Youth Mentoring Research Articles

Taking care of youth mentoring relationships: red flags, repair, and respectful resolution

Mentoring is portrayed in the literature as benefiting young people, but ineffective or early termination of youth mentoring relationships can be detrimental. Researchers have not adequately explored issues surrounding the breakdown of youth mentoring relationships. Underpinned by a socio-ecological perspective, in this exploratory study we consider the various contexts within which these important relationships exist and identify early warning signs or red flags that a mentoring relationship is struggling. We interviewed mentees, mentors, and coordinators from four Western Australian youth mentoring programs about their experiences of mentoring relationships. Our findings suggest that red flags and repair strategies may be specific to particular programs, and that program coordinators play an important role in supporting relationships. Our research will help youth mentoring programs work toward early intervention strategies or appropriate and respectful termination of a relationship.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Long-Term Professional Mentoring Program for Children at Risk: Outcomes Across the First 5 Years.

Child outcomes due to a paid professional mentoring program, Friends of the Children (FOTC), were investigated across the first 5years of an ongoing multi-site randomized controlled trial. Participants were 278 children attending kindergarten or first grade who were identified as "at risk" for adjustment problems during adolescence. The program was delivered through established nonprofit community-based organizations. Mentors were hired to work full time and were provided training, supervision, and support to work individually with small numbers of children. Recruitment took place across a 3-year period. Random assignment to the intervention condition or a services as usual control condition was conducted at the level of the individual, blocking on school and child sex. After the initial assessment, follow-up assessments were conducted every 6months. Differences in growth curves across the elementary school years were examined in intent-to-treat analyses. Significant effects favoring FOTC were found in terms of caregiver ratings of positive school behavior and less trouble in school, with a trend for higher child behavioral and emotional strengths. Effect sizes were in the range typical in recent trials of youth mentoring.

Professor Kulish M. I. — an outstanding representative of Sytenko school of orthopedists and traumatologists (90th anniversary)

We review life one of the outstanding personalities in Sy­tenko institute, orthopedic traumatologist, Honored Scientist of Ukraine, State Prize of Ukraine, MD, Professor Mikola Kulish Ivanovich. Life of M.I. Kulish closely related to Slobozhanshchina Sytenko Institutel. Labour childhood and part of 16 years in combat during World war II formed its main traits — courage, bravery, humanity and perseverance. The important point in his life became acquainted with A. A. Korzh, which turned into a multi-year creative collaboration and male friendship. Fully opened, M. I. Kulish talent as a scientist, surgeon and mentor youth in the times of his work in Sytenko Institute. During this period he completed his doctoral dissertation and, conducted multifaceted research and clinical studies on cancer and pelvic surgery of large joints. Mikola Ivanovich performed a unique surgery to remove tumors of the pelvis, the first in Ukraine hip replacement surgery method prof. K. Sivash, developed the basic principles of reconstructive surgery of large joints that remain relevant today. M. Kulish — author of 3 books, 250 scientific pa­pers, 20 patents for inventions. Under the direction of Professor M. Kulish graduated by more than 20 doctors and candidates of medical sciences. According to the times of the Sytenko Insti­tute prof. M. I. Kulish created a unique school of his followers to form a highly friendly and professional staff in joint pathology clinic. Mikola Kulish will forever remain in our memory as one of the prominent representatives of Sytenko orthopedic and trauma surgery school.

The long‐term effects of youth mentoring on student mentors' civic engagement attitudes and behavior

AbstractThe current study was designed to explore the delayed effect of participating in youth mentoring programs, training in civic engagement, and activism on a sample of 337 Israelis 5 to 10 years after serving as student mentors. Qualitative and quantitative findings showed that these former mentors' perception of the contribution of mentoring was correlated with their current civic engagement attitudes and activism. Further, the perceived quality of training during mentoring was correlated with the overall perceived contribution of mentoring and current civic engagement attitudes. A mediation model showed that the perceived quality of training was correlated with the former mentors' perceived mentoring contribution. This in turn was correlated with current civic engagement attitudes, which themselves were correlated with their current civic engagement activism. The former mentors' narratives revealed their attainment of new skills and abilities, including an increased ability to relate to and understand young children and disadvantaged populations.

Predictors of Premature Match Closure in Youth Mentoring Relationships.

