On the Perception of Mentoring in Scientific Dynasties (Based on Interview Materials)

The article discusses the problem of the perception of mentoring by representatives of scientific dynasties. Attention is drawn to the fact that the topic of studying professional dynasties has numerous research perspectives. The relevance of the author's attention to the topic is due to the fact that mentoring is one of the factors of professional reproduction. It acquires special significance precisely in the scientific field. The study is based on the analysis of narratives of interviews taken from representatives of natural sciences, humanities, medical sciences, who consider themselves representatives of dynasties. At the same time, a subjective perspective of the study was chosen, within the framework of which the subject's reflection on mentoring and teachers is of particular interest. The interpretative approach allows for ambiguous interpretations in the construction of theoretical models of mentoring. The author has identified several models of the perception of mentoring: “parent”, “family”, “teacher”; this allows speaking about its differentiated nature. Sex and age conditions have not been found. About half of the respondents mentioned their parents in the role of a mentor, but a small number assigned them the role of the “main mentor”. The leading factors here were, presumably, the type of the child's personality, allowing some pressure, and the parents' social capital. The fact that the answers often confused the concepts of mentoring and influence as such makes the boundary between Model 2 and Model 3 rather unstable. It is concluded that teachers, mentors, or colleagues in the role of the “significant other” are real actors of secondary socialization since the majority of respondents mentioned them. Attention is drawn to negative responses about mentors. Determined by individual life experience, such responses direct the conversation about mentoring from an objectivist perspective into the mental space of reflection on their professional development, dynastic affiliation, and the value of family ties. Thus, the study allows speaking about the typological features of the reproduction mechanism in professional dynasties, the variability of direct and indirect influence. On the other hand, it is clear that both sides are involved in the design of the models. In other words, the intersubjectivity of mentoring imparts an active character to the perception and, most importantly, comprehension of mentoring (the image of the teacher) as a factor of professional socialization.

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