The Propensity for Mentorship at the United States Naval Academy: A Study of Navy and Marine Corps Junior Officers
Abstract
This study examines junior officers at the United States Naval Academy and their commitment to mentor midshipmen. Survey data are reported from 148 Navy Lieutenants and Lieutenant Commanders and Marine Corps Captains and Majors stationed on the Naval Academy yard. The purpose of the study was to better understand the mentoring experiences, dispositions, and motivations of junior officers at the Naval Academy, and to identify how previous mentorship experience, pro-social behaviors, and personal (versus instrumental) motives relate to junior officer willingness to mentor Naval Academy midshipmen. The study concludes that helping others and benefiting the organization appear to be the distinguishing sources of motivation for junior officers who choose to mentor. Also, it finds that a junior officer's willingness to mentor and his/her levels of other-oriented empathy are associated with whether or not they chose to mentor. Lastly, the study reports that junior officers who are familiar with mentorship, and had previously been mentored in the fleet, chose to mentor midshipmen at a much higher rate than their peers who were never proteges to a mentor.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA435602
Entities
People
- Benjamin W. Oakes
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School