Although mentoring is a popular and effective means of intervention with youth, the positive effects of mentoring can be diminished by premature match closure of relationships. Program, mentor, and mentee characteristics were examined as predictors of premature match closure. Secondary data analyses were conducted on a large national database of mentoring programs consisting of match and youth risk information from 170 mentoring programs and 6468 matches from across the U.S. Premature closure was associated with mentee age at match inception and 19 individual mentee characteristics. The set of mentee characteristics were examined as part of a cumulative risk index encompassing seven conceptually combined categories including family background characteristics, school functioning problems, engagement in risky health behaviors, self-regulation difficulties, engagement in illegal or criminal activities, and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Both the age of mentees when matched and the cumulative risk index score significantly predicted premature closure. Results are discussed in terms of directions for future research and suggestions for enhancing mentoring program practices.

Mentor suitability and mentoring relationship quality: Lessons from the Glasgow Intergenerational Mentoring Network

AbstractInequality in educational attainment is a serious and increasing problem in Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom, and youth mentoring is gaining popularity as an intervention to address this issue. However, evidence for the effectiveness of mentoring is weak, and research suggests that a large proportion of mentoring relationships end prematurely, which can be harmful to young people. This article draws on data from the Glasgow Intergenerational Mentoring Network, an ongoing research and development project facilitating mentoring for secondary school pupils in socially disadvantaged areas, employing retired professionals as volunteer mentors. Case material is presented to discuss the nature of mentoring and the role of the mentor. This article conceptualizes volunteer mentors as relational experts, relational learners, and nonrelational mentors. The implications of these categories are discussed in terms of recruitment, training, and support of mentors, to facilitate ethical and effective mentoring relationships.

МІСЦЕ ПЕДАГОГІКИ В СИСТЕМІ ПЕДАГОГІЧНОЇ ОСВІТИ УКРАЇНИ В ІСТОРИЧНОМУ ДИСКУРСІ XIX – ПОЧАТКУ XX СТ.

The peculiarities of formation and development of pedagogics as a science in the system of professional training of future teachers during the 19th - early 20th century have been found out in the article on the basis of the analysis of historical and pedagogical literature. The public need for training of pedagogical personnel has been determined to emerge during this period. That led to the development of appropriate forms of organization and the necessary scientific provision of its effectiveness (the creation of pedagogical institutes at universities, departments of pedagogy, generalization of empirical experience, development of pedagogical theory). The domestic scientists (K. Ushynskyi, S. Myropolskyi, A. Valytskyi, S. Hohotskyi, M. Lavrovskyi, T. Lubenets, F. Zelenohorskyi, B. Hrinchenko, L. Tolstoi and others) have been established to continue developing the theoretical foundations of pedagogics and implementing them in the practice of training future teachers contrary to the state policy.Attention of the scholars of the 19th - 20th century was attracted to the problem of pedagogical training of youth mentors, didactics and teaching methods, learning content in pedagogical establishments, requirements for teachers. According to scientists, the importance of theoretical training of future teachers consisted in preventing from their mistakes, waste of time; preparing for practice, facilitating the accumulation of personal experience, enriching the necessary fund of scientific information, disciplining thought and giving the ability to process pedagogical matters comprehensively, forming the teacher's ability to treat the education of the personality independently and critically. These thoughts led to the fact that pedagogics began to be taught in universities, teacher institutes and seminaries, in pedagogical courses in the early 20th century.In the 1920s educationalists (S. Ananin, M. Dadenkov, A. Hotalov-Hotlib, H. Zhurakivskyi, H. Kostiuk, N. Krupska, O. Popov, I. Sokolianskyi, S. Chavdarov and others) paid special attention to professional training of future teachers, to the necessity of understanding the very essence of pedagogical science by teacher, its current state, the main stages of development and relations with other sciences, with social relations, the surrounding life.

Strategies for Fostering a Quality Physical Activity-Based Mentoring Program for Female Youth: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

The current case outlines practical strategies used by youth leaders to implement a female-only physical activity-based mentoring program. This program was selected as the case for the current paper as it scored the highest on program quality out of 26 different sport and physical activity-based youth programs within a larger project. The two program leaders were interviewed to understand what practical strategies they used to foster a high-quality program within this context. The leaders discussed how they: (a) focused on developing individualized relationships with youth, (b) balanced structure with flexibility to allow for youth voice, (c) intentionally integrated life skills, and (d) combined engaging activities with downtime to differentiate the program from school. This case provides a practical account of how front-line workers in youth mentoring programs, specifically within sport and physical activity contexts, can deliver a quality program. Reflection on areas for future work within the field of sport psychology, including ways to bridge the gap between research and practice and the need to develop communities of practice for youth programmers, are presented.

