A randomized controlled trial of an intervention to increase cultural diversity awareness of research mentors of undergraduate students

Abstract

Cultural diversity variables like race and/or ethnicity influence research mentoring relationships, but mentors may not know how to address such variables with their mentees. Using a randomized controlled trial design, we tested a mentor training intervention to increase mentors’ awareness and skill in addressing cultural diversity in research mentoring relationships, documenting its impact on mentors and their undergraduate mentees’ ratings of mentor effectiveness. Participants were a national sample of 216 mentors and 117 mentees from 32 undergraduate research training programs in the United States. Mentors in the experimental condition reported greater gains than those in the comparison condition regarding the relevance of their racial/ethnic identity to mentoring and their confidence to mentor students across diverse cultural identities. Paired mentees of mentors in the experimental group rated their mentors higher at respectfully broaching and creating opportunities to address race/ethnicity matters than those with mentors in the comparison group. Our results support the efficacy of culturally focused mentorship education.

The impact of inclusive mentoring and identity work on self-efficacy in career advancement and career commitment among underrepresented early-career faculty and post-doctoral fellows

“…Mentoring that addresses diversity may inspire and build confidence among underrepresented mentees, prioritize exposing underrepresented mentees to individuals from underrepresented groups in leadership positions, and allow for important identity-related work to take place within the mentoring relationship. Findings in undergraduate programs show that mentors taught to address diversity are more sensitive in how they approach race/ethnicity-related topics and more likely to create safe spaces for mentees to speak about these topics [ 22 ]. Prior research shows that diverse mentoring teams for faculty from groups underrepresented in medicine improve career progression and ability to overcome obstacles in career advancement [ 3 ].…”

Mentoring practices that predict doctoral student outcomes in a biological sciences cohort

“…Our study found that minority students who did not work with an advisor of the same demographic, but nevertheless rated their advisor highly on empathy, felt as supported and productive as students whose advisors were a closer demographic match. Beyond simply ‘empathy’, this may encompass allocating time and funding equitably within their labs, tailoring their mentoring strategy to individual students’ needs, modeling ethical behavior, welcoming honest feedback without fear of repercussions, and advocating for institutional change that supports the needs of underrepresented students [ 13 , 14 , 16 , 31 , 32 ].…”

What Makes a Good Match? Predictors of Quality Mentorship Among Doctoral Students

“…, 2022 ). Emerging culturally aware mentoring professional development efforts, which require only a modest time investment, show some potential for supporting faculty developing their culturally aware mentoring skills ( Byars-Winston et al. , 2023 ).…”