
HE [19]. However, such published research and support for mentoring is repeat workshops running in any given academic year was determined
predominantly assessed from the mentees’ perspective. There has been by the number of mentees in the cohort; either four or six repeats each
relatively little focus on the development opportunities for mentors week. Although the number of mentees per workshop should have been
within these synonymous learning partnerships [6,20,21]. Where men­ consistent, the actual number in attendance could vary each session. As
tors have been the focus of employability-based research in HE, mentors a result, mentors may or may not have worked with the same group of
have typically been external industry professionals rather than under­ mentees from week to week and mentee-to-mentor ratios could also
graduate students [22]. As a result, this research starts to fill the liter­ differ due to mentor availability. Incorporating such a flexible approach
ature gap from the perspective of undergraduates as mentors, could enable mentors and mentees to self-select and naturally choose to
specifically in the field of forensic science. develop their mentoring relationships over time [29]. Where mentor
This study evaluates whether implementing a subject-specific men­ numbers were limited within a workshop, mentors may have supported
toring scheme can provide an effective andragogic opportunity for se­ approximately 12–15 mentees (up to three groups), or the lead tutor/
nior undergraduate students to develop their employability potential in academic may have provided additional cover where a mentor was not
a classroom environment. In doing so, the paper explores the develop­ present.
ment of mentors’ skills, self-confidence and self-efficacy. The author
reflects on the mentor’s ability to identify and classify skills as specific 2.2. Data collection
graduate attributes and poses a suggested framework to improve skill
identification. In addition, the wider adoption of such schemes are Following ethical approval of the author’s institution, mentors
considered, including in a post-COVID era. It is hoped that this article voluntarily completed anonymous online Qualtrics questionnaires (Ap­
will initiate wider implementation of mentoring as an andragogic pendix A; note - questions 6,9,15,24–26 were only asked during the final
practice within criminal justice curricula and initiate future research evaluation period, September to December 2015) regarding their
into the value and impact of becoming a mentor. experience on the mentoring scheme. Mentors typically completed the
questionnaire within two weeks of completing the scheme. While
2. Method mentees’ perspectives were also sought during the evaluation, this paper
focuses only on the mentors. Section 3 discusses the questions most
2.1. Establishing the mentoring scheme relevant to this paper.
Of the 26 mentors who participated in the scheme during the three-
As graduates can place greater value on extra-curricular activities year evaluation period, 17 individuals (65%) engaged in survey evalu­
and placements compared to degree content [23], the author designed ation and therefore the results should be representative of the wider
this new mentoring scheme to be voluntary, inclusive, informal and mentor cohort. However, it is important to bear in mind that six mentors
extra-curricular. Any undergraduate (Bachelors of Science [BSc] or in­ volunteered in multiple years and therefore each completed more than
tegrated Masters of Science [MSci]) student who had previously passed one survey.
(aggregate module grade over 40%) the core module in which the
scheme was implemented could volunteer as a mentor. Mentors were 2.3. Mentor demographic
recruited through announcements on Blackboard, the institution’s vir­
tual learning environment. No financial or credit-based incentives were Of the 26 mentors, 22 were female and four were male. Of the 17
offered to mentors in return for their participation. mentor respondents, all but one mentor was studying a BSc (Hons) in
All mentors received a basic yet formal 2-hour induction and training 2014/15, whereas in 2015/16 four of seven mentors were completing a
session [20,24] outlining the role of the workshop’s lead tutor/academic MSci. Ten respondents mentored in their final year of study (one mentor
and the author’s expectations regarding mentors’ preparation prior to, did not disclose) and informal verbal discussions suggested this high
and conduct during, each workshop. The session also provided some proportion was due to impending graduation, a need to enhance their
opportunities to consider teaching and mentoring approaches using curriculum vitae and increasing independent study time within their
example scenarios based on the author’s past experiences. This training timetable.
was not overtly underpinned by specific andragogic or mentoring Most students (15) who became mentors studied forensic-focussed
models to reduce the potential for mentors feeling overwhelmed or degree programmes rather than policing-focussed programmes. As all
panicked whilst being challenged to perform outside their comfort zone mentors had previously passed the module, this demonstrates that they
[25]. could adequately support the academic and practical content.
Post-training, mentors were provided with a detailed lesson plan for
each 1-hour workshop outlining the aims and learning objectives, the 2.4. Mentor engagement
material being delivered with key questions posed by the lead tutor/
academic, the expected range of mentee responses and the most In year one, the author gave the mentors the opportunity to partic­
appropriate answers sought. Mentors were expected to guide mentees ipate in all 11 weeks of workshops. Mentors typically engaged with
towards achieving the workshops’ learning outcomes under the direc­ between five and eleven (mean of eight) weeks of workshops. Anec­
tion of the lead tutor/academic (directional mentoring) [26,27] rather dotally this decision was mainly influenced by students’ availability,
than adopting the role of an undergraduate teaching assistant [28]. interest in the workshop content and perceived confidence in supporting
Mentors were therefore asked to encourage all mentees to engage in the the session. Following verbal discussions between the author and

