Designing for Self-Efficacy: E-Mentoring Training for Ethnic and Racial Minority Women in STEM

Abstract

Research indicates that peer mentoring is an effective solution for building ethnic and racial minority women’s self-efficacy to persist in STEM degrees and careers. What is not known, however, is how to design a training program grounded in learning theory to build mentoring knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy in underrepresented populations in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). This instructional design case fulfills that gap by presenting details of design challenges and decisions made while developing an eight-week online training program for both mentors and mentees participating in a STEM peer mentoring program at two HBCUs. This design case is a second iteration of the training program following an initial pilot study. Stakeholder feedback, along with a conceptual framework, including Tinto’s Institutional Departure Model and Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy, guided the design work.

BIPOC employees need effective internal coaching practices and structures in the workplace

“…The literature review also noted that power structures in coaching are important spaces to review and measure consistently alongside the review development of self-efficacy for BIPOC employees (Roche & Passmore, 2021;Campoverde & Mesidor, 2021;Gish-Lieberman et al, 2021;Graham et al, 2022). Also, the literature identifies that there is a clear need for an assessment tool that can be used to assess coaching practices and their effectiveness.…”

“…Self-efficacy has been a focal point in recent studies for BIPOC employees and students in several different industries (Campoverde & Mesidor, 2021;Gish-Lieberman et al, 2021;Graham et al, 2022).…”

“…BIPOC community-based organizations such as historically black colleges and universities provide students with more self-efficacy, reinforcement, and support to prepare them for the workforce (Gündemir et al, 2016;Gish-Lieberman et al, 2021) Gish-Lieberman and fellow researchers (2021) evaluated a mentoring pilot for BIPOC STEM programs. The evaluations found that participants wanted more understanding of barriers faced by BIPOC employees in STEM, needed more training, practice, and materials to support learning, and more opportunities to reflect on building self-efficacy and coping strategies.…”

“…The evaluations found that participants wanted more understanding of barriers faced by BIPOC employees in STEM, needed more training, practice, and materials to support learning, and more opportunities to reflect on building self-efficacy and coping strategies. Career development and workplace retention for BIPOC employees have been shown to shift (Gish-Lieberman et al, 2021;Graham et al, 2022). BIPOC employees' self-efficacy levels more often decrease as they age in their careers due to stress and additional workplace factors.…”

“…Feedback and trust are essential to supervisorial relationships (Huang, 2012;Gish-Lieberman et al, 2021) Jie-Tsuen Huang's (2012) international university study explored the connection between feedback-seeking behavior and psychological empowerment in the workplace. The study resulted in a positive direct correlation between trust in the supervisor, feedback-seeking behavior, and psychological empowerment.…”