The Role of Mentoring in Digital Literacy Development of Doctoral Students at British Universities

Elena Soltovets; Oxana Chigisheva; Anna Dmitrova

doi:10.29333/ejmste/117782

Full Text (PDF)

Elena Soltovets ¹ ^* , Oxana Chigisheva ¹, Anna Dmitrova ¹

More Detail

¹ Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, RUSSIA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The relevance of the study is due to the global digitalization and search for tools and practices fostering the process of doctoral students` training for independent quality research using the full range of available digital tools. Digital skills require continuous improvement. Thus, this article is aimed at identifying the possibilities of using mentoring for digital literacy development of British PhDs. Using comparison and terminological analysis the research considers the changing phenomenon of mentoring under the influence of information and digital transformations, identifies important digital skills being developed by doctoral students in the process of mastering the programs offered by UK university libraries. It is also justified that today librarians serve as mentors and can effectively develop digital literacy of doctoral students. The materials are valuable for doctoral students, teachers, mentors, academic librarians who provide professional development programs for researchers working with digital research tools.

Keywords

British universities
digital age
digital literacy
doctoral students
information literacy
mentoring

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 16, Issue 4, April 2020, Article No: em1839

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/117782

Publication date: 27 Jan 2020

Article Views: 3436

Article Downloads: 2162

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Aarnikoivu, M., Nokkala, T., Siekkinen, T., Kuoppala, K., & Pekkola, E. (2019). Working outside academia? Perceptions of early-career, fixed-term researchers on changing careers. European Journal of Higher Education, 9(2), 172-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2018.1548941.
Beetham, H., Littlejohn, A., & Milligan, C. (2012). Digital literacies for the research institution. In R. Andrews, E. Borg, S. B. Davis, M. Domingo, & J. England (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of digital dissertations and theses, (pp. 63-80). London: SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446201039.n5.
Bennett, S., Maton, K., & Kervin, L. (2008). The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(5), 775-786. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00793.x.
Brewerton, A. (2012). Re-skilling for research: investigating the needs of researchers and how library staff can best support them. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 18(1), 96-110. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2012.665718.
Chalkiadaki, A. (2018). A systematic literature review of 21st century skills and competencies in primary education. International Journal of Instruction, 11(3), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2018.1131a.
Chao, G. T. (2009). Formal mentoring: lessons learned from past practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40(3), 314-320. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012658.
Chigisheva, O., Soltovets, E., & Bondarenko, A. (2017). Functional foreign language literacy for global research career development: Analysis of standardized open-ended interview responses. XLinguae, 10(4), 138-153. https://doi.org/10.18355/XL.2017.10.04.12.
Eshet-Alkalai, Y. (2004) Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 13(1), 93-106.
Fedotova, O., & Chigisheva, O. (2015). Comparative analysis: Methodological optics in the ideological context. International Perspectives on Education and Society, 26, 57-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920140000026003.
Gibson, S., Grace, A., O’Sullivan, C., & Pritchard, C. (2019). Exploring transitions into the undergraduate university world using a student-centred framework. Teaching in Higher Education, 24(7), 819-833. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2018.1511538.
Gilster, P. (1997). Digital literacy. New York: Wiley Computer Publications.
Greene, J. A., Copeland, D. Z., Deekens, V. M., & Yu, S. B. (2018). Beyond knowledge: examining digital literacy’s role in the acquisition of understanding in science. Computers & Education, 117, 141-159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.10.003.
Hamilton, B. A., & Scandura, T. A. (2003). E-Mentoring: implications for organizational learning and development in a wired world. Organizational Dynamics, 31(4), 388-402. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(02)00128-6.
Hammersley, J. J., Waters, M. L., & Keefe, K. M. (2019). Use of peer mentoring, interdisciplinary collaboration, and archival datasets for engaging undergraduates in publishable research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 96-104. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00096.
Hudson, P. B., Usak, M., & Savran-Gencer, A. (2010). Benchmarking mentoring practices: A case study in Turkey. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 6(4), 245-252. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75245.
Hudson, P., Usak, M., & Savran‐Gencer, A. (2009). Employing the five‐factor mentoring instrument: analysing mentoring practices for teaching primary science. European Journal of Teacher Education, 32(1), 63-74.
Introduction to Mentoring: A Guide for Mentors and Mentees. (2006). American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/education/grad/mentoring.
Kopish, M. A. (2016). Preparing Globally Competent Teacher Candidates Through Cross-Cultural Experiential Learning. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 7(2), 75-108.
Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2006). Digital literacies: policy, pedagogy and research considerations for education. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 1(1), 12-24.
List, A. (2019). Defining digital literacy development: An examination of preservice teachers’ beliefs. Computers & Education, 138, 146-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.03.009.
Maer-Matei, M. M., Mocanu, C., Zamfir, A. M., & Georgescu, T. M. (2019). Skill needs for early career researchers-a text mining approach. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(10), 2789. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102789.
