Education Commons^™

Effects Of A Mentorship Program On High Need College Students: Reflections From Mentors And Mentees, Stephen Miske, Olusegun Sogunro

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

On average, the college graduation rates for minority and/or high-need students are generally low. To address this situation, a Mid-Atlantic Consortium recently secured a grant to improve 4-year graduation rates of high-need students (i.e., new first-time students and transfer students who qualify as low-income students, first-generation college students, adult students, and/or students of color) by 20% over each selected college’s baseline. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of students and faculty mentors toward accomplishing this goal. Data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically. Some of the effects identified in this study included enhanced academic …

A Qualitative Descriptive Study Exploring The Perceptions Of New Teacher Induction Supports, Tonya Dixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem of novice teachers leaving the profession in the first few years of their career represented a global issue and an increased attrition rate. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the perceptions of novice U.S. teachers and effective systemic supports provided to new teachers through the lens of social capital. For this study, the intangible components of social capital emerged through the development and fostering of mentoring relationships in an induction program. The methodology used was a qualitative descriptive study using a survey, interviews, and thematic analysis of the survey and interview data collected. The …

Mentoring Matters! Designing Mentoring Programs For Misbehaving Black Boys, Tina D. Nelson-Jackson

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Statistics indicate that Black males who continue to experience progressive disciplinary action in school eventually suffer academic failure, which inevitably leads to the school-to-prison pipeline. However, research proves that mentoring programs that are specifically designed for misbehaving Black males can be a viable option for improving behaviors, decreasing disciplinary occurrences, improving grades, and thereby increasing their chances of academic success in the classroom setting.

Rethinking The Mentor/Mentee Relationship: The Critical Mentoring Approach In A North Carolina Middle School, Kendra P. Alexander, Brianna Mccullough, Nikaizha Davis, Patrick Clifford

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

In this session, undergraduate and graduate students from North Carolina A&T State University describe the genesis and evolution of an internship-based, community-academic partnership grounded in the concept of critical mentoring. As mentors with the Nia Project, interns support middle school students in critical exploration of post-high school pathways. Along with the supervising instructor, students identify key concepts and prerequisites for successful implementation.

Igniting The Spirit Of Hope And Discovery In Our Youth, Thomas Peterson, Stephanie Love, Travis Thomaston, Sung Park, Ali Clark

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Trauma in our at-risk youth community is a growing concern and needs revisioning if we are to expect positive transformations. Our mentoring program is specifically designed to ignite hope and healing which is transforming youth that are on probation with the justice system. The outcomes are humbling and transforming, with youth better able to love themselves, connect with others, and find hope for their futures.

The Effect Of Formal Mentorship Programs On Nurse Faculty Retention: An Integrative Review, Lisa Livingston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The nursing shortage has been a hot topic for decades, and literature supports a need to address this issue. Although faculty are critical to educating the nurses of the future, the shortage has impacted nurse faculty numbers as well. Nursing shortages are predicted to increase over the next decade. Evidenced-based interventions are critical to help sustain the nursing workforce. This integrative review highlights the importance of formal mentorship programs for new nurse faculty as a retention strategy for use by administrators of schools of nursing.

Examining The Influence Of Adult Mentors On Fostering Prosocial Behaviors Among Teens, John H. Weaver Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addressed a critical public health concern stemming from the prevalence of antisocial behavior among U.S. teenagers. The study specifically tackled the lack of information regarding the components of an effective risk-reduction mentoring program for teens. The primary aim was to explore how young adult alums of a central Florida mentoring program articulated the influence of mentoring relationships that have shaped their attitudes and perceptions concerning prosocial behavior during adolescence. As a bounded qualitative case study, this research employed semistructured interviews with 11 young adult mentees from a mentoring program. Additionally, a focus group of five adult mentors who …

Mentored Practice In Aota Fellowship Programs: An Exploratory Phenomenological Study, Jennifer L. Bergstrom

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

American Occupational Therapy Association fellowship programs are an emerging post-professional educational opportunity aimed at developing practitioners in specialized areas of occupational therapy practice. Mentored practice is a critical and substantial component of fellowship programs; however, the experiences of mentors and fellows have not been well described in the literature. The purpose of this study was to describe the mentored practice experience from the perspectives of the fellow and mentor. This study sought to understand the perceived influence mentored practice may have on the advancement of skills and knowledge in specialty practice areas of occupational therapy. A qualitative exploratory phenomenological design …

The Assessment Of The Program Theory And Processes Of Books For Keeps’ Literacy Mentoring Program, Allison Shaw

Graduate Research Showcase

The significance of reading proficiency is frequently emphasized by the time a student reaches the third grade. Third-grade reading proficiency serves as a crucial indicator of a student's potential success in high school and beyond, including college. Research indicates that a failure to attain grade-level reading proficiency by the third grade correlates with increased challenges in comprehending educational requirements and meeting the demands necessary for graduation.