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mentors it was identified that a further four workshops had a greater

focus on whole group rather than individual, paired or small group ac­
tivities. Therefore, the author advised mentors of this during training in
subsequent years. Consequently the number of weeks mentors typically
volunteered reduced to between three and seven (mean of five) in 2014/
15 and three to five (mean of four) in 2015/16.
Depending on the number of mentees in a cohort, each 1-hour
workshop was repeatedly delivered either four or six times a week and
was led by a tutor/academic rather than the mentors (as previously
mentioned). On average, mentors volunteered for three (when four) or
four (when six) repeats each week. Section 3.1 discusses whether
delivering repeat sessions had any impact on their level of profession­
alism and support provided to mentees over the scheme.
During each workshop mentors worked with one to three smaller
groups of students adopting a directional mentoring, question-based
approach to inclusively encourage mentee engagement throughout the
session. Mentors encouraged mentees to discuss activities with their
peers, prompt ideas/thoughts/opinions, explain any difficulties
encountered with the activities to enable and facilitate mentees to meet
all workshop learning outcomes in the time available. Mentees were not
Fig. 1. Ranking of and scores for pre-coded skills/attributes developed by
expected to lead the workshop but did take a leadership role within their
mentors. Note - mean scores between 2.5 and 3.5 suggest some self-
group to ensure activity completion. Mentors were encouraged to reach
development; mean scores of 3.5 or higher suggest significant self-development.
out to the lead tutor/academic delivering the workshop if they were
unsure or needed support at any time. Additionally, the lead tutor/ac­
before meant they needed to focus less on workshop preparation.
ademic provided mentor oversight and intervened if the lead tutor/ac­
Additionally, all mentors agreed that their perceived level of profes­
ademic perceived the mentor or mentees may benefit from additional
sionalism/support improved when they delivered repeat sessions and
guidance or steering. Further detail regarding mentor activities and the
this may have led to more effective mentoring being delivered by those
skills developed are discussed in section 3.2.
who have mentored for longer periods of time [34]. The author therefore
strongly supports providing annual mentoring opportunities for students
2.5. Data analysis
in forensic and policing programmes. Mentoring seems to broaden and
deepen their skillset, ultimately developing subconscious competences
The Qualtrics questionnaire data was downloaded to Microsoft Excel
[35] that will be more beneficial when seeking employment. Whilst the
for analysis. An external and independent data analyst (see Acknowl­
research method adopted in this paper cannot robustly test Pajares’ [36]
edgements) manually conducted quantitative content (manifest) anal­
finding that enhancing self-efficacy increased academic performance,
ysis on open-ended responses within completed questionnaires [30,31].
there is some evidence that mentors’ assessment marks did improve
Close-ended questions were quantitatively analysed using descriptive
across their three-year personal development programme and further
statistics in SPSS v23. Totals did not always add up to 100% due to
research could investigate this.
rounding or use of multi-coded questions.
In addition to pre-coded statements, approximately two thirds of
mentors thought they had developed other skills/attributes during this
3. Results and discussion
initiative (Fig. 2). However, coding their open comments highlighted
that mentoring had predominantly increased their self-confidence in
3.1. Personal development of mentors
previously pre-coded skills, especially when communicating within
groups (7);
The mentoring experience was very positive; all responding mentors
agreed they ‘got a positive experience from working with the mentees’. Mentor A: ‘Increased my confidence with talking to people,
Supporting findings of Stigmar [32], mentors identified this opportunity approaching people and offering help and advice to people, partic­
had improved their personal skills/attributes rather than academic ularly with groups’.
learning, with less than a third (5) stating volunteering had benefitted
Also when reflecting on the knowledge attained during their degree
subsequent submitted assessments. During the scheme, several mentors
(5), to the extent they may challenge themselves to lead future sessions;
verbally commented to the author that mentoring had reminded them of
key academic learning points, which had reinforced their underpinning
knowledge. Such acknowledgement could explain why these five re­
spondents perceived a positive academic enhancement.
Mentors rated their perceived level of self-development in specific
pre-coded skills/attributes (Fig. 1). All areas demonstrated some, if not
some significant self-development and are similar to those reportedly
developed by teaching assistants [33]. Greatest improvements centered
around direct engagement with others, challenging mentees to consider
tasks themselves, encouraging communication of their thoughts and
listening to the mentees’ responses. Although beyond the scope of this
paper, the mentors’ listening skills and advice were greatly appreciated
by mentees and the author observed significant improvements in active
learner engagement with mentor presence. Prioritisation and time
management were generally lower rated self-developments for those in
their first mentoring year. However, these were identified as the most Fig. 2. Additional skills identified by mentors in open comments (Q17 in Ap­
developed skills in more experienced mentors as delivering workshops pendix A).

