Adult Mentors Research Articles

A mixed method study on educational well-being and resilience among youth in foster care

This paper, framed by risk and resiliency theory, presents findings from a youth led collaborative social research study exploring the facilitators of educational success and college attendance among former foster youth. A simultaneous component/parallel process mixed method design was conducted to explore factors associated with educational success among youth in foster care. Findings suggest that stability and positive relationships with peers and adult mentors ease transitions, and reinforce emotional connections impacting educational success and post-secondary attendance. This manuscript attempts to raise the volume on youth's successful experiences of education and highlight the implications for trauma informed practice in child welfare and school settings.

REFLEXIONES SOBRE LA CONTRIBUCIÓN DE LA TUTORÍA AL FUTURO DEL APRENDIZAJE

A finales de octubre y principios de noviembre ayudé a organizar un taller para promotores de tutoría en el estado de Guanajuato, México. El propósito del taller fue involucrar a los adultos promotores de tutoría en los primeros esfuerzos por generar de manera más explícita normas y prácticas sobre el papel tanto de adultos como de gente joven en el trabajo de tutoría. Hasta ahora la tutoría se ha difundido de viva voz, en demostraciones individuales, cara a cara y en eventuales sesiones de desarrollo profesional, pero sin la intención explícita de codificar la práctica. El taller de Guanajuato se concibió expresamente para ver si una formulación más explícita de la práctica tutora ayudaría a desarrollar la nueva manera de enseñar y aprender así como acelerar su difusión.
 No es nada seguro que si se logra desarrollar normas más explícitas, mejorará la práctica de la tutoría y su difusión será más rápida. La práctica de la tutoría no se ha codificado rigurosamente hasta ahora, pero eso no parece haber impedido ni su desarrollo ni su difusión, como trataré de explicarlo más adelante. Siempre hay peligro que el exceso de codificación persuada a los recién llegados que basta seguir ciertas rutinas y comportamientos para adquirir maestría, con lo que se perdería la esencia de la tutoría, sus ideas fuerza, su teoría y la manera cómo se vive en la práctica. Con todo hay algunas razones que llevan a pensar que experimentar con normas y procedimientos más claros ayudará a mejorar la práctica. La principal razón es que la práctica de la tutoría está extendiéndose, más allá del alcance del grupo que la promueve en México, hacia Latinoamérica y, al menos potencialmente, a los Estados Unidos. Al observar los intercambios entre quienes dominan el arte de la tutoría y quienes la experimentan por primera vez, tanto en Chile como en los Estados Unidos, veo el profundo impacto que les produce, así como la satisfacción y el deseo de hacerse competentes en la metodología, pero necesitarían contar con guías más claras para adoptar las normas y principios que sustentan la práctica. Es posible que un conjunto de normas más explícitas ayude a sostener la difusión de la práctica a otros lugares, donde el modo tradicional de difusión, cara a cara, será menos viable, particularmente cuando el número de adesiones al modelo rebase con mucho la capacidad del núcleo promotor en México. Pero es también posible que el modelo de difusión de la práctica, cara a cara, sea de tal manera integral a la cultura de la tutoría que resulte imposible implementarla sin recibir capacitación de quienes ya la dominan. Esto queda como pregunta abierta.
 El taller de Guanajuato tuvo éxito, pero relativo, diría yo, en el limitado propósito de producir formulaciones iniciales para normar la práctica. Los participantes, con diversos grados de experiencia y dominio de la técnica, contribuyeron gustosos al esfuerzo, aunque podrían no estar totalmente convencidos del provecho que traería. Los coordinadores procedieron con la magia propia de la tutoría, llevando al límite a los participantes para extraer sus ideas, sin adelantarse a dar respuestas, como es la práctica tutora. Al final, con algunos ajustes y mejor edición se logró una primera descripción bastante aceptable del desempeño progresivo de tutores y aprendices desde el nivel de novicio hasta el de quien se maneja ya como un experto en tutoría. (Se pueden consultar estas rúbricas al final en los Apédices A y B) Una idea central de este ejercicio fue que la práctica no se domina sino incrementalmente. Uno no adquiere una práctica compleja simplemente adoptando y ejecutando una serie de reglas. La práctica se adquiere al pasar por etapas en las que se va dominando y entendiendo mejor el proceso; generalmente ayudado por alguien con mayor experiencia. El taller, en otras palabras, se diseñó tratando de ser congruentes con los principios y la práctica de la tutoría. Además de dirigir el taller, en Guanajuato visité una de las escuelas donde una alumna me dio tutoría; también pude intercambiar puntos de vista con coordinadores y funcionarios estatales. La experiencia fue importante para conocer una vez más la variedad de entornos en los que opera la tutoría. Mi experiencia, que está lejos de ser completa, se ha ido incrementando con visitas a centros donde se practica la tutoría en Zacatecas, Tijuana, Mexicali y ahora Guanajuato. Espero seguir teniendo la oportunidad de visitar prácticas de tutoría en otras partes. También he podido observar el desarrollo de una muy promisoria sesión de capacitación por parte de promotores mexicanos a colegas chilenos que reciben apoyo de fundaciones para promover una red de difusión de la tutoría en Chile.

