Technology's role in fostering transformational educator mentoring

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to expand the current conversation on and research into the potential use of technology as a means of transforming mentoring processes and those engaged in them. The authors examine the manner in which technology is being integrated into mentoring endeavors and the advantages and disadvantages of this tool, arguing that the particular attributes of e-mentoring make it an ideal platform for enhancing mentoring processes and outcomes through the use of new mentoring perspectives. They describe a specific mentoring perspective that could be adopted as a means of critically examining some of the opportunities and challenges of using technology as a tool for transformational mentoring, with an emphasis on mentoring in educational environments. Design/methodology/approach - This conceptual paper uses a constructionist perspective to mentoring as a lens to examine how technology influences the mentoring process and investigates the implications of transformational e-mentoring for educational professionals. Findings - The paper contends that e- mentoring may extend mentoring's horizons to include increasingly broad and diverse constellations of mentors for proteges. With proper guidance, the relationships made possible through e-mentoring can fulfill many mentoring functions and transform both mentors and proteges as they learn from one other. Research limitations/implications - Other than descriptions of mentoring programs that use technological tools, very little research on the outcomes of e- mentoring is available. The paper calls for a greater focus on the outcomes of e-mentoring in future research. Practical implications - The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of e-mentoring, presents recommendations for using new technologies to enhance mentoring programs in education and argues for the need to reconsider the purposes and structures of such programs. Originality/value - The paper lays the groundwork for a better understanding of technology's role in mentoring in today's complex, rapidly changing knowledge society.