Martin, A., & Grudziecki, J. (2006). DigEuLit: concepts and tools for digital literacy development. Innovations in Teaching and Learning in Information and Computer Sciences, 5(4), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.11120/ital.2006.05040249.
Meehan, C., & Howells, K. (2019). In search of the feeling of ‘belonging’ in higher education: undergraduate students transition into higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43(10), 1376-1390. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2018.1490702.
Meschitti, V., Smith, H. L., & Panton, M. (2014). Mentoring Handbook of Good Practice. Retrieved from http://www.bbk.ac.uk/trigger/docs/Mentoring_Handbook_of_Best_Practice-Web.pdf.
Muschallik, J., & Pull, K. (2015). Mentoring in higher education: does it enhance mentees’ research productivity? Education Economics, 24(2), 210-223. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2014.997676.
Nicholas, D., Watkinson, A., Boukacem-Zeghmouri, C., Rodríguez-Bravo, B., Xu, J., Abrizah, A., … Herman, E. (2019). So, are early career researchers the harbingers of change? Learned Publishing, 32(3), 237-247. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1232.
Pavlíková, M. (2018) Kierkegaard’s understanding of man and society. XLinguae, 11(1), 323-331. https://doi.org/10.18355/XL.2018.11.01.27.
Phillips, D., & Schweisfurth, M. (2014). Comparative and International Education. An Introduction to Theory, Method, and Practice. London: Bloomsbury Continuum International Publishing Group. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2013.871833.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816.
Quinlan, E., Crowe, T., Deane, F. P., & Whittington, M. E. (2019). Functions of peer mentoring, satisfaction and the “real” relationship in postgraduate psychology education. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 8(1), 52-68. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-06-2018-0033.
Ryabchenko, O. N., Prokopyev, A. I., Romanchenko, L. N., Korzhuev, A. V., & Krokhina, J. A. (2018). Social and philosophical understanding of national and civic identity in the context of interethnic and interreligious conflict risks. XLinguae, 11(2), 359-369. https://doi.org/10.18355/XL.2018.11.02.29.
Secker, J., & Coonan, E. (2013). Rethinking Information Literacy: A Practical Framework for Supporting Learning. London: Facet Publishing.
Sharpe, R., & Beetham, H. (2010). Understanding students’ uses of technology for learning: towards creative appropriation’. In R. Sharpe, H. Beetham, & S. de Freitas (Eds.), Rethinking learning for a digital age: how learners are shaping their own experience, (pp. 85-99). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203852064.
Sharpe, R., & Benfield, G. (2012). Institutional strategies for supporting learners in a digital age. Enhancing Learning in the Social Sciences, 4(2), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.11120/elss.2012.04020004.
Strielkowski, W., & Chigisheva, O. (2018). Research functionality and academic publishing: Gaming with altmetrics in the digital age. Economics and Sociology, 11(4), 306-316. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2018/11-4/20.
Tomprou, M., Dabbish, L., Kraut, R. E., & Liu. F. (2019). Career Mentoring in Online Communities: Seeking and Receiving Advice from an Online Community. In ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May 4–9, 2019, (paper 653, pp. 1-12). Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Retrieved from http://www.fannieliu.com/papers/career-mentoring.pdf.
Top 20 universities in the UK. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/world-university-rankings/top-universities-uk-2019.
Usak, M., & Masalimova, A. R. (2019). Mentoring on science teacher education in Russia and international perspectives. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 18(3), 320-322. https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/19.18.320.
Yirci, R., Karakose, T., Uygun, H., & Ozdemir, T. Y. (2016). Turkish Adaptation of the Mentorship Effectiveness Scale: A validity and Reliability Study. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 12(4), 821-832. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1440a.
Zaitseva, N. A., Larionova, A. A., Gornostaeva, Z. V., Malinina, O. Y., Povalayeva, V. A., Vasenev, S. L., … Ersozlu, A. (2017). Elaboration of the methodology for assessing the development of managerial competences in university students taught with the use of case-technologies. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(11), 7339-7351. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/79609.

How to cite this article

APA

Soltovets, E., Chigisheva, O., & Dmitrova, A. (2020). The Role of Mentoring in Digital Literacy Development of Doctoral Students at British Universities. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(4), em1839. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/117782

Vancouver

Soltovets E, Chigisheva O, Dmitrova A. The Role of Mentoring in Digital Literacy Development of Doctoral Students at British Universities. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(4):em1839. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/117782

AMA

Soltovets E, Chigisheva O, Dmitrova A. The Role of Mentoring in Digital Literacy Development of Doctoral Students at British Universities. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(4), em1839. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/117782

Chicago

Soltovets, Elena, Oxana Chigisheva, and Anna Dmitrova. "The Role of Mentoring in Digital Literacy Development of Doctoral Students at British Universities". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2020 16 no. 4 (2020): em1839. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/117782

Harvard

Soltovets, E., Chigisheva, O., and Dmitrova, A. (2020). The Role of Mentoring in Digital Literacy Development of Doctoral Students at British Universities. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(4), em1839. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/117782

MLA

Soltovets, Elena et al. "The Role of Mentoring in Digital Literacy Development of Doctoral Students at British Universities". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 16, no. 4, 2020, em1839. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/117782