AN ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF MENTOR SATISFACTION WITH THEIR YOUTH MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS

Research shows the benefits of mentoring in promoting positive youth development. Yet less is known about mentors and what predicts mentor satisfaction. Such knowledge is vital to understanding how to recruit and retain adult mentors for youth. Thus, in the current study, we examine mentors as embedded in a social ecology of relationships, such as relationships with their mentee, mentee's family, and mentoring organization they volunteer with. We use data from 247 mentors to test how each of these relationships (mentor with the mentee, mentee's family, and mentoring organization) independently and interactively predict mentor satisfaction. Findings indicate that all relationships are unique predictors of mentor satisfaction, and that relationships with the mentee's family and mentors’ mentoring organization interact in predicting mentor satisfaction. Overall, considering multiple relationships shows how various dimensions of the social ecology uniquely and interactively predict mentor satisfaction. Limitations and implications for mentoring practice are discussed.

Civic rhythms in an informal, media-rich learning program

ABSTRACTIncreasingly, adult mentors in informal, media-rich settings, like libraries and museums, seek to integrate both learning and civic engagement opportunities for youth into designed programming. This article illustrates how youth open and sustain opportunities for civic engagement over the course of a six-month, youth-driven program – Metro: Building Blocks (MBB) – housed within a digital media learning lab in an urban public library. Analysis develops the concept of civic rhythms as a means to feel out the social and affective contours of civic engagement that emerge in MBB. To better understand the civic rhythms of MBB, analysis focuses specifically on three rhythmic elements: pulsation, reciprocation, and oscillation. The article concludes suggesting that future research develop principles for designing-in-time that assist researchers and mentors in attuning to the youth-driven rhythms that sustain informal, media-rich programs.

Formative Work and Community Engagement Approaches for Implementing an HIV Intervention in Botswana Schools.

Providing adolescents with evidence-based sexual risk reduction interventions is critical to addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. Project AIM (Adult Identity Mentoring) is an innovative, evidence-based, youth development intervention that is being evaluated for the first time in Botswana through a 3-year (2015-2017), 50-school cluster randomized controlled trial, including testing for herpes simplex virus type 2 as a sexual activity biomarker. Conducting a trial of this magnitude requires the support and collaboration of government and community stakeholders. All school staff, including teachers, must be well informed about the study; dedicated staff placed at each school can help to improve school and community familiarity with the study, improve the information flow, and relieve some of the burden study activities places on schools.

‘It’s good but it’s not enough’: the relational geographies of social policy and youth mentoring interventions

Developing a critical analysis of the relational and situated practices of social policy, this paper draws on an evaluation of an early intervention project in Scotland (UK) where volunteer adult mentors supported young people ‘at risk’ of offending or antisocial behaviour. Contributing to ‘enlivened’ accounts of social practice, we explore how practices of mentoring developed through the co-presence of mentor and young person in the often transitory spaces of care which characterized the ‘diversionary activities’ approach in the project. We expand the notion of the relational in social practice beyond the care-recipient dyad to include wider networks of care (families, programme workers, social institutions). The paper explores how such social interventions might both be ‘good’ for the young people involved, and yet recognize critiques that more individualized models of intervention inevitably have limitations which make them ‘not enough’ to deal with structural inequalities and disadvantages. Acknowledging the impacts of neoliberalism, we argue critical attention to diverse situated relational practices points to the excessive nature of engagement in social policy and provides scope for transformative practice where young people’s geographies can be ‘upscaled’ to connect to the realms of social policy and practice.