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Mentor B: ‘I have become more confident within my own knowledge would help them improve their employability (Fig. 3). However, men­
- and believe I could run at least part of a workshop for the Level 4′ s tors demonstrated a much greater spread of opinion towards knowing
[mentees] based on the knowledge and confidence I have gained …’. what the six overarching GAs were and understanding what these
meant. Increased variation is likely to be attributed to lower self-
In addition to reflection as a new, but unacknowledged skill, mentors
confidences of the mentors [40] to correctly recall the specific names
did identify they had advanced their teamwork and interpersonal skills
of the six GA categories and example skills/attributes that fall into these
(4);
categories.
Mentor C: ‘Interpersonal skills - working with and helping different As shown in Fig. 3, mentors appear to be self-aware in how their own
groups of students each week’. skillset fits with the GA and feel they know how to apply the GA to
themselves. However, when mentors were asked to identify specific
This research therefore supports Westerman, Stout, and Hargreaves
examples of the Professional attributes from a pre-coded list containing
[37] and demonstrates that even in a classroom environment, mentoring
examples of Reflective and Critical, Professional and Life Long Learner
is a very valuable activity and mechanism for developing students’ self-
attributes, there was relatively little ability to categorise these examples
efficacy, potentially reducing levels of self-criticism. However, some of
correctly. Mentors were more likely to specify Reflective and Critical
the open comments demonstrate that mentors may still struggle with
skills/attributes that fell under the Professional GA category. This sug­
relating their skills to higher-level terminology frequently used within
gests the undergraduate mentors may not understand the differences
job application or interview questions so is further explored in section
between the GA and therefore cannot apply specific attributes as the
3.2. Also, it is important to further consider mentors’ perceptions of
most relevant examples in GA subgroups. Alternatively, they did not
their individual skills and attributes (section 3.3) and whether mentors
fully read the GA specified in the question. Either way this preliminary
felt they positively impacted the learning environment (section 3.4). It is
study suggests that developing such attributes and generic, transferable
beyond the scope of this paper to explore the alignment between mentor
skills alone is therefore insufficient to demonstrate enhanced employ­
and mentee perspectives, however, the author intends to publish this at
ability. In addition, this study has identified a potential deficiency in the
a later date.
ability of the mentors to identify the most appropriate evidence when
demonstrating examples of key employer competencies during appli­
3.2. Demonstrating employability cation and/or interview. Such deficiencies may therefore have a sig­
nificant impact on their potential to be short listed and/or selected as the
Graduate attributes (GAs) are skills/attributes embedded into a choice candidate, especially if the job vacancy is within a highly
university course that students can develop, use to identify their per­ competitive field, such as forensic science and policing. In the author’s
sonal qualities and enable them stand out in the job market [16,38,39]. opinion, this finding may also be true for the wider (non-mentor) un­
In the author’s institution at the time of the evaluation and in the context dergraduate student population, but further research would be needed
of this research, the GAs were broken down into six areas; Professional, to investigate this.
Global Citizen, Teamwork and Communication, Life Long Learner, Jackson and Wilton [41] highlight the need to develop approaches
Reflective and Critical, and Discipline Expert. However, there is little that enhance perceived employability, which will lead to more effective
research that explores whether students can assign appropriate skills/ recruitment of new graduates and increased success in the labour mar­
attributes to these over-arching GAs. Therefore in 2015/16 mentors ket. Bidgood [38] suggests individuals need to improve self-
were asked about their awareness of the institution’s GAs and to identify development and career management skills, although others argue it is
examples that align to the most appropriate GA categories (Q24-26 in more important to focus on improving self-esteem, confidence and as­
Appendix A). pirations [41,42]. Based on the results of this research and experience of
Six of seven mentors stated that they had heard of the GAs and there working with undergraduate mentors in forensic science and policing
was very strong agreement that demonstrating examples of the GAs disciplines, the author is more inclined to agree with the latter. Without

Fig. 3. The mean and standard deviation of self-rated scores provided by six mentors regarding their perceived knowledge, understanding and application of GA
(Q25 in Appendix A). Note – higher scores indicate stronger agreement with each statement.

