Implementing Effective Youth Mentoring Relationships for ...

[Pages:38]

ImplementingEffectiveYouthMentoring

RelationshipsforHighSchoolStudents

CindySturtevantBorden

ThispaperwaspreparedfortheU.S.DepartmentofEducation(ED),Officeof ElementaryandSecondaryEducation,SmallerLearningCommunitiesProgramunder ContractNumberED-07-CO-0106withEDJAssociates,Inc.inHerndon,VA.Theviews expressedinthispublicationdonotnecessarilyrepresentthepositionsorpoliciesofED, nordoreferencestotradenames,commercialproducts,services,ororganizationsimply endorsementbytheU.ernment.

TABLEOFCONTENTS

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Background/SummaryofResearch...................................................................................................... 2 LessonsLearned .................................................................................................................................... 4 ObstaclestoSuccessfulImplementation............................................................................................. 7

Obstacle:InsufficientResources...................................................................................................... 8 Recommendation:DevelopaRealisticProgramBudget........................................................... 9 KeyQuestionstoConsider........................................................................................................... 9

Obstacle:InsufficientResources--Mentors ................................................................................. 10 Recommendation:CreateaMentorRecruitmentStrategyandPlan .................................... 10 KeyQuestionstoConsider......................................................................................................... 11

Obstacle:InadequateInfrastructure ............................................................................................. 11 Recommendation:BuildProgram/OrganizationCapacity ...................................................... 12 KeyQuestionstoConsider......................................................................................................... 13

Obstacle:LackofSupport............................................................................................................... 13 Recommendation:InvolveStakeholders.................................................................................. 13 KeyQuestionstoConsider......................................................................................................... 14

Obstacle:LimitedKnowledgeofMentoring ................................................................................. 14 Recommendation:LearnAboutMentoringBestPractices..................................................... 15 Recommendation:SeekOutExpertise ..................................................................................... 17 KeyQuestionstoConsider......................................................................................................... 17

Obstacle:UnclearorUnrealisticExpectations.............................................................................. 18 Recommendation:EstablishRealisticProgramExpectations ................................................. 18 KeyQuestionstoConsider......................................................................................................... 19

Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 20 References ........................................................................................................................................... 21 Appendix1:AdditionalResources ..................................................................................................... 24 Appendix2:SampleAnnualBudgetforaSchool-BasedMentoringProgram ................................ 26 Appendix3:SampleMentorRecruitmentPlan................................................................................. 29 Appendix4:MentoringProgramOutline .......................................................................................... 31

Introduction

Fornearlytwodecades,educatorsandpolicymakershaverecognizedthatpersonalizing large,facelesshighschoolscanplayanimportantroleinimprovingstudent achievementandsuccess,particularlyforyoungpeoplewhoenterhighschoolwithouta solidacademicfoundation.Breakingdownlargehighschoolsintofreshmanacademies, careeracademies,andothertypesofsmallerlearningcommunitieshasbecomea commonreformstrategy.

Thesestructuralchangesareoftencomplementedbytheimplementationofother personalizationstrategiessuchasteacheradvisoriesandfamilyadvocates(Quintetal., 2008).Manyoftheseschoolsarealsointroducingprogramssuchastutoringand internshipsthatconnectindividualstudentswithspecificadults.Studentmentoring programs,inparticular,arebecominganincreasinglypopularpersonalizationstrategy.

Researchhasshowntheimportanceofcaringadultsinthelivesofchildrenandyouth. ThesupportandguidanceofcaringadultsisthecornerstoneoftheFivePromises--key developmentalresourcesthatyoungpeopleneedtosucceed--identifiedbyAmerica's PromiseAlliance,anonprofitfocusedonimprovingthelivesofchildren(America's PromiseAlliance,n.d.).Thepresenceofpositiveadultrolemodelsandthesupportofat leastthreenonrelatedadultsarepartofthenonprofitSearchInstitute'sDevelopmental Assets--whattheyconsidertobethebuildingblocksforhealthydevelopment(Search Institute,n.d.).