A pilot study of big brothers big sisters programs and youth development: An application of critical race theory

Testing critical race theory, we examined whether children and adolescents with an adult mentor of the same race/ethnicity display higher levels of confidence, competence, and caring than those with a mentor of a different race/ethnicity. We also tested whether longer participation in the mentoring program results in better developmental outcomes. The sample included 47 cross- and same-race mentor-mentee pairs in the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program. Developmental outcomes were measured using Big Brothers Big Sisters of America's (BBBSA) Program-based Outcome Evaluation, and were analyzed using t-test, chi-square, and General Lineal Model. No significant differences were found in youth development based on racial/ethnic match. However, the longer matched pairs showed greater competence. Implications for practice, policies, and research are also discussed.

STEM mentoring and the use of the principles of Adult Mentoring Inventory

Purpose– The purpose of this convergent parallel mixed methods paper is to explore the mentoring experience within the context of a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) specific mentoring program for urban, at risk, high school youth, using the Principles of Adult Mentoring Inventory (PAMI) as an instrument that modeled effective mentoring behavior. The study took place at a large, urban, Midwestern university in the USA.Design/methodology/approach– A research design was developed and both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in parallel, analyzed separately and then merged to determine results. The PAMI instrument that measures six constructs of mentor effectiveness was administered to STEM mentors as a pre/post-test and enabled researchers to collect quantitative data. Researchers used focus groups to collect qualitative data in the form of transcribed interviews. This study sought to inform STEM mentoring program development by collecting both qualitative and quantitative data independently and simultaneously in order to confirm findings. Researchers used a convergent parallel mixed methods design to first, reinforce and corroborate the findings given the small sample size (n=8); second, minimize alternative interpretations from data gathering and analysis, third, make clear various factors contributing to the effectiveness of STEM mentoring.Findings– Throughout the mentoring experience, mentor perceptions of their mentoring abilities increased to be in the “more highly effective” range within PAMI. In five of the six constructs the results indicated mentors scored lower on the pre-test than they did on the post-test of the PAMI, meaning mentor perceptions of mentoring abilities improved overall during the course and the mentoring experience. Common themes from both quantitative and qualitative results were developed, are discussed using the PAMI constructs as organizers, and include communication, information, and gender differences.Originality/value– This study added to the dearth of literature and investigations surrounding STEM mentoring. Many studies have concentrated primarily on mentoring but few have investigated the concept of STEM mentoring program best practices. The results of this study provided a multidimensional look at STEM mentoring programs that impact urban, at risk, high school youth.

Situated cognition and learning environments: implications for teachers on- and offline in the new digital media age

John Seely Brown suggested that learning environments should be spaces in which all work is public, is subject to iterative critique by instructors and peers, and in which social interaction is primary. In such spaces, students and teachers engage in a situated cognition approach to teaching and learning where “cognitive accomplishments rely in part on structures and processes outside the individual”. Here we describe a qualitative analysis of a socially situated learning setting that aimed to develop children who can design, analyze, critique, and transform media, subjecting existing social media, their designs, and their peers’ designs to public and iterative critique. In this setting, adult mentors supported children’s self-expression, self-reflection, and skillbuilding through authentic, socially situated reading, writing, and discussion, and media production. Creating and leveraging such spaces is essential for preparing all children for successful experiences in the new knowledge economy in formal and informal educational settings.

Understanding Age-based Transition Needs: Perspectives from Adolescents and Adults with Congenital Heart Disease.

The purpose of this study was to explore the transition process in congenital heart disease (CHD) care through the perceived needs and concerns of adolescents (pretransition) and the experiential insight from adults (post-transition), in order to inform future transition initiatives and information delivery methods. In this cross-sectional study, adolescents and adults with moderate or complex CHD participated in semistructured telephone interviews. Interview transcripts were coded using NVivo qualitative data software. Single large urban tertiary care CHD center Adolescents (between 16 and 20 years of age) and adults (21-40 years of age) with moderate or complex CHD. Patients with global developmental delay or known chromosomal abnormalities were excluded. Twenty adolescents and 20 adults participated in the study; each interview allowed for participants to discuss issues relevant to them. Among adolescents, half wanted more CHD information and half were concerned about becoming adults with CHD. All adolescents had access to the Internet via a mobile phone, but only 55% had searched online for CHD information. Adolescents were interested in mentorship with other adolescents (90%) and adults (60%) with CHD either in person or via protected social media. Among adults, 55% were satisfied with the amount of information they had received as adolescents. Areas in which adults would have preferred additional information include longer-term implications of CHD, employment, insurance, family planning, and mental health. There are similarities and differences in the perceived transition needs of a diverse group of adolescents and adults with CHD. Both cohorts desire additional information during the transition process, including interest in use of a transition checklist to learn about managing their CHD. Adolescents are interested in interactions with other teens and adult mentors with CHD and are open to Internet-based interventions. Web-based initiatives could deliver CHD information and provide a platform for social media mentorship.