This study focuses on the Books for Keeps Literacy Mentoring Program in Athens, Georgia, which is designed to cultivate supportive relationships between mentors and students, fostering enthusiasm for reading. The examination of the program …

Relational Supervision: Jegnaship And Eldering As Emancipatory Pedagogy For Black Teacher Supervision, Michael Strozier Jr., Melanie M. Acosta

Journal of Educational Supervision

The case delves into the historical and cultural roots of African education, emphasizing the vital role of elders and community in the learning process. It examines the impact of African educational philosophies, particularly from the Nile and Niger river valleys, on the development of character, humanness, and spirituality. The case explores the adaptation of these philosophies by African people during the Middle Passage and their application in Western contexts for the supervision of African American teachers. By interweaving culture, history, education, and storytelling, the authors aim to highlight the unique contributions of African American educational experiences. They argue that these …

The Impact Of Mentoring Practices On New Faculty And Staff, Paige Lloyd

Education Theses and Dissertations

Annually, schools nationwide welcome new educators to their facilities that bring with them a vast array of experiences. Onboarding tools such as mentoring or induction programs are often a customary practice, utilized to provide new educators with skills to assist them in the classroom as well as acclimate them to their new organization. Mentoring is often synonymous with induction programs and associated with the pairing of an experienced educator with a novice to the field or location that can offer support from instructional and classroom strategies to campus policies. With recent shifts in education and an ever-present national teacher crisis …

Mentor Teacher Positioning During Pedagogical Documentation With Early Childhood Preservice Teachers, Melissa Renee Westfall

Doctoral Dissertations

Teacher education research shows that partnerships among mentor teachers and preservice teachers facilitate meaningful professional development when both are afforded the opportunity to assume dynamic positions of teacher and learner. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive case study was to explore mentor positioning and pedagogical documentation at a university-based early childhood center with five mentor teachers (MTs) and five undergraduate preservice teachers (PTs). It explored the efficacy of pedagogical documentation review as a tool to facilitate moments of reciprocal mentoring. Through the framework of cultural-historical activity theory and subject positioning theory, I investigated how mentors positioned themselves during pedagogical documentation …

Embracing Identities And Affirming Agency: Exploring Effective Mentorship For Women Doctoral Students In Engineering Disciplines Using An Intersectional Lens, Jennifer Brown

All Dissertations

Positive mentoring experiences are crucial for retaining and advancing those who hold marginalized identities in STEM, as they foster a greater sense of belonging and self-efficacy that encourage these students to persist in their fields. Marginalized identities in STEM include, but are not limited to, women, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), low-income, first-generation, neurodivergent, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Oftentimes, these identities intersect, introduce additional nuance in interactions within engineering spaces, and affect the mentoring support that both mentees and their mentors require.

Prior research has shown the reciprocal value that is created when graduate students are …

How Peer Mentors Support The Transition Of First-Year College Students, Blair Prevost

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This qualitative, multiple case study examined how peer mentors at a public, four-year university supported the transition of first-year college students. Using Schlossberg’s (Anderson et al., 2021) Transition Framework the study was guided by the following questions: 1) How did peer mentors, in light of the Approaching Transitions phase in Schlossberg’s (Anderson et al., 2021) theory, help first-time students understand their college transition? 2) In what ways did peer mentors directly provide support to first-time students to help first-time students as they transition to college? 3) With what other support resources, whether on or off campus, did peer mentors connect …

Pro Se: Speech & Debate Mentoring Program For Justice-Impacted Youth Community-Engaged Learning Experiences Of Cornell University Students, Nia Clements, Paola Falcon, Ria Sodhi, Matt Saleh

The SUNY Journal of the Scholarship of Engagement: JoSE

The Pro Se Speech and Debate Program is a student-led engaged learning program at Cornell University, housed within the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR). In this initiative, Cornell undergraduate and graduate students engage with justice-impacted youth (ages 14-17) in Central New York to provide mentorship and educational offerings. Cornell students serve as “speech and debate coaches” and peer mentors to youth involved in the Central New York Health Home Network’s (CNYHHN) “Restorative Integrated Youth Services” (RIYS) diversion program in Utica, New York. The primary goal of the program is to empower youth by building self-advocacy …