Hospital-based, Multidisciplinary, youth mentoring and medical exposure program positively influences and reinforces health care career choice: “The Reach One Each One Program early Experience”

BackgroundAccording to the National Center for Educational Statistics, underrepresented minorities (URMs) are more likely to leave science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at higher rates than their peers during undergraduate studies. Many institutions of higher learning have implemented pipeline programs aimed at preparing and inspiring high school and college aged students in select careers in health sciences with varying levels of success. Research has shown that a health care workforce that mirrors the community they serve is more effective in reducing health disparities and increasing positive health outcomes. We hypothesize that a hospital-based, multidisciplinary youth mentoring and medical exposure program will enhance the decision of URM high school students to choose healthcare careers. Materials and methodA retrospective analysis of the Reach One Each One Program (ROEO) was performed. ROEO is a hospital based, 11-week multidisciplinary youth mentoring and medical exposure program for inner-city high school students. The analysis was based on a phone survey of the twenty-six (26) seniors who completed the program and subsequently graduated from high school between May 2013 and May 2015 to assess the following: 1) College enrollment/attendance, 2) Health profession majors, and 3) Pre-med status. The study was approved by the Morehouse School of Medicine Institutional Review Board. ResultsOf the twenty-six students, 23 were female and 3 were male; 25 (96%) of the students were African American and one student was a Caucasian female. Twenty-four (92.3%) of the students were enrolled in college and 2 (7.7%) were scheduled to begin in the spring semester of 2016. Twenty-one of the 24 attending college at the time of the survey (87.5%) were enrolled in a health science degree program and 16 (66.7%) confirmed that they were enrolled in pre-medical (Pre-med) curriculum. ConclusionHospital-based, multidisciplinary medical mentoring programs can have a positive impact on the lives and health care career decisions of aspiring URM high school students. Further study will be necessary to validate the most influential components needed for the success of such programs.

Participatory culture meets critical practice

Purpose This paper aims to closely examine the features of an urban community-based learning program to highlight the synergy between its educational technology, literate practices and social justice ethos that impact youths’ learning and documentary filmmaking. This examination of a learning setting illuminates the “what is possible” and “how it comes to be possible” (Gomez et al., 2014, p. 10), illustrating possibilities for youths’ tech-mediated literacies to facilitate, support and extend engagement in social justice. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in the theoretical and analytical concept of activity theory, this study uses qualitative methods and activity systems analysis. Observations are the primary data source coupled with a detailed activity analysis supported by artifacts, images and interviews. Program participants included 12 youth, 2 youth mentors, 1 adult coordinator and 1 adult facilitator. Findings Findings illustrate that all subjects (participants) in the program co-created and shaped the activity system’s object (or purpose). Analyses also reveal the ways in which the program enables and empowers youth through its development of participatory literacy practices that “can facilitate learning, empowerment, and civic action” (Jenkins et al., 2016). Originality/value Overall, this study is a contribution to the field as it responds to the need for close examinations of complex technology-mediated learning settings “through the lens of equity and opportunity” (Ito et al., 2013).

Youth mentoring for young people at risk of exclusion from secondary school: a feasibility randomised controlled trial

BackgroundYouth mentoring is used with young people to help improve their health, wellbeing, and educational attainment. Despite the growing interest in mentoring programmes among policy makers and practitioners the evidence-base is weak, with no randomised controlled trial (RCT) yet undertaken in the UK. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a definitive RCT of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Breakthrough Mentoring, a council-supported programme that provides formal, one-to-one mentoring through paid, adult mentors. Methods31 secondary school students, judged by school staff to be at risk of exclusion, were approached and 21 (eight girls, 13 boys) were recruited to the study. Participants were aged 12–16 years (mean 14·1) and randomised to receive weekly 2 hour mentoring sessions for one academic year (n=11, intervention) or care as usual (ten, control). Participants were asked to complete self-reported questionnaires, including the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, which were analysed descriptively. Qualitative interviews were conducted with participants and with parents, schools staff, mentors, and commissioners as part of the process evaluation. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN97394558. FindingsFollow-up at 6 and 12 months was 100%, and 86% (n=18) at 18 months. Participants were happy to complete the questionnaires and were accepting of the study design. Control participants reported wanting a mentor and some were mildly upset at not achieving this. Intervention participants indicated that having a mentor, unconnected to school, helped them talk about and deal with difficult feelings. Some reported negative experiences of the way that the mentoring relationship ended. The process evaluation showed that the study design and intervention were acceptable to parents, mentors, schools, and commissioners. InterpretationThe recruitment, randomisation, and retention of students at risk of exclusion from school to an RCT for 6, 12, and 18 months' follow-up is feasible and acceptable. Before a definitive trial can be considered, further research is required to characterise youth mentoring in the UK and to investigate how to best measure its effectiveness. FundingThis is a summary of independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research School for Public Health Research.

