Mentoring of Bursary Students by Academic Staff: An Empirical Mixed-Methods Analysis of Student and Lecturer-Mentor Perspectives

Abstract

Previously disadvantaged accounting students in South Africa on Thuthuka (meaning “to develop” in isiZulu) bursaries receive one-on-one mentoring from academic staff throughout their studies. This study gathers the perceptions of students and lecturer-mentors regarding the efficacy of the mentorship through questionnaires and focus group interviews. Respondents associated mentorship with emotional support, academic advising, accountability and monitoring, as well as role modeling. The study contributes to the literature on mentoring in higher education, specifically for bursary, first-generation, or at-risk students. It identifies mentoring as a crucial enabler of transformation and social justice in higher education, contributing to student success and retention.

Keywords

mentorship bursary students first-generation students transformation social justice

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adler

Stringer

(2018). Practitioner mentoring of undergraduate accounting students: Helping prepare students to become accounting professionals. Accounting & Finance, 58(4), 939–963. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12249

Barac

(2015). Helping disadvantaged students: Findings from the Thuthuka programme. Accounting Education, 24(2), 75–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639284.2015.1010171

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Christensen

L. J.

Menzel

K. E.

(1998). The linear relationship between student reports of teacher immediacy behaviors and perceptions of state motivation, and of cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning. Communication Education, 47(1), 82–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634529809379112

Coates

W. C.

(2012). Being a mentor: What’s in it for me? Academic Emergency Medicine, 19(1), 92–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1553-2712.2011.01258.x

Comfort

(2024). Mentoring, social capital and young people. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 22(2), 38–52. https://doi.org/10.24384/1ttg-gt35

Creswell

J. W.

Creswell

J. D.

(2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage Publications.

DeAngelo

Mason

Winters

(2016). Faculty engagement in mentoring undergraduate students: How institutional environments regulate and promote extra-role behavior. Innovative Higher Education, 41(4), 317–332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-015-9350-7

De Jager

(2014). Thuthuka students’ perceptions of factors influencing success. Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences, 7(1), 53–72. https://doi.org/10.4102/jef.v7i1.130. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC154330

10.

Dos Reis

K. M.

(2018). Peer mentoring: Enhancing economics first years’ academic performance. South African Journal of Higher Education, 32(6), 234–250. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-13662e66d0. https://doi.org/10.20853/32-6-2979

11.

Frans

I. L.

Rabie

(2022). An evaluation of the Thuthuka Bursary Fund Programme at Stellenbosch University. Administratio Publica, 30(2), 148–167. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-adminpub_v30_n2_a11 .

12.

Gehreke

Schilling

Kauffeld

(2024). Effectiveness of peer mentoring in the study entry phase: A systematic review. Review of Education, 12(1), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3462

13.

Gonçalves

J. C.

Duarte

A. M.

Marques-Pinto

Paulino

Figueira

C. P.

Ferreira

P. A.

Mesquita

(2025). Mentoring for well-being, engagement and academic achievement in higher education students. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1606103. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1606103

14.

Haeger

Fresquez

(2016). Mentoring for inclusion: The impact of mentoring on undergraduate researchers in the sciences. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(3), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0016

15.

Hall

Smith

(2009). Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: A research note. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34(6-7), 695–704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2008.11.003

16.

Harvey

Ambler

Cahir

(2016). Spectrum approach to mentoring: An evidence-based approach to mentoring for academics working in higher education. Teacher Development, 21(1), 160–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2016.1210537

17.

José Sá

(2020). The secret to success. Becoming a successful student in a fast-changing higher education environment. European Journal of Higher Education, 10(4), 420–435. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2020.1777445

18.

Khan

(2013). Predictors of positive psychological strengths and subjective well-being among North Indian adolescents: Role of mentoring and educational encouragement. Social Indicators Research, 114(3), 1285–1293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0202-x

19.

Lane

Moore

Hooper

Menzies

Cooper

Shaw

Rueckert

(2019). Dimensions of student success: A framework for defining and evaluating support for learning in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 38(5), 954–968. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1615418

20.

H. G.

Sok

Heng

(2024). The benefits of peer mentoring in higher education: Findings from a systematic review. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 31, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi31.1159

21.

Lechuga

V. M.

(2011). Faculty-graduate student mentoring relationships: Mentors’ perceived roles and responsibilities. Higher Education, 62(6), 757–771. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-011-9416-0

22.

McKinsey

(2016). Faculty mentoring undergraduates: The nature, development, and benefits of mentoring relationships. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 4(1), 25–39. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.4.1.5

23.

Nora

Crisp

(2007). Mentoring students: Conceptualizing and validating the multi-dimensions of a support system. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 9(3), 337–356. https://doi.org/10.2190/CS.9.3.e

24.

Ontong

J. M.

Smit

(2023). Reflecting on why transformation students in a comprehensive bursary programme may be academically unsuccessful. Perspectives in Education, 41(4), 342–355. https://doi.org/10.38140/pie.v41i4.7221. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-persed_v41_n4_a23

25.

Roy

Brown

P. A.

(2016). Baccalaureate accounting student mentors’ social representations of their mentorship experiences. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 7(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2016.1.6

26.

Santos

S. J.

Reigadas

E. T.

(2004). Understanding the student-faculty mentoring process: Its effects on at-risk university students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 6(3), 337–357. https://doi.org/10.2190/KGVC-7218-DPER-RMBC

27.

Seery

Andres

Moore-Cherry

O’Sullivan

(2021). Students as partners in peer mentoring: Expectations, experiences and emotions. Innovative Higher Education, 46, 663–681. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-021-09556-8

28.

Stratton

Miller-Perrin

(2023). Mentoring, life purpose, and well-being in first-generation college students: Impact of life purpose mentoring by faculty. Journal of College and Character, 24(3), 217–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/2194587X.2023.2224572

29.

Strayhorn

T. L.

(2018). College students’ sense of belonging: A key to educational success for all students. Routledge.

30.

Strayhorn

T. L.

Saddler

T. N.

(2009). Gender differences in the influence of faculty–student mentoring relationships on satisfaction with college among African Americans. Journal of African American Studies, 13(4), 476–493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-008-9082-1

31.

Tinto

(2012). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. University of Chicago press.