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learners first establishing self-confidence in their own abilities and belief the author observed mentors developing during this scheme.
that they will succeed (self-efficacy), learners may struggle to identify As outlined by Bryce, Rankin and Hunt [1], those working in crime
and subsequently evidence their skills in job applications. As a result, to scenes or forensic laboratories for example, need to demonstrate both
assist future mentors, Table 1 suggests an alignment between the general transferable skills and key practical skills to employers. To
anticipated learning objectives, activities, skills [43,44] and GAs which further increase the awareness and association between skills, GAs and

Table 1
Learning objectives and author perceived skills that senior learners developed through mentoring in two specific workshops with suggestions for alignment with
author’s institutional GAs. Note – as the list of workshops progress in the table only new activities and learning objectives are provided.
Workshop Delivery Mentor Activities and Learning Objectives Mentor-Developed Skill Key Graduate
Mechanism [43,44] Attribute

Attending the Face-to-face Assists lead tutor/academic setting up mock crime scenes in rooms of the crime Performance skills Discipline expert
crime scene scene house
Complies with scheme lead’s and lead tutor/academics’ instructions for the Self-authorship Life long learner
workshop, preparing appropriately
Facilitates mentor-mentee and mentee-mentee introductions in small groups (6 Interpersonal relationships Teamwork and
mentees) in mock crime scene communication
Theorises/imagines mentees’ interpretations of what may have happened at Creative thinking Life long learner
mock crime scenes based on physical evidence
Coaches mentees to observe, interpret and share their thoughts and ideas; asks Manages complex projects Discipline expert
what they see, what may have happened, possible evidence types, approaches
for documenting and searching scene etc.
Motivates all mentees to engage verbally and practically, balancing learners’ Leadership Teamwork and
contributions communication
Supervises mentees in scene sketching and searching as a group Manages complex projects Professional
Applies their knowledge to help mentees make decisions and complete tasks Practical thinking Discipline expert
Evaluates risk dynamically during activities Practical thinking Professional
Communicates with lead tutor/academic during workshop, raising any issues Communication Teamwork and
or concerns communication
Assesses and manages behaviour of mentees in group Critical thinking Reflective and
critical
Takes responsibility for ensuring mentees complete the tasks Self-authorship Reflective and
Critical
Synchronous Takes time to learn new skills and problem-solve Wanting to be a good Life long learner
remote (online) learner
Collaborates with scheme lead to design effective real-time interactivity with Interpersonal relationships Teamwork and
mentees communication
Tests various software and ideas with scheme lead, providing feedback and Practical thinking Reflective and
suggesting alternative approaches or solutions critical
Fabricates mock physical evidence e.g. uses flour to mimic suspect white Creative thinking Discipline expert
powder (mock drug evidence)
Decides where to establish a mock crime scene in own home Practical thinking Life long learner
Creates a safe mock crime scene in own home for mentees to interact remotely Manages complex projects Life long learner
Determines how to use own mobile device(s) to livestream (audio-visual) Digital literacy (practical Life long learner
during workshop e.g. mobile phone, tablet and/or laptop thinking)
Discovers how to use new learning platform (Microsoft Teams) to Digital literacy (intentional Life long learner
simultaneously livestream their crime scene, engage with mentees through learning)
audio and/or written chat and capture mentors performing mentee-suggested
actions e.g. searching for physical evidence
Solves problems in real-time e.g. uses mobile data if WiFi drops out Practical thinking Reflective and
critical
Sampling and Face-to-face Initiates discussions between mentees so they suggest, decide on and perform Leadership Discipline expert
packaging tasks appropriately
evidence Responds sensitively to mentees’ ideas and responses e.g. if an answer Ethics, character building Professional
provided is incorrect
Links workshop tasks to real cases (UK and international) during discussions Interdisciplinary learning Global citizen
Identifies when to ask/seek support or advice from lead tutor/academic Wanting to be a good Life long learner
learner
Empathises with and relates to mentees, reflecting on prior learning Citizenship Professional
experiences
Shares knowledge and experience from learning at higher levels of the degree Citizenship Professional
programme
Synchronous Discovers how to use new learning platform (Top Hat®) and own devices to Digital literacy (intentional Life long learner
remote (online) engage synchronously in workshops learning)
Interacts with mentees professionally in Top Hat® digital platform Interpersonal relationships Professional
Explains to mentees how to use the Top Hat® functions when needed Digital literacy Discipline expert
(understanding)
Manages mentee engagement in an online breakout group Digital literacy (managing Professional
complex projects)
Examines images of contemporaneous notes and packaged evidence shared by Critical thinking Reflective and
mentees through Top Hat® critical
Supports mentees in performing peer-critique of their packaging and Leadership Reflective and
suggesting actions for future personal development critical
Gives constructive feedback to mentees on their engagement, skills and task Citizenship Reflective and
performance critical
Demonstrates how to package suspected drug evidence correctly Performance skills Discipline expert

