“She Gave Us the Courage to Explore”: Mentoring Practices of Miss Dorothy DeLay

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory intrinsic case study was to delineate the mentoring practices of the preeminent violin pedagogue Miss Dorothy DeLay and to evaluate the transmission of these practices onto her mentees. The psychological and behavioral traits that influenced her mentoring style were also examined. Data sources included semi-structured interviews, field notes, and analysis of qualitative documents. The findings illuminated a broad range of mentoring practices that DeLay’s students were exposed to during their studies with her, including mentoring students at psychosocial and career levels as well as role-modeling. Of all of DeLay’s mentoring practices, however, capitalizing on the strengths of individual students and intentional socialization into the field appears to be the most beneficial to the development of young aspiring musicians. Her mentoring and teaching practices were transmitted to her mentees through processes of replication, mutation, and aspiration. DeLay’s personality traits, such as cognitive awareness of others and empathy, seemed to play a role in shaping her mentoring style.