Many international school leaders find themselves supporting staff who are undertaking master’s or doctoral study. This may begin with approving professional development funding or encouraging applications, but often develops into something more sustained: a mentoring relationship.
What quickly becomes apparent is that mentoring postgraduate researchers is not simply a softer form of supervision. It is a demanding role that requires a careful balance of intellectual rigor and human sensitivity, and of guidance and restraint. This is particularly evident in work that is complex, cross-cultural, or emotionally demanding — contexts that are increasingly common in educational research.
As universities expand internationally and research topics become more interdisciplinary and socially engaged, the expectations placed on postgraduate students have grown. Yet the structures designed to support them have not always evolved at the same pace. Supervision remains central but mentoring occupies a distinct and often underdefined space. Understanding that distinction is key to supporting the next generation of researchers effectively.
The Mentoring Gap
Supervision and mentoring are frequently conflated, but they serve different purposes. Supervision is fundamentally tied to accountability: ensuring that a student meets academic standards, progresses appropriately, and ultimately produces work that satisfies institutional requirements. Mentoring, by contrast, is developmental. It is concerned not only with what a student produces, but with how they grow as a researcher in the process.
In short, where supervision ensures completion, mentoring enables formation. I would hazard a guess that most of us who have worked through an extended course of study value more than anything else the change the experience wrought in us. When we engage in meaningful research we grow as human beings, becoming more metacognitive and more reflective about how we and others learn. Those are valuable qualities in an educator.
Many of the challenges postgraduate students face (loss of confidence, conceptual uncertainty, difficulty navigating complexity) are not purely technical problems. They are developmental ones. A student may meet deadlines and still feel intellectually adrift; conversely, a student may struggle temporarily while developing a far more robust and independent scholarly voice.
Mentoring provides a space in which these less visible aspects of research can be addressed. It allows for reflection, recalibration, and, at times, reassurance. But it also requires the mentor to resist the temptation to intervene too heavily. The goal is not to direct the work, but to support the researcher in learning how to direct it themselves.
A Framework: The Core Tensions
Effective mentoring is not a fixed set of techniques but a continual balancing of tensions. In my experience, several of these tensions recur across disciplines and contexts. They include:
These tensions are not problems to be solved but dynamics to be managed. Skilled mentoring lies in navigating them with sensitivity and intent.
What This Looks Like in Practice
In practical terms, mentoring often involves small but significant interventions.
In one instance, I worked with a doctoral candidate in education who was incorporating material from a recent technology conference into her work. The ideas were thoughtful, but some of the claims were not well supported, particularly in relation to school-based contexts. Rather than directly correcting this, I adopted a “devil’s advocate” approach, posing questions that invited her to test the robustness of her assumptions. This created space for her to reconsider her sources and refine her argument, ultimately strengthening the work without diminishing her ownership of it.
In another case, a student’s research focus was narrowly defined around a specific cultural example. While the topic was interesting, its scope limited the broader contribution of the study. Through discussion, we were able to reframe the project to examine wider behavioral patterns, using the original example as part of a larger analysis. The student retained their core interest but developed a more substantial and impactful piece of research.
These examples illustrate a common pattern: effective mentoring rarely involves providing answers. More often, it involves asking better questions, reframing problems, and helping students see possibilities they had not initially considered.
The Role of the “Critical Colleague”
One way to understand the mentoring role is through the idea of the “critical colleague.” Ideally it is someone who is neither directive nor detached, but engaged in a constructive and questioning way. A critical colleague listens carefully, challenges assumptions, and offers perspective without taking ownership of the work.
This framing helps avoid two common pitfalls: over-directing the student’s work or withdrawing too far and leaving them unsupported. It can be particularly helpful in maintaining appropriate boundaries. It reinforces the idea that the student is responsible for the direction of their research, while also ensuring they are not navigating that process in isolation.
Importantly, being a critical colleague does not mean being consistently critical. It also involves recognizing progress, affirming good thinking, and supporting confidence. The balance lies in ensuring that challenge is experienced as part of a collaborative process, rather than as external judgment.
Mentoring in Sensitive and Complex Contexts
An increasing number of postgraduate students are engaging with research topics that are emotionally or ethically complex. These may include areas such as trauma, displacement, inequality, or other forms of human vulnerability. Mentoring in these contexts requires additional care.
First, there is the wellbeing of participants, which must be protected through robust ethical design. But there is also the wellbeing of the researcher. Engaging deeply with distressing material can have an impact, particularly over extended periods.
Mentors are not counselors, and it is important to maintain that boundary. However, they do have a role in recognizing when a student may be struggling and in creating space for that to be acknowledged. Simple, consistent check-ins such as asking how a student is coping with the material can make a significant difference. Where necessary, mentors should also be prepared to signpost appropriate support services.
At the same time, mentors must ensure that ethical considerations are not treated as a procedural hurdle but as an integral part of the research process. This includes thinking carefully about consent, potential distress, and the responsibilities that come with representing the experiences of others.
The Value of an International Perspective
In an increasingly global academic environment, many postgraduate researchers are working across cultural and contextual boundaries. This adds richness to research but also introduces complexity. International schools are an attractive location for researchers interested in cross-cultural or international themes, and increasingly we are seeing a trend for doctoral candidates to approach us with research proposals and requests for support, including mentoring.
A feature of international and cross-cultural research – one that arguably presents as many attractions as it does challenges – is that assumptions that may seem self-evident in one context do not always translate easily to another. Concepts, behaviors, and even research methods can carry different meanings across cultures. Mentoring in this space often involves helping students to recognize these differences and to reflect critically on their own positionality.
An international perspective can be particularly valuable in qualitative research, where interpretation plays a central role. Encouraging students to consider multiple viewpoints, question assumptions, and remain open to alternative interpretations can significantly strengthen their work.
Conclusion
Mentoring postgraduate researchers is a demanding but deeply rewarding role. It requires a careful balance of rigor and care, challenge and support, guidance and restraint. Where supervision ensures that a thesis is completed, mentoring helps ensure that a researcher is formed.
As research becomes more complex and more closely connected to real-world issues, the importance of this role is only likely to grow. Institutions that recognize and invest in mentoring will be better placed to support both the quality of research and the development of those who produce it.
Dr. Richard Harrold has taught and led at international schools in China, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Mexico, France, and the United Kingdom. He was formerly the Director of Safeguarding and Compliance at the American School in London, and will be taking a new position as Assistant Head of School and Lower School Principal at ACS Hillingdon International School in 2026.