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Table 2
Suggested framework to interpret GAs and support identification of mentor-developed and employer-sought skills/competencies. Note – information is listed
alphabetically.
Graduate Attribute Examples of Mentor-Developed Skills/Competencies Examples of Employer-Sought Skills/ Competencies [1,4,5]

Discipline expert • Coaches others, poses questions • Calculates correctly

• Deep understanding, how and why things work or do not • Calibrates equipment
• Observes mentees’ practice, suggests improvements and alternative • Designs experiments
approaches • Manipulates trace evidence
• Measures accurately and precisely
• Technical expertise
Global citizen • Aware of cultural differences • Considers and adapts to different backgrounds and
• Shares differences in international practice communities
• Suggests international case examples and resources
• Understands global issues in policing and forensic science
Life long learner • Actions feedback for personal development • Accountable, takes personal responsibility
• Aware of mentees’ needs • Collaborative
• Creative, suggests alternative solutions • Innovative
• Learns new technologies • Makes decisions
• Makes informed decisions • Motivates oneself
• Prepares for workshop, self-study • Selfless, considers others
• Self-motivates, engages with extra-curricula activities • Thinks laterally
• Supports mentee learning, advises following self-reflection
Professional • Demonstrates commitment • Aware of health and safety, PPE/COSHH
• Demonstrates patience with mentees • Complies with method/process and follows procedure
• Demonstrates responsibility, being a role model to mentees • Demonstrates integrity and honesty
• Evaluates risk dynamically within group • Fair, unprejudiced and unbiased
• Listens and follows instruction • Mentors and supervises others
• Manages behaviour of group • Minimises contamination
• Manages own workload • Motivates others
• Mentors, provides feedback • Transparent
• Pays attention to detail
• Task-focused, completes within the timescale
• Supports new mentors
Reflective and critical • Adapts and is flexible in real-time • Challenges and questions appropriately
• Assesses group dynamics • Critically and constructively analyses information
• Challenges assumptions, opinions, myths and ideas • Emotionally aware
• Demonstrates empathy • Encourages reflection in others
• Develops self-efficacy • Solves problems
• Problem-solves in real-time
• Self-reflects for personal development
• Suggests different viewpoints and perspectives
Teamwork and • Delivers mentor handovers between repeat workshops • Clearly and comprehensively communicates with others
communication • Develops relationships e.g. mentor-academic, mentor-mentor, mentor- • Communicates with everyone
mentee • Creates trusting relationships
• Encourages mentee and mentor participation • Credits others
• Leads mentees, provides guidance and advice • Leads and takes ownership
• Listens to mentees and tutors/academics • Note taking
• Speaks publicly, various group sizes and backgrounds • Tailors communication according to audience
• Verbally explains using accessible or simple language