YOUTH MENTORSHIP AS NEOLIBERAL SUBJECT FORMATION

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 24pt 36pt;"><span style="color: #131413; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;">This paper critically analyzes how youth mentorship discourse in North America supports hegemonic and normative values of patriarchy, gender role expectations, and negative youth stereotypes. Utilizing critical discourse analysis, I identify and make explicit the additional agendas present in youth mentorship programs. Through an examination of the language and rhetorical devices used to promote youth mentorship programs, multiple elements of discourse are identified as supporting the inculcation of youth with neoliberal values such as competition, entrepreneurism, and self-regulation. The implications of this analysis suggest the continual and increasing presence of neoliberal and corporate capitalistic values in the once publicly funded welfare state.</span></p>

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

Endings in youth mentoring relationships have received little empirical attention despite the fact that many relationships do end. The present study utilized qualitative interview data collected from participants in a longitudinal study of community-based mentoring relationships to examine how and why the relationships ended and how participants experienced these endings. Interviews with 48 pairs of mentors and youth and the youth’s parent or guardian conducted at the time the mentoring relationship ended were analyzed. Three types of procedural endings (formal goodbye planned and completed, formal goodbye planned but not completed, and agency ended) were identified as were five main reasons for relationship endings (changes in life circumstances, youth dissatisfaction or disinterest, mentor dissatisfaction, gradual dissolution, and mentor abandonment). Interrelationships between ending types and reasons are discussed, as are the roles of relationship strength and program support in these processes.

From Treatment to Empowerment: New Approaches to Youth Mentoring.

Traditional approaches to formal youth mentoring have focused primarily on improving the lives of "at-risk" youth through the assignment of individual mentors who are typically disconnected from youth's communities. Similarly, research in the field of formal mentoring has emphasized the dyadic relationship between the mentor and the mentee, with less attention paid to the broader relational contexts in which such relationships unfold. The current paper proposes a new framework that expands the scope of mentoring interventions to include approaches that build on and cultivate informal supports and empower youth to identify and reach out to networks of potential supportive adults, thus increasing the reach of youth mentoring.

Mindfulness and Mentoring Satisfaction of College Women Mentoring Youth: Implications for Training

College students who mentor at-risk youth face a variety of challenges and unexpected dilemmas. Mindful awareness practices (MAPs) offer a promising strategy for stress reduction and enhanced relationship satisfaction for college students, counseling students, parents, and teachers; yet, the potential benefits for college student mentors remain largely unexamined. This quasi-experimental study analyzed survey data from college student mentors who received a MAP-based intervention (n = 59), and a comparison group comprised mentors who received the same mentor training and group mentoring curriculum, but without the added mindfulness component to examine the following research questions: (a) is the addition of a mindfulness component to college student mentor training associated with mentors’ mentoring satisfaction; (b) does this help them enhance their ability to be empathic in challenging situations; and (c) does this help them shift their inclination for autonomous decision-making and prescriptive mentoring toward a more collaborative, youth-centered approach. Relative to the comparison group, mentors who participated in mindfulness training reported significantly higher mentor satisfaction, greater increases in empathy, and greater decreases in autonomy. Results provide youth-focused programs with new knowledge regarding additional avenues for supporting college students working with youth.

The Role of Program-Supported Mentoring Relationships in Promoting Youth Mental Health, Behavioral and Developmental Outcomes.

This study examined the relationship between youth mentoring status and behavioral, developmental, and emotional outcomes for 859 youths aged 6-17 participating in a national survey of Big Brothers Big Sisters community mentoring relationships (MRs). Youth self-reported behaviors and mental health occurred at the baseline assessment (before being paired to a mentor) and at 18months follow-up. Youth mentoring status was categorized as follows: (1) continuous MR less than 12months (n = 131); (2) continuous MR 12 or more months (n = 253); (3) dissolved MR less than 12months (n = 110); (4) dissolved MR 12 or more months (n = 70); 5) MR with a second mentor (re-matched; n = 83); and (6); never mentored (n = 212). Structural equation model results at 18months revealed that mentored youths, especially those in MR lasting 12 or more months (continuous or dissolved), reported significantly fewer behavioral problems and fewer symptoms of depression and social anxiety than did non-mentored youths. They also reported stronger coping skills and emotional support from parents. Mentored girls and boys in long-term relationships experienced positive outcomes. Re-matched girls displayed better outcomes than did never-mentored girls while there was some evidence of harmful outcomes for re-matched boys. Threats to internal validity are examined including the possibility of pre-existing baseline differences between mentored and non-mentored youths. Implications for mentoring programs are discussed.

