Promoting Well-Being in School-Based Mentoring Through Basic Psychological Needs Support: Does It Really Count?

Abstract

The main goal of this research was to assess whether satisfying basic psychological needs (BPN) in a Portuguese school-based mentoring (SBM) program improved the mentored students' well-being. One uncommon feature of this program was that the mentors were also teachers of the mentees. A two-wave experimental study design was implemented to compare the mentored (n = 157) and non-mentored students (n = 160). Surveys were completed twice, with a 6-month interval between time points 1 and 2. The results indicate that SBM that was associated with increased support for BPN was the most effective condition for promoting academic well-being, particularly in terms of improving the mentored students' perceptions of their school environment. However, no significant differences between the mentored and non-mentored students were detected regarding personal well-being (e.g., psychological well-being) and social well-being (e.g., peer support). These findings suggest that the balanced support of BPN was important in this particular SBM program. This support and enduring mentoring relationships can facilitate the general improvement of the mentored students' well-being. Keywords School-based mentoring Á Basic psychological needs Á Well-being 1 Introduction Schools are increasingly committed to improving students' knowledge and well-being. This dual purpose is shared by different educational stakeholders and stems from the assumption that student performance depends on a wide array of cognitive, emotional and

Psychological Well-Being: Using Self-determination Theory to Examine the Reciprocal Benefits of Mentoring and Teaching Others

“…Perceptions of school environment were the only difference between the groups reaching statistical significance. Additionally, results indicated that gains on all dependent measures of wellbeing were more positive among mentees perceiving increased satisfaction of their needs compared to mentees in the opposite condition [30].This study demonstrates the capacity for mentoring programs to increase basic psychological need satisfaction among mentees when mentors are trained in techniques known to promote each need. This study also highlights the need for mentors to adopt a more balanced approached while supporting their mentees needs.…”

“…Mentoring took place during weekly one-on-one sessions outside of regular class time and was augmented with weekly 90-minute group sessions. During group sessions, mentor-mentee pairs collaboratively discussed issues surrounding school, social integration, and other relevant themes.Results indicated that pre-post test variations for three of the dependent variables (hope, school environment, and perceived competence in learning) were significantly correlated with basic psychological need satisfaction among mentees [30]. Further, while comparing students who reported increased need satisfaction in both the mentored and non-mentored groups, results revealed that mentored students exhibited higher ratings for school environment, physical well-being, and perceived competence in learning compared to their non-mentored counterparts [30].…”

“…Within the existing literature on cross-age peer mentoring, only two studies were located using SDT as their theoretical framework to train mentors and evaluate outcomes [30,31]. In the first study, researchers examined the relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy, competence, and belonging) in mentoring relationships and subsequent mentee well-being.…”

“…In the first study, researchers examined the relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy, competence, and belonging) in mentoring relationships and subsequent mentee well-being. The authors defined and measured well-being according to three dimensions: (1) personal well-being (physical, psychological, and hope); (2) social well-being (peer relations, parental relationships and autonomy); and (3) academic well-being (perceived competence in learning) [30]. The authors hypothesized that mentored students perceiving an increase in the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs between Time-1 (after 2 months of mentoring) and Time-2 (after 8 months of mentoring) would report significantly greater outcomes in wellbeing than mentored and non-mentored peers perceiving less or unsatisfied need satisfaction.…”

“…The authors hypothesized that mentored students perceiving an increase in the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs between Time-1 (after 2 months of mentoring) and Time-2 (after 8 months of mentoring) would report significantly greater outcomes in wellbeing than mentored and non-mentored peers perceiving less or unsatisfied need satisfaction. The Portuguese version of the Basic Need Satisfaction in Relationships Questionnaire (BNSIRQ) was used to measure need satisfaction among participants [30]. Mentees were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 157) that received mentoring by one of their teachers, or to a non-mentored comparison group (n = 160).…”