Mentorship of early career academics in Tanzania: issues and implications for the next generation of academics

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mentoring has been pointed out as one of the strategies for early career academics (ECAs) preparation and support for smooth transition into academia. Although ECAs mentoring has been widely studied, and the findings have indeed been informative and illuminating, the issues facing ECAs have yet to be adequately addressed, particularly in Tanzania. Drawing from open-ended questionnaires, focus group discussions, and interviews, we examined the issues surrounding the mentoring of ECAs in selected Tanzanian universities. Academic exploitation, isolation, and lack of support from senior academics were among the key issues facing ECAs. The findings further revealed that regular mentorship training, peer support, and institutional policy framework as strategies in place to subdue the mentoring challenges. We argue for universities to have policy framework on professional development through ECAs mentoring to fill out the gap on pedagogical, research and public engagement deficits for ensuring capable next generation of academics.