Mentoringprovidesanalternativeforyouthwhoseparentsareunabletofulfilla mentoringroleandservesasanadditionalresourceforyouthwhoseparentsare engagedintheirlives.Researchhasshownmentoringtobeparticularlyeffectivefor youthwhofaceenvironmentalriskfactorssuchaspoverty(RhodesandDuBois,2006). Inthiscontext,mentoringshouldbeexploredasonecomponentoftheoverallremedy tothehighschooldropoutcrisis.

Althoughmentoringhastraditionallybeenaninterventiongearedmoretowardyounger students(i.e.,elementaryandearlymiddleschoolstudents)(Bernsteinetal.,2009; Herreraetal.,2007),itholdsunrealizedpotentialinservinghighschoolstudents.A mentorcouldbeuniquelypositionedtohelpayoungpersonnavigatetheprocessof transitioningfromhighschooltopostsecondaryeducation,work,orcareertraining-- thatis,ifthementoringisdonewell.

Withthatinmind,thispaperwillexplorethefundamentalsofeffectiveyouth mentoring.Becausethevastmajorityofmentoringliteraturefocusesoncommunity- basedmentoring(CBM),wewillpayparticularattentiontoschool-basedmentoring (SBM),especiallySBMdirectedtohighschoolstudents.Creatingandsustaining mentoringrelationshipsthatleadtodesiredoutcomesrequiresseveralkeyelements:

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? resources;

? infrastructure;

? support;

? knowledgeofeffectivementoring;and

? realisticexpectationsaboutthebenefitsandchallengesofmentoring.

Background/SummaryofResearch

OurmodernunderstandingofmentoringhasbeenshapedbytheBigBrothersBig Sisters(BBBS)program.BBBSbeganmatchingyoungpeoplewithcaringadultmentors inCBMmorethan100yearsagoinanefforttoprovidesupporttoyouthcoming throughthejuvenilecourtsystem(BBBS,n.d.).Recently,mentoringeffortshavegrown exponentially,fueledbysupportfrombothpoliticalparties(RhodesandDuBois,2006). Thisexplosioninyouthmentoringhascreatedanumberofnewmentoringmodelswith differentcontexts(e.g.,settings),structures(e.g.,peer,group)andgoals(Karcheretal., 2006).

Itseemsimportant,therefore,toestablishadefinitionofyouthmentoring.Accordingto theElementsofEffectivePractice,responsiblementoringisastructuredone-to-one (otherstructuresarepermitted)relationshipthatfocusesontheneedsofmenteesand encouragesthemtomeettheirpotential(MENTOR,2009).Giventhisdefinition,it seemsbothlogicalandintuitivethatmentoringshouldwork.Butdoesit?

Althoughtheconceptofmentoringisnotnew,researchonandevaluationofmentoring programsisfairlyrecent.Thefirstcomprehensiveevaluationoftheimpactsofyouth mentoringwaspublishedin1995byPublic/PrivateVentures.Thisstudyfoundanumber ofpositiveoutcomesforyouthinBBBSprograms,includingimprovedschoolattendance andperformance,betterparentalandpeerrelationships,andreducedinitiationofdrug andalcoholuse(TierneyandGrossman,1995).Subsequentresearchhassuggestedthat mentoringcanresultinpositiveoutcomesforyouthinanumberofareas,including education,healthandsafety,andsocialandbehavioralinteraction(Jekieleketal., 2002).Specifically,afterparticipatinginmentoringprograms,someyouthhavereported improvementsinself-esteem;betterparentalandpeerrelationships;greater connectednesstoschool;improvedacademicperformance;andreductionsinsubstance use,violence,andotherriskybehaviors(Cavelletal.,2009).

Theeffectivenessofmentoring,however,dependsonthequalityofthementoring relationship.Researchsuggestsastrongconnectionbetweenthebenefitsthatyouth experiencefrommentoringandtheclosenessofthementor/menteerelationship.Trust, empathy,authenticity,andcommoninterestsareimportantcomponentsofclose relationships.

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