School-based mentoring programmes in which teachers act as mentors have the potential to offer a non-stigmatizing and developmentally appropriate source of support for secondary school students. However, the experience of teacher-mentors is under-researched, particularly in Hong Kong. Fifteen mentors participating in a school-based mentoring programme in one Hong Kong secondary school serving a Chinese population were interviewed and the data were analysed thematically. Findings indicated that teacher-mentors provided social and emotional support to their mentees, and that they were motivated to do so by a desire for greater relatedness to the students with whom they worked. The relationship formed between mentors and mentees was more spontaneous, less hierarchical, more wide-ranging, and more personal in nature than that between teachers and students, and constituted a source of satisfaction for mentors. The study has several implications for schools which may be considering implementing a mentoring programme. Copyright © 2022 National Institute of Education, Singapore.

Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with ethnically Chinese adolescents enrolled into a school-based mentoring programme at a private secondary school in Hong Kong. Interview data were analysed thematically and two themes developed: 'experiencing mentoring' and 'experiencing the mentor'. The mentees, although initially sceptical about mentoring, were surprised by its helpfulness. Through the development of an informal and collaborative relationship in which students experienced their mentor as a trustworthy, mature and objective adult, students found an important source of emotional support and practical help which benefited their academic work. Students' experience was influenced by their mentors' role in the school, length of service and gender match. School-based mentoring programmes in a Hong Kong context have the potential to offer emotional and academic support to students. Cultural factors may have an impact on the experience of mentoring which schools should take into account when setting up such programmes.
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