Culturally attuned Indigenous graduate mentorship
department or school: Education, Faculty of
department or school: Educational Studies (EDST), Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Mahikwa, Robert
issued: 2025-10-21T23:38:03Z
issued: 2025
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: This study provides an in-depth and comprehensive overview of the worldviews (theories), knowledges (perspectives), and traditions (applied practices) that inform culturally attuned Indigenous graduate mentorship. Many Indigenous graduate students seek out faculty who can provide culturally attuned Indigenous graduate mentorship; however, far too few faculty have the appropriate expertise to meet studentsâ needs. As such, the questions at the center of this study ask: What is culturally attuned Indigenous graduate mentorship? What theories and practices inform this work? How is it, or how could it be, practised by Indigenous supervisors? How, if at all, is it unique from western-based graduate mentorship? What, if any, is or could be the role of Ally supervisors? And, why (if at all) is it so effective among Indigenous graduate students? To answer these questions, this study utilized the conversational method. This method included conducting thirteen (13) semi-structured one-on-one interviews with PhD/EDD Indigenous faculty who have mentored Indigenous graduate students in culturally attuned ways as their thesis or dissertation supervisor at a publicly funded and accredited university in British Columbia. The methodology and approach to analysis were also culturally attuned to help ensure findings and outcomes of this study would themselves be culturally applicable. In the end, nine thematic findings were identified. Namely, terminology and meanings; general distinctions; conceptual frameworks; mentor archetypes; five Râs; applied practice approaches; barriers and obstacles; role of non-Indigenous faculty Allies; and online technologies. Thereafter, a series of discussions and recommendations are also provided, followed by the limitations of this study, areas for future research opportunities, and concluding thoughts from the author.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/92691
note: CULTURALLY ATTUNED INDIGENOUS GRADUATE MENTORSHIP by ROBERT MAHIKWA M.S.W., University of Victoria, 2018 B.S.W., University of Victoria, 2016 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Educational Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2025 © Robert Mahikwa, 2025 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Culturally Attuned Indigenous Graduate Mentorship submitted by Robert Mahikwa in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies Examining Committee: Dr. Margaret Kovach, Professor, Educational Studies, Faculty of Education, UBC Supervisor Dr. Jan Hare, Dean, Faculty of Education, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Dustin Louie, Associate Professor, Educational Studies, Faculty of Education, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Janice Foryth, Professor, School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Education, UBC University Examiner Dr. Daniel Health Justice, Professor, English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, UBC University Examiner Dr. Graham Hingangaroa Smith, Emeritus, University of Auckland External Examiner iii Abstract This study provides an in-depth and comprehensive overview of the worldviews (theories), knowledges (perspectives), and traditions (applied practices) that inform culturally attuned Indigenous graduate mentorship. Many Indigenous graduate students seek out faculty who can provide culturally attuned Indigenous graduate mentorship; however, far too few faculty have the appropriate expertise to meet studentsâ needs. As such, the questions at the center of this study ask: What is culturally attuned Indigenous graduate mentorship? What theories and practices inform this work? How is it, or how could it be, practised by Indigenous superv…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2025-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0450514
language: eng
degree discipline: Educational Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Kovach, Margaret, 1964-
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/92691