Mentoring dimensions and leadership skills development among female secondary school students in a developing economy: the mediating role of group mentoring approach

Purpose Leadership skills development has become one of the widely approved social interventions for developing leadership abilities, particularly among young females. The goal of the study was to determine how some mentoring strategies affected the development of leadership skills among female students. Design/methodology/approach The study was guided by the positivist philosophical position and the quantitative approach. The explanatory research design from the quantitative approach was used in this investigation. Data were gathered from a sample of 286 out of 1680 study participants who worked in Ghana’s public and private sectors. Data were gathered with a structured questionnaire and was analysed with partial least square structural equation modelling. Findings The study found that group mentoring significantly mediated the relationship between formal mentoring and leadership skills development, informal mentoring and leadership skills development and peer mentoring and leadership skills development among female secondary school students in a developing economy. Originality/value It was therefore recommended that secondary school authorities should provide orientation and training for mentors in secondary schools in the area of group mentoring. This was needed to help equip mentors with the appropriate skills to handle larger groups of student mentees.