Category: Research about mentoring

Dutton, H., Deane, K. L., & Overall, N. C. (2023). Using observational dyadic methods in youth mentoring research: Preliminary evidence of the role of actors’ and partners’ self-disclosure in predicting relationship quality. 

In this study, behavioral observations of youth mentorships were used to assess the potential impact of self-disclosure on relationship quality, considering who is disclosing and in what manner.
The study’s findings suggest that intimate disclosures made by mentors can assist mentees in assessing their mentors’ perceptions of them and their level of commitment to the relationship. And mentors who avoid making disclosures can make their mentees think that they don’t want to have a genuine relationship with them.

Mentor disclosure should be purposeful and foster youth empowerment, mentee receptivity, and empathy. In essence, mentors should ensure that the information they share with their mentees is valuable to the relationship and does not overwhelm them.

The researcher states that ongoing training and supervision are essential in assisting mentors in attuning to their mentees and making appropriate disclosures.

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It is clear Covid pandemic will have long- term effects in many different level, both on an individual level but also for school and a community level. This research uses Bronfenbrenner´s ecological model to show how Covid-19 disruption affected children and youth on both a macro and micro level (when schools were disrupted) and how important stakeholders were outside formal education engaged in promoting youth wellbeing and support.

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The Influence of Affective Teacher–Student Relationships on Students’ School Engagement and Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Approach. Review of Educational Research, 81(4), 493–529.
By: Roorda, D. L., Koomen, H. M. Y., Spilt, J. L., & Oort, F. J. (2011).

Interesting research show that affective teacher-student relationships influence students’ social function, such as behavioral problems, academic achievement, and engagement in learning.
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(2021) Bernadette Sanchez, Amy J. Anderson, Torie Weiston-Serdan and Beth S. Catlett,
Journal of Adolescent Research 1-31 2021 Sage

From the abstract:
The aims of this paper are to a) show why anti-racism training and education for adult mentors is necessary for promoting the positive development of BIPOC youth and b) offer a framework for antiracist education and training for mentors. We review research showing how mentors’ attitudes about race, ethnicity and culture can harm their relationships with BIPOC youth and research on general mentor training, anti-racism training for mentors, and general diversity and antibias training in the workplace.

In this paper you can find four components for anti-racist education and training for mentors:
a)acknowledging, confronting, and interrupting racism,
b) facilitating youth critical consciousness,
c) supporting positive identity development in youth,
d) mentors and mentees as active agents and partners. At the foundation of these pillars is decentering and interrupting Whiteness and youth as constructors of knowledge

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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

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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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