Mutual learning in peer mentoring: effects on mentors and protégés

Mentoring traditionally is described as a relationship in which the protégé learns through mentoring functions provided by the mentor. However, researchers continue to question how mentors profit from this relationship. Drawing from social exchange theory, the current study aims to examine the mutually beneficial nature of the mentoring relationship by examining antecedents for and learning outcomes of mentoring relationships for mentor and protégé simultaneously. We collected data from 146 mentoring teams in a student peer-mentoring program of a German university at three points of measurement. Results were consistent with our hypotheses in that mentor and protégé learning goal orientation and meeting frequency predict mentoring functions received by protégés, which in turn, were related to mentor and protégé learning. By concurrently investigating mentor and protégé learning, at the individual and team levels, this research further demonstrates how mentoring may be a mutually beneficial learning relationship.