employability as learners progress through their university course, the authors’ opinion, such practice should be adopted across all HE
author proposes a framework (Table 2) to connect mentor, HE and curricula, not just that of forensic and policing students. A university-
employer perspectives in the sector [1,4,5,45]. The framework provides wide approach with subject-specific applications could more effec­
examples for how mentor-developed and employer-sought skills may be tively support students to be more confident and competent in
attributed to a set of GAs. The intention is that scheme leads, HE careers evidencing mentoring as an example under industry specific terminol­
advisors, graduates and mentors may utilise this framework as a support ogy used in employer’s job and person specifications. More effective
mechanism during job application preparation. As many of the skills skills communication could subsequently maximise scores/ratings
mentors develop are transversal across professional domains, this assigned during application and interview processes and thus maximise
framework could also be applied by sector graduates in job roles outside students’ success when seeking degree-related, post-graduation
the criminal justice sector. employment.
In the author’s experience, mentors develop a much broader range of
skills than they can initially self-identify. This initial evaluation there­ 3.3. Mentors’ perceptions of their skills and attributes
fore demonstrates the importance and need to more frequently advertise
to students the key skills embedded in all aspects of their course through Terrion and Leonard [47] identified a taxonomy of mentoring be­
our andragogic practice. During mentor training in 2016/17, the author tween individuals of same level of experience stating 10 characteristics
embedded relevant coloured badges [46] and presented the key out­ that typically result in creating a positive mentor relationship and
comes of this paper to aid mentors in identifying skills and GAs linked to resulting in a successful mentoring scheme. Of the 10 characteristics two
this scheme. The author therefore supports Ifenthaler, Bellin-Mularski, were career-related functions, i.e. being on a similar programme of study
and Mah [46] and recommends that universities adopt visual aids, and having self-enhancement motivation; eight were psychosocial
such as coloured badges, to increase visibility of key learning skills. functions i.e. demonstrating good communication skills, supportiveness,
Additionally, tutors/academics should frequently ask all students to link trustworthiness, empathy, enthusiasm and flexibility, additionally hav­
individual skills to multiple GA categories developed in a single initia­ ing an interdependent attitude to mentoring, mentee and scheme staff
tive/scheme/opportunity and reflect on their skill development. In the and having a similar personality to the mentee. Within the context of this

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Table 3 the learning environment. Mentors typically felt that the relationship
Ranked coded reasons why mentors believed mentees benefited from their between themselves and the lead tutor/academic also created a positive
involvement in class. Note – base response indicates the number of participants learning environment and that mentees were confident in their contri­
that responded to this question. butions (section 3.3, Fig. 4), even though some mentors may only be 12
Rank Coded Reason Response Numbers months further on in their studies. Mentor presence therefore enabled
1 Helpful, supportive 4 learners to have greater opportunities to ask questions and thus gain
2 Their experience, they have done it before 4 more feedback and support during workshops.
3 Helped with difficult subjects 2 During mentor training, senior learners were asked to take on a more
4 Gave confidence to ask questions 1 coaching based approach [52] where possible, to help mentees become
5 Extra support when academic/tutor was busy 1
Base response (9)
more independent and problem solve through mentor guided ques­
tioning. Although training initially provided the opportunity for men­
tors to suggest approaches to adopt in example scenarios, this research
research, the top two themes coded from open comments (Table 3) align highlighted the importance of embedding additional opportunities for
to the characteristics of supportiveness and experience from being on a mentors to physically practice coaching methods. Such role play was
similar programme of study. As shown in Fig. 4, mentors felt they were therefore adopted in mentor training post-2016. From verbal feedback,
approachable, knowledgeable and professional, explaining information this active problem-based approach improved mentors’ initial confi­
in a way the mentees could understand and giving mentees the oppor­ dence and the experience of the mentees to some extent, although a
tunity to ask about future course modules and career choices. With formal evaluation was not undertaken. To further enhance the personal
growing confidence and familiarity in their role (see section 3.1), growth of mentors and their openness with others, the author agrees it is
mentors also feel their external mentoring competencies have grown important to share and discuss mentees’ evaluations and feedback with
over time. As a result, engaging as a mentor in this scheme could be mentors as part of the scheme lifecycle [53].
considered as a form of authentic learning, developing teaching-related After training each year, mentors were provided with detailed lesson
skills whist at university and enhancing student preparedness for work plans to enable them to prepare for workshops and respond to ques­
[48–50]. tions/tasks accordingly. Although the majority of mentors prepared
Whilst these findings are very encouraging, it is important for us to appropriately and were professional in their engagement from the start,
be aware that there may be differences between mentor and mentee the author observed this was not so for all mentors over the three-year
perspectives. It is beyond the scope of this paper to explore these within; period. Occasionally mentors would turn up tired, distracted and/or
however, such differences may be caused by variations in individuals’ less prepared, with a few mentors being overly confident as they ‘had
mentoring styles, effectiveness and the understanding of the definition learnt all this before’. Conversely, some mentors were naturally intro­
of a ‘role model’ for example [34,47,51]. Whilst the author reflects on verted, using this mentoring opportunity to specifically target, challenge
the behaviour and attitude of some mentors and the impact this could and develop their communication skills. As the author aimed to provide
have had on mentees in section 3.4, further research is needed to explore a nurturing opportunity for mentors to develop personal and
mentor and mentee perspectives in more detail. employability-focussed skills in a synonymous learning environment,
mentors could contribute in sessions if they arrived on time, irrespective
3.4. Perception of mentor impact on the learning environment of their arrival state. Such an inclusive approach may inadvertently
cause mentees to experience disruption in the classroom and need
Generally, mentors felt they had a positive overall effect on the greater input from the lead tutor/academic to more effectively manage
learning environment in the classroom (Fig. 5). This opinion was also mentor engagement. However, reiterating scheme expectations during
supported by discussions with lead tutors/academics, strongly sup­ workshops for example often provided some adjustment to inappro­
porting scheme continuation. Mentors indicated they knew the mentees’ priate mentor behaviours.
workshop learning outcomes, focused on tasks learners needed to In the context of forensic science and policing, the need to maintain a
complete and provided good academic support making them an asset to

