A Promising Prospect for Minority Retention: Students Becoming Peer Mentors

Abstract

The study examined academic and interpersonal growth of peer mentors (N = 19) by analyzing comments in journals written during mentors' first quarter of tutoring and mentoring within a minority engineering program at a large land-grant university in Southeast. Although intent of program was to improve retention rates for participants, mentors experienced both academic and interpersonal growth. In addition, preliminary data regarding grades and retention status also indicate that mentors benefited academically from mentoring experience. The findings of study suggest that, although upper-class peer mentors are not target population of minority engineering program, they were positively impacted from their roles as mentors within minority engineering program. Mentoring-an intensive, one-to-one form of teaching in which wise and experienced mentor inducts aspiring protege into a particular, usually professional, of life (Parkay, 1988, p. 196). Such was definition adopted by participants of a minority engineering program which encouraged relationships between freshman pre-engineering students and upper-class division mentors at a predominantly White land-grant university in Southeast. The intent of this program, as is typical of many other programs, was to improve retention rates of minority students within a given area of study and hopefully, capitalize on benefits of program for marketing purposes and recruiting of additional minority students into a college of engineering. The program encompassed many components, from formal tutorial instruction to informal dinners and celebrations, in which peer mentors played a vital role and, as suggested by Parkay's (1988) definition, inducted their fledgling students into engineering way of life. Part of impetus for including a mentoring component into minority engineering program from program's inception was results of a qualitative study in which engineering students recommended need for networking with upper-class mentors to ease transition of freshman students into university environment (MacGuire & Halpin, 1995). In this particular minority engineering program, African American students were targeted as at risk of possibly leaving engineering program and potentially university. Gainen (1995) reported that greatest attrition collegiate students occurred between freshman and sophomore years of study with students who chose to major in science, mathematics, or engineering. In addition, among students of color, attrition is much higher (p. 5). Seymour and Hewitt (1997) asserted that African American students contend with four broad areas of difficulty when entering engineering, science, and mathematics fields: differences in ethnic cultural values and socialization; internalization of stereotypes; ethnic isolation and perceptions of racism; and inadequate program support (p. 329). These areas of difficulty, particularly internalization of stereotypes, ethnic isolation and perceptions of racism, can be exacerbated when African Americans enter predominantly White institutions as opposed to historically Black institutions. Thus, inclusion of mentors as an integral component within this program was hoped to ameliorate some of these difficulties. Peer mentoring and tutoring gained popularity as an intervention over two decades ago. Researchers (Cloward, 1976; Maxwell, 1994; Pickens & McNaughton, 1988; Strodtbeck, Ronchi, & Hansell, 1976) have concluded that tutoring process has academic and psychological benefits to tutor as well as tutee. For instance, Cloward (1976) stated that the tutor was major beneficiary of tutorial experience (p. 227) in terms of academic gains. Although research exists regarding effect of tutoring on tutor, little research has explored effect of mentoring relationship on mentor. …