Abstract des Autors

During this study, I examined the mentor relationship experiences of three cohorts (generations) of athletic trainers. Within these three cohorts, I compared the mentor relationship experiences of "highly professionally active" ("vital") and "less professionally active" athletic trainers, and, in the most recent generation, the experiences of male versus female athletic trainers. I obtained oral history data from telephone interviews, and transcribed and coded pertinent portions of the data. A second coder and I then checked the coded material for intercoder agreement (approximately 98%). Finally, I examined the data for trends and compared data by group. Several findings appear promising for future research. Vital athletic trainers had higher rates of interaction with other athletic trainers, and greater internalization of "professionalism," as well as greater opportunity to conduct research and teach under the guidance of a mentor. A similarity also exists between the 25-year group's mentors and the five-year females' mentors; both were strong models and motivators. In contrast, the availability of counseling and job networking was most notable for the most recent cohort of males. Few controlling, long-term mentor relationships appeared; instead, most subjects had serial relationships with several individuals who fulfilled various mentor roles. Verf.-Referat