A Creative 3D Design Programme: Building on Interests and Social Engagement for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

This study explores the processes occurring during technology workshops which built on interests and enhanced social engagement for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The workshops used a community based research design and focused on teaching a creative three-dimensional (3D) design programme (SketchUp™) to students with ASD. Seven boys (ages 8–17) participated in this pilot programme over a 6-month period. The methodology was a qualitative thematic analysis of videotapes and transcripts of workshop sessions. The two key themes that emerged were: (1) development of authentic peer relationships through humour, common interests, physical actions, and playful competition; and (2) the importance of a scaffolded learning environment with support from peers and an adult mentor, as opportunities for social engagement. These findings indicate that 3D design technology can build on strengths and interests of students with ASD and promote social engagement in naturally occurring environments. A positive youth development philosophy focusing on technology interests may be useful with students with ASD, especially in connection to existing service delivery models.

Expanding Horizons: A Pilot Mentoring Program Linking College/Graduate Students and Teens With ASD.

A small pilot program of 9 youth 13 to 18 years old with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or Asperger's syndrome assessed the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of an individualized mentoring program. Youth met weekly for 6 months with trained young adult mentors at a local boys and girls club. Participants reported improvements in self-esteem, social anxiety, and quality of life. Participants, parents, mentors, and staff reported that the program improved participants' social connectedness. Although the pilot study was small, it provides preliminary data that mentoring for youth with ASD has promise for increasing self-esteem, social skills, and quality of life.

Navigating the Academic Developmental Maze

As an increased number of international students join College and University classrooms across the United States, their transition and acclimation to campuses has received attention over the past few years, particularly, in the areas of preparation and acculturation. This topic is important because faculty mentors can play a pivotal role in the professional development of international doctoral students. This article addresses these needs with a model which integrates adult learning and mentoring strategies to support international doctoral students. The model includes developing the skills which not only international graduates, but all graduates will benefit from in the 21st century. The significance of this model is its contribution to develop the valuable capabilities of proactive, problem solving, self-directed learners/academics able to self-reflect and navigate different cultural environments than their own. The discussion also provides future research recommendations.

Student–adult mentoring relationships: experiences from a Scottish school-based programme

Background: This article reports on a mentoring programme which was implemented in selected Scottish secondary schools with the view to supporting students with school work, transition to further education/higher education, careers, and interpersonal skills. Mentoring students can enhance their academic, social, career and other outcomes. Mentoring relationships, when properly implemented, have been found also to yield positive results for mentors.Purpose: This paper is an investigation into a school-based mentoring programme which was implemented in 6 selected Scottish secondary schools. In so doing, we hope to contribute to an evolving framework for designing and implementing successful school-based mentoring.Sample: The sample for this study included 10 students aged between 16 and 17 years old in the second year of a broader 2-year business/education project, which aimed to promote student uptake of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers after secondary school. There were 11 mentors, who were drawn mainly from the science, health and the education sectors.Design and method: Methodologically, this study was qualitative interpretivist in nature. Data collection involved focus group discussion and individual semi-structured interviews.Results: The findings show mentee and mentor preparation, clarity of expectations, mentee–mentor matching, mentee motivation, appropriateness of meeting spaces and power relations, modes of communication including the use of social media, and the role of schools as essential conditions which influenced the quality of mentoring relationships.Conclusion: The findings suggest that mentoring programmes involving students in school and ‘external’ adult mentors need to consider a range of factors to achieve success when designing and implementing mentoring. This paper raises important issues for example, communication using social media, which have implications for practice in business sector and school partnerships involved in school-based mentoring.

Organizing Adult Mentoring Activities at European Level

Mentoring plays an important role in professional and personal development of adults because it brings motivation for learning and assures lifelong learning premises. Adult mentoring is extremely important in an organizations life. The implementation of a structured mentoring program brings the organization benefits and motivation to their staff, and therefore growth. Even if mentors are volunteers in the mentoring process, they need to be trained to act properly.This paper presents the arguments for implementing a mentoring program in organizations. It is also presented the FORMULA Project - a good practice example of mentoring program developed in 5 European countries. The project is promoting an adult mentoring model based on training the mentors and monitoring their activity with their mentees. The mentors in FORMULA project are disadvantaged adults. Through training they will receive the necessary tools and guidance to become mentors for others. The quality of the training courses is assured by the partner's experience. The permanent communication between partners and share of expertise are the key elements in developing a new concept of mentoring.

