Category: Research about mentoring

Group Mentoring National Mentoring Resource Center Model Review
By: Kuperminc Gabriel & Deutsch Nancy (2021)

In this article there are four topics related to group mentoring :
(1) its documented effectiveness
(2) the extent to which effectiveness depends on characteristics of mentors, mentees, or program practices
(3) intervening processes likely to link group mentoring to youth outcomes
(4) the success of efforts to reach and engage targeted youth, achieve high-quality implementation, and adopt and sustain programs over time.

• Group mentoring programs can produce an array of positive outcomes for youth (behavioral, emotional, academic, etc.) and seem to be effective across a wide range of youth characteristics (ages, ethnicities, etc.) and diverse program models.
• —  Additional social and relational processes, such as group cohesion, belonging, and a strong group identity, may also contribute to the outcomes youth experience from group mentoring.
• —  Group mentoring programs offer a context for activities that develop mentee skills, change mentee attitudes, and offer positive peer interactions; and these processes may lead to behavioral outcomes for participants

Please click here to read the article

Another article:
Participatory Design of an Activities-Based Collective Mentoring Program in After-School Care Settings: Connect, Promote, and Protect Program

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Edited by Oscar Prieto & Jordi Feu, Rossinyol, Girona University

One chapter: “Critical autonomy, social capital and mentoring programmes for children and youth” is written by colleagues from Girona University.

By: Jamie Nicole Albright & Noelle M. Hurd

Despite their promise to reduce inequality through the provision of novel opportunities and increased social capital to marginalized youth, youth mentoring interventions hold the potential to reproduce rather than reduce inequality.

In the absence of programmatic efforts to prevent the recreation of oppressive structures within mentoring programs and relationships, mentoring interventions may be ineffective, at best, and harmful to youth, at worst.
Mentors who lack understanding of power, privilege, and oppression may be particularly at risk of engaging in practices that could contribute to poor relationships or premature termination.
But marginalized youth who are equipped with tools to understand and challenge oppression may be the most effective advocates for social change.

Some highlight from the Abstract:
• Makes program recommendations to reduce potentially reproducing inequality in mentoring.
• Applying a social justice framework may be central to fostering more equitable outcomes for youth.

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Gilkerson, L., & Pryce, J. (2020). The mentoring FAN: A conceptual model of attunement for youth development settings. Journal of Social Work Practice, 0(0), 1–16.

The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of attunement in mentoring – a FAN framework for relationship-building and reflective practice in mentoring. The Mentoring FAN encouraged staff members to concentrate on strengthening mentor relations. The framework also prioritizes reflective practice and theories of interpersonal communication to help build relational connections within the youth mentoring system. The next step in the development of the Mentoring FAN is to train the volunteer mentors on this tool.
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This study examines how mentors approach their mentees and how the adults in their mentees’ lives influence.  ( 766 youth participated, in age from 11 to 14)

Person-centered analyses revealed three mentoring profiles which were differentially associated with youth outcomes: 
“Status Quo Mentors,” reported low-to-moderate levels of closeness in the dyad, low levels of connecting their mentees with programs and people in their community, and low levels of mediating for their mentees
“Close Connectors,” reported moderate-to-high levels of closeness, moderate-to-high levels of connecting, and low levels of mediating.
“Connector-Mediators,”  reported moderate levels of closeness, connecting, and mediating.
Youth mentored by “Close Connectors” demonstrated the greatest benefit, with significant improvements in parent–child relationship quality, extracurricular activity involvement, and help-seeking. 

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Most volunteer-based mentoring and tutoring programs that connect  youth to volunteers from diverse backgrounds are creating bridging social capital for their youth. However few frame their program design and outcome messages. Few have ways to measure this.

This report talks about the value of social capital and of using metrics to measure it.
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By Mark Vincent B. Yu & Nancy L. Deutsc

This study demonstrates how a developmental perspective may elucidate the processes that characterise and underlie youth’s relationships with supportive non parental adults.
Findings provide implications to understand, promote and sustain these important relationships in the lives of youth.
However, despite the potential benefits of these relationships, there has been little consideration of how the relational process may vary across different adolescent stages.
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Relatively less is known about whether parental perceptions of the match impacts or the length and strength of mentoring relationships. In this research relationships were examined. Parents/guardians were also surveyed about their level of satisfaction with the match.
The primary findings were that parent/guardian dissatisfaction with the match relationships meeting goals was the only significant predictor of a higher likelihood of match closure.
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By: Kern, L., Harrison, J., Custer, B., & Mehta, P. (2019).

This study examined methods to mitigate school dropout and increase student engagement by looking to promote feelings of connectedness and a sense of belonging through successful mentoring relationships.
The researchers have looked at how mentees viewed their relationships with their mentors, trying to find out what makes a high quality in mentoring relationship, and what factors influence the success of the match.
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By Jonas Aspelin & Anders Jonsson
It is not a study about mentoring but about
 relational competence in teacher education by introducing a Swedish project which focuses on interpersonal aspects. However there are some similarities with mentoring regarding relational competences.

The concluding discussion focuses on lessons learned from the study regarding how to promote teacher students’ relational competence.

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