The Perceptions And Lived Experiences Of African American Female Faculty At Predominantly White Institutions: A Phenomenological Study, Jasmine L. Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological approach aims to understand the perceptions and lived experiences of African-American female faculty at predominantly White institutions and the strategies used to overcome barriers. The theory guiding this study is intersectionality theory, introduced by Kimberlè Crenshaw, discovering the multilayers of discrimination that women face and providing a template to encourage antidiscrimination. This theory adequately addresses the focus of this inquiry because it highlights the discrimination often experienced by African-American female faculty and the experiences of various individuals from the targeted population. This study's methodology was based on interviews with different African-American female faculty at predominantly White institutions. …

Mentorship In Counselor Education: A Scoping Review, Gideon Litherland, Gretchen Schulthes, Edward Ewe, Kaj Kayij-Wint, Kok-Mun Ng

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Mentorship has been widely lauded as meaningful for trainees in their professional development. To better understand the gaps in the scholarship of mentorship in counselor education, a scoping review was conducted to examine peer-reviewed research from 2005-2020. Results found eligible articles (n = 18) met the eligibility criteria. Implications from this study include improving conceptual rigor of mentorship outcomes in counselor education research, further investigating how underrepresented identities may benefit from mentorship, and tailoring mentorship interventions for the learning context and graduate level for counselor education students.

Preparing Future Leaders In The Arts Through The Community Arts Engagement Certificate Program: What I Learned From Teaching The First Introductory Seminar, Sharon Davis Gratto

Research and Reflection on Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

The University of Dayton’s Community Arts Engagement certificate program was recently launched with the teaching of its first introductory seminar. The program and this course were conceived to be broader in scope for arts majors than the more familiar arts administration minor program. Several of the outcomes of the seminar—both those planned and those unforeseen—can be informative in thinking more expansively about experiential learning and community collaboration in arts education or other disciplines. This article represents a narrative description of the program and its introductory seminar and a personal reflection after teaching the seminar for the first time.

Faculty Of Color In The Academy: A Perspective On Cross-Cultural Mentoring, Sherrise Y. Truesdale-Moore

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Research has indicated that students’ race and their experiences and sense of belonging are associated with the racial characteristics of the faculty. This highlights the importance of recruitment and retention for faculty of color (FOC) in higher education. A formal faculty mentoring program is essential to providing an academic atmosphere that nurtures, supports, and develops faculty members’ teaching and research skills to assist them in feeling a sense of belonging within the university community is essential. However, finding the right mentoring program that addresses the daunting challenges among FOC is challenging. Upon reviewing the higher education faculty data and literature …

Challenging Anti-Black Racism: To Improve The Efficacy And Success Of Black Administrators. Organization Improvement Plan, Rohan N. Hollingsworth

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The success of Black students has been at the forefront of discussion and planning in many school boards. As a result, we have seen many solutions and proposed solutions addressing anti-Black racism. Some of these solutions included de-streaming courses, revisions on how Black students were suspended, and the inclusion of culturally relevant pedagogy and critical race theory in the curriculum, to name a few. These institutionally proposed solutions are all great and even add value to the educational experience of Black students.

Although these strategies greatly enhance students’ experience, they fail to challenge the status quo of society. These strategies …

Teacher Candidate Self-Efficacy And Ability To Teach Literacy: A Comparison Of Residency And Traditional Teacher Preparation Models, Doreen L. Mazzye, Michelle A. Duffy, Richard L. Lamb

Journal of Global Education and Research

This comparative study explored self-efficacy and ability for scientifically-based literacy instruction between a traditional and residency model of teacher preparation. Pre-/post-survey data was collected using the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy for Literacy Scale. Mentor teachers completed a modified version of the survey on candidates’ abilities. Data were analyzed using paired sample t-tests, independent sample t-tests, and a trend analysis. Results revealed that candidates in the Residency Model held higher levels of self-efficacy for literacy instruction than in the Traditional Model. Mentor teachers rated candidates in the Residency Model as more able to teach literacy than those in the …

New Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Experience In A New Teacher Induction Program In A School District In Tennessee, Ashley Miller

Ed.D. Dissertations

New teachers felt unprepared as they entered their first year of teaching and were leaving the teaching field at a high rate every school year. Tennessee, like many other states, had a critical shortage of secondary mathematics teachers. Secondary mathematics has been considered a high-needs subject area. New teacher induction programs were developed to help support new teachers and aid in their retention; however, the state of Tennessee did not have a requirement for mentoring or induction support for new teachers. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore new secondary mathematics teachers’ perceptions of their experiences in …

Maurer School Of Law, Iu Northwest Partner On Law Scholars Program, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law, working in collaboration with Indiana University Northwest, has established a new program to act as a pipeline into law school, the schools announced today (June 27).