Mixing and Mingling Queerly: The Activist Sociality of Mentoring in the Personal Narratives of Coloma and Lorde

Edward Chamberlain takes on the pressing need for mentorship for queer youth, in particular queer youth of color. Addressing a dearth in both studies on and commitment to the wellness and flourishing of queer youth of color in institutions of higher learning, Chamberlain turns to what is in some respects both a traditional and nontraditional archive of resources: personal narrative writing by queer people of color. Taking up both Audre Lorde’s Zami: A New Spelling of My Name and Roland Sintos Coloma’s “Fragmented Entries, Multiple Selves,” Chamberlain argues that the structural hybridity of these narratives serves as a formal model for a queer mentoring methodology, and delves into the texts themselves for examples of how to mentor queer youth of color in and beyond the academy. Chamberlain’s intervention is at the same time vitally theoretical and practical; sources such as those that he analyzes may be nontraditional to institutions of higher learning, but are often circulated informally for the precise purposes Chamberlain describes.

Initial Characteristics and Mentoring Satisfaction of College Women Mentoring Youth: Implications for Training

Being a youth mentor is popular among college students, yet little is known about how their initial characteristics are related to mentoring satisfaction. Survey data from college women enrolled in a youth mentoring program (n = 158) and a comparison group (n = 136) were analyzed to determine how initial characteristics of youth mentors (a) differ from comparisons and (b) are associated with mentors’ satisfaction. Mentors reported higher autonomy, cultural sensitivity, and lower depression pre-participation than the comparison group, and their pre-participation GPA, cognitive empathy, and depression predicted post-participation mentoring satisfaction. Implications for mentor training are discussed.

A youth mentor-led nutritional intervention in urban recreation centers: a promising strategy for childhood obesity prevention in low-income neighborhoods.

B'More Healthy Community for Kids (BHCK) is an ongoing multi-level intervention to prevent childhood obesity in African-American low-income neighborhoods in Baltimore city, MD. Although previous nutrition interventions involving peer mentoring of youth have been successful, there is a lack of studies evaluating the influence of cross-age peers within interventions targeting youth. This article evaluates the implementation of the BHCK intervention in recreation centers, and describes lessons learned. Sixteen youth leaders delivered bi-weekly, interactive sessions to 10- to 14-y olds. Dose, fidelity and reach are assessed, as is qualitative information regarding what worked well during sessions. Dose is operationalized as the number of interactive sessions, and taste tests, giveaways and handouts per session; fidelity as the number of youth leaders participating in the entire intervention and per session and reach as the number of interactions with the target population. Based on a priori set values, number of interactive sessions was high, and number of taste tests, giveaways and handouts was moderate to high (dose). The number of participating youth leaders was also high (fidelity). Of the 14 planned sessions, the intervention was implemented with high/moderate reach. Data suggest that working with cross-age peers is a promising nutritional intervention for recreation centers.

The Functions and Longitudinal Outcomes of Adolescents' Naturally Occurring Mentorships.

Adolescence is a time during which positive adults outside the familial context may be most influential to development. A growing body of research on naturally occurring mentors has found favorable outcomes for youth who have these types of positive adult figures in their lives. Less is known, however, about how these naturally occurring mentors influence youths' development in the long-term. This study examines the long-term outcomes related to having a naturally occurring community mentor in adolescence. Results from longitudinal analyses of a nationally representative sample of adolescents revealed that having a mentor in adolescence was related to higher educational attainment, lower criminal activity, higher psychological well-being (i.e., optimism, self-efficacy, and lack of depressive symptoms), and greater romantic relationship satisfaction in adulthood. Additionally, a taxonomy of mentoring functions was created from qualitative responses and drawing upon the youth, work, and academic mentoring literature. This taxonomy aims to serve as a framework for understanding the functions of youth mentors to provide a foundation for future research. Implications of findings and future directions are considered.