Prediction of Academic Skills in Ph.D. Students based on Mentoring at Medical Sciences Universities in Iran

Abstract                       Introduction: Mentoring as a social and an interactive strategy for student development has attracted attention in recent decades. Despite the confirmation of the positive role of mentoring, the application of the obtained results from such studies in Islamic societies requires paying attention especially in regards to its socio-cultural context. In this regard, the present study aimed to investigate the predictability of developing academic skills in Ph.D. students at medical sciences universities based on Islamic mentoring. Method: In this correlational study, samples were selected among the Ph.D. students of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences and also Tehran University of Medical Sciences. A total of 213 students were randomly selected using “the ratio of sample size to number of variables" calculation method. Academic skills and mentoring were assessed by professional development and Islamic mentoring questionnaires (IMQ), respectively. Results: Total Islamic mentoring and academic skills values averaged 3.74 and 3.65, respectively, for the studied universities indicating the proper situation of the students. Results of correlation test showed significant relationships among all nine components of Islamic mentoring with academic skills. Regression analysis results revealed the model significance suggesting that about 8.8% of changes in academic skills are explained by the "care and reverence" dimension of Islamic mentoring. Conclusion: Compatible with existing literature, mentoring has the ability to predict the academic skills of students. Such interactions provide the students with the opportunity to continuously observe scientific and professional behaviors, which facilitate learning, moderation, and modification. This is because it is expected to provide students with the development of scientific and cognitive skills and positive identities through provision of psychological, scientific and emotional relaxation supports.