Assessing the impact of school-based mentoring: Common problems and solutions associated with evaluating nonprescriptive youth development programs

McQuillin, Samuel D.; Lyons, Michael D.; Clayton, Rebecca J.; Anderson, J. Kyle

doi:10.1080/10888691.2018.1454837

Cited by 25 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Mentors may have only reported salient aspects of the work that they did with their mentees as there were no systems in place for researchers to systematically monitor dosage or timing of instrumental activities. In future studies, researchers should consider formally tracking mentor‐mentee interactions to better understand how mentor interactions influence the developmental and instrumental aspects of mentoring (see discussion of textured assessments in McQuillin, Lyons, Clayton, & Anderson, ).…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding the Sweet Spot: Investigating the Effects of Relationship Closeness and Instrumental Activities in School‐based Mentoring

Lyons

McQuillin

Henderson

2018

American J of Comm Psychol

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School‐based mentoring programs are popular prevention programs thought to influence youth development; but rigorous evaluations indicate that these programs often have small effects on youth outcomes. Researchers suggest that these findings may be explained by (a) mentors and mentees failing to develop a close relationship and (b) mentors not setting goals or focusing on specific skills necessary improve outcomes. We assessed these explanations using data from approximately 1360 mentor and mentee pairs collected through a national study of school‐based mentoring (called, “The Student Mentoring Program”). Specifically, we tested the influence of mentee‐reported relationship quality and mentor‐reported use of goal‐setting and feedback‐oriented activities on academic, behavioral, and social‐emotional outcomes. Results suggested that youth reported relationship quality was associated with small to medium effects on outcomes. Moreover, goal‐setting and feedback‐oriented activities were associated with moderate to large effects on outcomes. We also found significant interactions between relationship quality and goal‐setting and feedback‐oriented activities on youth outcomes. We conclude that there appears to be a “sweet‐spot” wherein youth outcomes are maximized. The results of this study suggest a need for school‐based mentoring programs to monitor and support mentors in developing a close relationship while also providing opportunities to set goals and receive feedback.

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Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding the Sweet Spot: Investigating the Effects of Relationship Closeness and Instrumental Activities in School‐based Mentoring

Lyons

McQuillin

Henderson

2018

American J of Comm Psychol

Self Cite

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“…The program provides a menu of activities and also encourages co‐mentors to collaborate with mentees to generate their own activities and discussion topics. Assessing implementation of mentoring programs is often limited to measures of meeting frequency, duration of matches, and perceived quality of relationships (McQuillin et al., 2018). The limited data on program implementation we were able to collect suggests that the program was implemented as intended: Groups met consistently (even though individual member attendance was variable), mentors and mentees rated group cohesion and climate positively, mentees valued their relationships with mentors, and mentors generally followed core principles of the program.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given these features of PA, it is possible that the findings would not generalize to a non‐school setting or programs that do not recruit mentors with professional backgrounds. Additionally, like most mentoring programs PA emphasizes the formation of supportive relationships and does not follow a structured curriculum (McQuillin, Lyons, Clayton, & Anderson, 2018). The program provides a menu of activities and also encourages co‐mentors to collaborate with mentees to generate their own activities and discussion topics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of School‐based Group Mentoring in Promoting Resilience among Vulnerable High School Students

Kuperminc

Chan

Hale

et al. 2019

American J of Comm Psychol

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This study examined the role of participation in a year‐long school‐based group mentoring program, Project Arrive (PA), on increasing resilience during the first year of high school among students identified as being at high risk for school dropout. Participants were 114, ninth grade students taking part in one of 32 PA mentoring groups, and 71 statistically matched comparison students (53% male, 75% eligible for free/reduced‐price lunch, 62% Latinx). Using a propensity score with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) to reduce selection bias, and a multi‐level model to account for non‐independence of data within mentoring groups, we examined changes from pre‐test to program exit on seven external resilience resources (developmental supports and opportunities) and four internal resilience assets (personal strengths). At program exit, PA participants had higher adjusted means than comparisons on six external resources, including school support, school belonging, school meaningful participation, peer caring relationships, prosocial peers, and home meaningful participation. PA participants also had higher adjusted means on one internal asset, problem solving. Results point to the promise of group mentoring as an approach for increasing resilience among academically vulnerable adolescents.

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“…While mentoring can be positive, thoughtful support structures are essential (McQuillin et al, 2018). Duncan-Andrade (2007) warns us of "Wankstas," who in this case would be underprepared and under-supported college student mentors, " [coming] into the urban classroom with the full intention of becoming an effective educator," yet falling far short of their initial goals as they "realize they have been poorly prepared" (Duncan-Andrade, 2007, p. 622).…”

Section: College Student Volunteer Mentorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering youth civic engagement through effective mentorship: Understanding the college student volunteer mentors who succeed

Castro

Cohen

2020

Journal Community Psychology

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College student volunteers play a critical role in many school-based educational programs and can foster valuable near-peer relationships with adolescents, yet how to best select these volunteers has been understudied. We studied college student volunteer mentors for Generation Citizen, a non-profit that provides school-based action civics education programming, and their adolescent students. We identify three common characteristics possessed by the strongest college mentors. Participants were nine college volunteer mentors (67% female; 78% White); these mentors worked in pairs (and one trio) in four different classrooms. Using an action research approach, we conducted semistructured interviews, surveys, and classroom observations to generate quantitative and qualitative data. Effective mentors were: person-oriented, emphasizing the mentor-student connection; aligned with the organization's mission; and constantly honing their craft of mentorship. We recommend college volunteer programs select applicants for positions based on these key indicators to foster mission-driven and motivating educational programming.

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Assessing the impact of school-based mentoring: Common problems and solutions associated with evaluating nonprescriptive youth development programs

Cited by 25 publications

References 41 publications

Finding the Sweet Spot: Investigating the Effects of Relationship Closeness and Instrumental Activities in School‐based Mentoring

Finding the Sweet Spot: Investigating the Effects of Relationship Closeness and Instrumental Activities in School‐based Mentoring

The Role of School‐based Group Mentoring in Promoting Resilience among Vulnerable High School Students

Fostering youth civic engagement through effective mentorship: Understanding the college student volunteer mentors who succeed

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