Dynamics shaping collaborative peer group mentoring among educational leaders

Group mentoring, an alternative to traditional mentoring, is dynamic, collaborative, and inclusive, yet it is underexplored in the literature. The peer mentoring group (PMG) phenomenon was researched through three educational leadership and administration polyads: (1) the Spirals, consisting of award-winning faculty mentors and novice scholars; (2) the Researcher Development Program, uniting faculty mentors and doctoral students in mentoring; and (3) a doctoral cohort at a Virginia-based research university. The first two yearlong mentoring initiatives are held at the University Council for Educational Administration’s convention. A qualitative self-study approach was used to narratively investigate the four authors’ intersubjective PMG experiences. Document analysis of a literature review; transcribed conversation, researcher field notes, and first-person accounts yielded four themes: justice expressed, change enacted, power distributed, and hierarchy undone. Anyone in search of ideas or strategies favoring effective PMGs should find value in this article that looks to peer group mentorship as offering renewal.