Exploring the Experiences of Female Emerging Adult Mentors

While mentoring programs are prevalent, limited research focused on the mentors’ experiences exist, particularly during critical periods of development. Using a qualitative, grounded theory approach, this study explores the elements of the mentoring experience for a cohort of late adolescent/emerging adult women in a long-term program. Outcomes described were both personal and work related, as well as relationally and individually focused. In addition, a number of individual, relational, and programmatic challenges, along with associated emotional challenges, were reported. The influence of these challenges on outcomes, however, depend on a number of elements that appear to buffer the negative experiences. The organization of the findings into a conceptual model informs both research and practice.

The development of HIV-related mental health and psychosocial services for children and adolescents in Zambia: The case for learning by doing

The success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has sparked a global commitment to strengthen health systems for an improved response. The response, however, is largely biomedical. Far less attention and funding exist for mental health and psychosocial support services (PSS). While the evidence-base for these services is less developed, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) has responded to glaring needs through a “learn by doing” approach. This paper documents lessons learned as we responded to expressed needs for child-centered HIV support in Zambia.We formed a multidisciplinary working group to improve support for children on ART. In collaboration with the Zambian Ministry of Health (MOH) and with support from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), we began, in 2008, by implementing a pediatric HIV counseling course focusing on disclosure, adherence, and stigma. Play therapy and adolescent-support programs followed. In 2013, with funding from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, EGPAF established HIV and developmental delay centers.Through working with the Zambia MOH, we have forged a national response. This involved training pediatric HIV counselors, play therapy counselors, adult mentors and positive peer mentors, as well as clinicians and volunteers in HIV and early childhood development. We have learned that providing health workers with skills to dialog with HIV-affected children and families in honest and developmentally-sensitive ways yields results. Thousands of children have been reached and improved adherence and acceptance of one's status have been reported. Non-medical services have been developed by busy practitioners to meet glaring clinic gaps using a “learn by doing” approach. More resources are required to scale up these programs and for ‘good practice’ evidence to be gathered.

Content and Perceived Utility of Mental Imagery by Older Adults in a Peer-Delivered Physical Activity Intervention

Imagery interventions intended to increase exercise behavior are rare. The Active Adult Mentoring Program (AAMP) was a randomized controlled trial with imagery content. The purposes of this study were to examine the content and perceived utility of mental imagery with 24 AAMP participants (Mage = 65.00, SD = 8.79 years). Digital recordings of AAMP sessions and post-intervention interviews were content-analyzed. Emergent themes included images of the physical activity context and negative impressions about imagery. Post-intervention interviews revealed that 13 participants reported positive experiences using mental imagery while 9 would not engage in further use. Important implications are discussed.

Examining commitment and relational maintenance in formal youth mentoring relationships

This study utilizes a social exchange perspective to examine mentors’ reported commitment and relational maintenance in formal youth mentoring relationships. One hundred and forty-five adult mentors from four mentoring programs completed surveys about aspects of their current youth mentoring relationship. Study measures assessed Investment Model variables (satisfaction, alternatives, investments, and commitment), stay/leave behavior, and reported use of relational maintenance strategies. Analyses supported hypotheses derived from the Investment Model, and commitment, in turn, predicted stay/leave behavior for mentors. In addition, a mediation model demonstrated that commitment mediates the relationships between some Investment Model variables and three of five relational maintenance strategies. The unique nature of formal youth mentoring relationships as prescribed is discussed, as are practical applications for mentoring programs.

Mentoring and Faculty-Student Interaction in an Online Doctoral Program

This study analyzed one overarching research question: What effect does faculty-student interaction have on the relationship between student mentoring and student success in an online doctoral program. Both Cohen’s (1993) Principles of Adult Mentoring Scale and Grooms and Bocarnea’s (2003) Computer-Mediated Interaction Scale were modified and consolidated into one instrument to measure learners’ perceptions of mentoring and faculty-student interaction. Student success was operationalized as grade point average and passing comprehensive examinations on the first attempt, two critical benchmarks of doctoral program completion. While the data from this study did not support that faculty-student interaction moderated the relationship between student mentoring and student success, it did generate a plethora of questions. It also suggested the possibility that the online educational environment transmutes the traditional mentoring functions proposing the probable need for a revised instrument that will adequately measure these variables within the 21st century technologically-rich context.