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Credibility: What Role Does It Play in a Peer Mentoring Relationship?

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Mentoring in Higher Education

Abstract

Peer roles develop over time as mentors become more secure. Lave and Wenger (Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991) suggest that not only does the mentor become more secure in their role, but as that security develops, legitimacy is also conferred by those with whom they work. In fact, students may only seek out a mentor if they deem them to be credible and helpful. What may seem a straightforward expert-novice interaction of peer mentor/mentee can be complicated when there are questions of expertise, legitimacy, and credibility. In this chapter we examine whether the title of peer mentor bestows credibility or not. We look at how students define credibility, ask if credibility matters in the higher education context, and examine the roles of a peer mentor to see if they play into the issue of credibility.

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Correspondence to Janet W. Colvin .

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Colvin, J.W., Ashman, M. (2020). Credibility: What Role Does It Play in a Peer Mentoring Relationship?. In: Woolhouse, C., Nicholson, L.J. (eds) Mentoring in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46890-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46890-3_4

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-46889-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-46890-3

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