Fig. 4. Self-perspectives of mentor attributes for a series of pre-coded statements.

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R.S. Bolton-King Science & Justice 62 (2022) 785–794

Fig. 5. Self-rated perspectives of mentor presence and input from pre-coded statements.

professional demeanour with colleagues, clients and the public regard­ only to workshop content there was no conclusive evidence to support
less of our personal circumstances is vital. Likewise, it is important that whether the mentoring approach significantly improved assessment
learners can enhance or moderate their confidence and skills in public marks for either mentors or mentees. As a result, additional research that
speaking, for example to competently deliver testimony in court. While aims to quantify the impact of adopting academic-focussed mentoring as
mentors may be overly self-critical and we may be unsure of the true a teaching and learning initiative should be undertaken using a pre-and
impact of their presence from the mentees’ perspective, in the author’s post-testing research method.
opinion it is important we trust and encourage undergraduate learners
to adopt professional roles whilst in a ‘safe’ learning environment. The
3.5. Scheme sustainability and future implementation
opportunity to self-reflect and critically analyse discipline-specific and
technical skills by observing and supporting their junior counterparts is
Bower [56] identified three career-focused reasons that may explain
currently rare in forensic science and policing degree programmes.
the rationale for students becoming mentors; the benefit the individual
However, this research suggests it could be a fundamental opportunity
previously received as a mentee, the desire to help others succeed and
for learners to accelerate their personal and professional development,
the benefit the individual themselves would gain from mentoring. Over
become lifelong learners and succeed in their chosen career.
the three-year evaluation period, between 3 and 10% of each academic
Of slight concern, was that four mentors did not know why they were
cohort became mentors on the scheme and all those not graduating that
in the classroom. This uncertainty may have been caused by involving
year offered to mentor again. Similar proportions of senior learners have
these mentors in all 11 workshops in the first pilot year. As some
continued to volunteer as mentors on this module since 2016, even
workshops were conducted as a single, tutor-led group rather than sub-
during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020/21) where workshops were
dividing into multiple smaller groups, mentors may have felt there was
synchronously and remotely delivered from home through Microsoft
less benefit for them to be there. The uncertainties evidenced in this
Teams and the Top Hat® virtual learning environment. Achieving such
research further illustrate the importance of scheme leads implementing
consistency in mentor recruitment suggests that voluntary mentor
mentoring in classes where there is sufficient opportunity for men­
participation is a sustainable model in the context of forensic science and
tor–mentee engagement, and explaining the findings of this research to
police-related undergraduate degree programmes, providing an aca­
mentors during formal training.
demic/tutor leads on workshop delivery and the opportunity is
All mentors agreed/strongly agreed that future students would
adequately promoted to prospective mentors. Institutions may also
benefit from scheme continuation, fostering networking opportunities
consider adopting a credit-bearing or financial incentive for example to
between learners and positively supporting transition into HE [54,55].
create sustainable mentor recruitment. However, further research would
Mentoring and working in smaller groups appears to be particularly
be needed to ascertain the impact of such an approach on mentor
useful when more challenging topics and concepts are being practiced,
development and engagement. While scheme management and leader­
or where mentees may have minimal prior knowledge. Examples include
ship were also provided by the same academic (the author) in this case,
documenting and searching mock crime scenes (5), sampling and
other institutions may decide those working in academic development
packaging evidence (5) and academic referencing (3). Thus, providing
for example, may be more appropriate.
additional support and/or opportunity to ask questions in these sessions
Since this evaluative research was originally conducted, there has
is more beneficial, particularly if mentees were more nervous to ask in
been a transformative change in HE practice [57]. Even during the
front of the whole class. The workshop content delivered on this module
COVID-19 pandemic the author was committed to implementing the
was designed to holistically support the academic transition into HE and
mentoring scheme for the benefit of their learners. During 2020/21,
provide insights into the experiences of a wide variety of roles operating
mentors worked collaboratively with the author to redesign, co-develop,
in the criminal justice system. As none of the module assessments linked
co-create and test a number of delivery mechanisms and e-learning

