Abstract
BackgroundMentorship has been well-established in the literature as fostering scientific identity and career pathways for underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Mentorship is prioritized by programs that aim to increase diversity and support future leadership in STEM fields, but in-depth understanding of mentorship in these contexts remains limited. Drawing on qualitative interview data, we sought to understand the relationship between mentoring and scientific identity among a diverse sample of 24 students in one such program, in order to inform program development.ResultsQualitative analysis of the data revealed that mentorship, especially research mentorship, was common and played a role in formation of scientific identity. Students with research mentors tended to say they strongly identified as scientists, whereas those who lacked research mentorship varied in their level of scientific identity. In interviews, research-mentored students described mentors as colleagues who gave them opportunities to grow and as examples to look up to. Students valued mentors with whom they identified on the basis of demographic similarity or shared values, as well as those who challenged them in their academic and research endeavors.ConclusionsOur analysis highlights how different mentoring experiences can contribute to development of future STEM leadership. We discuss implications for practice, including the need for tailored mentoring approaches and research-focused mentoring, and offer several recommendations for research and programming.
Highlights
The USA has a long-standing goal of improving and maintaining diversity in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce (Olson & Riordan, 2012; Institute of Medicine, 2011)
Our analysis provides rich insights into the experiences of members of two underrepresented and high-priority groups in STEM—underrepresented minority (URM) students and female students— with mentoring and scientific identity. This analysis highlights the importance of research mentorship in fostering scientific identity and increases our understanding of how different types of mentoring experiences may contribute to development of future leaders in STEM
We contribute to the mentoring literature with our findings that mentees desire not just support, but accountability from mentors; that mentorship outside of research contexts may only be partially successful in shaping scientific identity; and that, for URM and female students in particular, shared mentormentee identity and values play a key role in relationship success
Summary
One strategy to improve URM and female participation in STEM is the use of STEM enrichment programs, formal university-led programs that are designed to foster scientific community, expose students to research and mentorship, and improve academic and career outcomes (Domingo et al, 2019; Tsui, 2007). These programs often combine financial assistance with academic and social support. Mentorship has been well-established in the literature as fostering scientific identity and career pathways for underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Drawing on qualitative interview data, we sought to understand the relationship between mentoring and scientific identity among a diverse sample of 24 students in one such program, in order to inform program development
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