The Indiana University Northwest Law Scholars Program will substantially reduce tuition for up to four IU Northwest graduates interested in pursuing a legal education in Bloomington, as well as supply qualifying students with dedicated faculty mentorship to help ensure their success.

Evaluation Of Personalized Learning, Jorly Thomas

Education Theses and Dissertations

The persistent challenges surrounding student achievement continue to raise questions about the effectiveness of personalized learning methods, and educators seek a reliable means to determine if the implementation of personalized learning can lead to improved academic outcomes. Improvement science presents a promising approach, providing iterative inquiry cycles and data-driven decision-making strategies that can empower teachers to make informed decisions (Regional Educational Laboratory Program, 2017). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of personalized learning on reading achievement in sixth-grade students on a Texas middle-school campus. While prior research has demonstrated promising outcomes with this learning method (Pane …

Transactional And Transformational Leadership In The Superintendency: A Phenomenological Study Of Three Upper Peninsula Superintendents’ Experiences, Lisa A. Coombs-Gerou

All NMU Master's Theses

This study aimed to analyze and provide an understanding of how three rural public school superintendents in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan practiced transformational leadership. Transformational leadership includes the elements of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration (Burns, 1978). Transformational superintendents must lead our schools to provide students with the best educational opportunity. The study focused on the superintendents experiences in deciding to become a superintendent, their beliefs about leadership, and how they approached decisions through a transactional or transformational process. The study also sought to provide insight into the relationship with their school board and how …

Leadership Identity Development Among Aspiring Women Leaders In Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study Of Formal Mentoring, Malia E. Roberts

Dissertations

Men have held the majority of presidencies, vice-presidencies, deanships, and other top administrative positions on college campuses since 1950 (Parker, 2015). The disproportionately low representation of women holding leadership roles in higher education is even more urgent considering few women ever reach the senior most leadership levels (Hannum et al., 2015). As such, the American Council on Education not only identified the need to increase the presence of women in leadership positions and to cultivate a pipeline of future leaders, but also the need to provide formal leadership training opportunities for women (Howard & Gagliardi, 2018). While various higher education …

Chapter 5- Needs Assessment And Data Analytics: Understanding Your Constituencies, Neal Legler

Making Connections

Needs assessment is an important early step in the development of a mentoring program because it helps ensure that program resources go toward improving prioritized institutional results. Needs assessment should involve key stakeholders, organized into a needs assessment committee, and then follow a systematic process to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data and identify existing organizational needs. Needs are defined as the gap between desired organizational results and current results. They should be considered holistically and at all levels of the organization. As needs are identified, the needs assessment committee works with stakeholders through a combination of group management …

Chapter 18- Case Study Of The Statewide Faculty-To-Student Mentoring Program At Utah State University, Jeff Spears, Kim Hales, Hannah M. Lewis

Making Connections

The purpose of this article is to examine an undergraduate mentorship program through Utah State University (USU). The creation of the Faculty-to-Student Mentorship Program originated in an attempt to increase both retention and graduation rates throughout the statewide system. In the first year, a steering committee was formed, and the mentorship program was piloted on one statewide campus—Uintah Basin. During the next year, the program was expanded to all eight statewide campuses. The steering committee examined available literature regarding existing mentorship programs and identified three shortcomings: lack of theoretical framework, operational definition, and methodological rigor. This article discusses the program …

Chapter 20- Facilitating Leadership Learning Using Co-Mentoring Circles, Kathleen M. Cowin

Making Connections

Time for mentoring aspiring school leaders moving from their roles as veteran teachers, instructional coaches, or deans of students to their new role as K–12 principal certification interns is in short supply in today’s complex schools. Over the past 7 years, 76 interns have participated in co-mentoring circles. Co-mentoring circles offer educators a safe, supportive community in which to learn with others who are uniquely situated to understand the challenges present in today’s K–12 schools. Co-mentoring circles can provide a ready group of co-mentors one can call on without waiting for a specific mentor to be available. These circles are …

Chapter 24- Intentional Onboarding And Mentoring Of New Faculty At Central Michigan University, Sarah Marshall

Making Connections

Recognizing that faculty who are mentored are more likely to successfully navigate the tenure process and become effective members of the academic community, Central Michigan University’s (CMU) College of Education and Human Services (CEHS) developed a comprehensive mentoring and professional development program for all new, full-time faculty. This program provided a network of support, resources, and guidance for navigating inevitable challenges. Prior to the development of this program, departments varied in the ways they encouraged and addressed faculty mentoring. Most informally assigned a faculty mentor, but as our initial assessment demonstrated, little to no mentorship occurred. With the recruitment and …