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R.S. Bolton-King Science & Justice 62 (2022) 785–794

platforms to enable mentees to successfully achieve the same learning to safely develop a wider selection of more advanced, subconscious
objectives during the workshops evaluated in this research as pre- competencies and increased self-confidence in their skills/attributes.
COVID. As a team, we were able to synchronously deliver engaging However, significant consideration and planning is required to manage
and interactive activities and provide real-time feedback to mentees such schemes, especially with increasing numbers of lead tutors/aca­
during all online workshops. Whilst this approach took considerably demics and mentors across a wider spectrum of modules/courses. For
more time and resource, it was vital to train mentors to be confident in readers interested in adopting similar mentoring schemes in their own
using the tools, technologies and their own devices to enable them to institutions, the author intends to share their wider experience and
explain, problem-solve and holistically support mentees to complete the support through #RemoteForensicCSI, an effective network for profes­
tasks and engage throughout the synchronous online sessions (Table 1). sional development in the sector [57]. It is hoped that this paper and
Based on the author’s observations and informal student feedback, it is wider dissemination activities initiate further research into the use and
believed that senior learners have developed a more diverse set of value of undergraduate mentoring. In particular research which evalu­
transferable skills through remote mentoring than they would have done ates and quantifies the extent to which engaging in mentoring initiatives
through face-to-face mentoring pre-COVID. Clearly further research is and other extra-curricular activities may improve the rate of success in
needed to evidence and validate these claims, however, initial feedback gaining graduate employability within the forensic science and criminal
suggests that adopting mentoring within forensic and criminal justice justice sector and in institutions across the globe.
contexts could be viable through both remote distance learning and on-
campus provisions. Such delivery mechanisms could further enhance Funding
digital competencies and increase inclusivity in and accessibility of the
initiative to more learners. Additionally, greater numbers of criminal This research was financially supported by Staffordshire University
justice-related organisations are employing video-communication plat­ through a Vice-Chancellor’s Small Teaching-Led Research Grant in
forms such as Microsoft Teams and moving towards the adoption of 2016.
more digital approaches within their standard practice post-COVID. As a
result, it is increasingly important that all learners have the opportunity CRediT authorship contribution statement
to develop and evidence their digital competencies to meet employer
expectations within the sector before graduation. Rachel S. Bolton-King: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal
analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources,
4. Conclusion Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review &
editing.
The aim of this research was for the first time to evaluate the impact
of participating in a voluntary, extra-curricular undergraduate student
Declaration of Competing Interest
mentoring scheme from a mentor perspective within a forensic and
criminal justice context. Mentors (senior undergraduate students) were
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
surveyed anonymously during a three-year evaluation period
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
(2013–2015) to investigate their individual opinions and perceptions on
the work reported in this paper.
the benefits, limitations and potential future of the scheme.
Introducing mentors in module workshops clearly had a positive
Acknowledgements
effect. Every responding mentor felt their self-confidence, self-efficacy
and personal development were enhanced across numerous
Thanks to all the mentors and mentees who have participated in the
employability-based skills including mentoring, listening and verbal
scheme since its inception and Shannah Birchenough who provided in­
communication, particularly with small groups of individuals. Mentor
dependent data analysis to ensure transparency and objectivity in the
self-development also continued for those volunteering in subsequent
initial interpretation of the data collected. Thanks also to the Guest
years of the scheme, gaining wider leadership skills and some attaining
Editors and two reviewers who helped focus the manuscript prior to
sufficient confidence and self-efficacy to successfully deliver aspects of
publication.
the workshop scheme to larger audiences of up to 40 students. Wood and
Smith [48] suggest that ‘teaching-related’ skills are commonly required
Appendix A. Supplementary data
by recent graduates in the workplace. Therefore, offering students op­
portunities to participate in on-campus schemes would provide mentors
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
with subject-related experiences to develop and evidence their skills to
org/10.1016/j.scijus.2022.04.010.
future employers. While mentors were aware of the university’s grad­
uate attributes and felt they could use this mentoring experience as an
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