Will I be Able to Understand My Mentee? Examining the Potential Risk of the Dominant Culture Mentoring Marginalized Youth

Most people would agree they want to live in a world where every child has what he or she needs to thrive and grow into a healthy and productive adult. It is estimated that 5,000 mentoring programs serve 3,000,000 youth in the United States alone (DuBois, Portillo, Rhodes, Silverthorn, & Valentine, 2011). In many of these programs, a majority of the mentors are matched with a mentee who comes from a culture and community they know very little about. Many of the youth development programs that were founded and implemented by people of the perceived dominant culture represent their values and cultural experience. To look more deeply into this, my primary research included seven one-on-one interviews with experienced youth workers, most who currently work at a community or site-based mentoring program. This article is a summary of their responses and reflections on the potential risks involved in matching across culture and considers how we might work together to mitigate these risks for the youth we serv

The Relationship Between Undergraduate Research Training Programs and Motivational Resources for Underrepresented Minority Students in STEM: Program Participation, Self-efficacy, a Sense of Belonging, and Academic Performance

Although calls for a more diverse workforce in biomedical fields have been widespread, racial and ethnic gaps in biomedical degree attainment persist. In order to succeed, URM STEM students must persevere despite numerous challenges and stay continuously motivated on the long road to degree attainment in biomedical disciplines. Past higher education research has identified two key self-appraisals, a sense of belonging and self-efficacy, as crucial for student success. These beliefs, which can serve as motivational resources for students, include students\u27 convictions about whether they are a valued member of their academic community and whether they have what it takes to succeed in their discipline. This study explored how participation in an undergraduate research training program and students\u27 motivational resources may be shaping their academic performance and thus contributing to their successful completion of undergraduate biomedical degrees. The study also dissected program participation into five components and explored whether a sense of belonging or self-efficacy played a mediational role in the relationship between program participation and academic performance for URM STEM students. Single and multiple linear regression analyses were used and results indicated significant links between overall program participation and both motivational resources as well as significant connections between various program components and these self-perceptions. No significant relationship surfaced between overall program participation and academic performance but in a multiple regression analysis, research dosage was linked to performance for students in the study. Additionally, no significant connection was found between the motivational resources and academic performance and thus, the mediational role of a sense of belonging and self-efficacy in the relationship between program participation and performance could not be tested

Will I be Able to Understand My Mentee? Examining the Potential Risk of the Dominant Culture Mentoring Marginalized Youth

Most people would agree they want to live in a world where every child has what he or she needs to thrive and grow into a healthy and productive adult. It is estimated that 5,000 mentoring programs serve 3,000,000 youth in the United States alone (DuBois, Portillo, Rhodes, Silverthorn, & Valentine, 2011). In many of these programs, a majority of the mentors are matched with a mentee who comes from a culture and community they know very little about. Many of the youth development programs that were founded and implemented by people of the perceived dominant culture represent their values and cultural experience. To look more deeply into this, my primary research included seven one-on-one interviews with experienced youth workers, most who currently work at a community or site-based mentoring program. This article is a summary of their responses and reflections on the potential risks involved in matching across culture and considers how we might work together to mitigate these risks for the youth we serv

Will I be Able to Understand My Mentee? Examining the Potential Risk of the Dominant Culture Mentoring Marginalized Youth

Most people would agree they want to live in a world where every child has what he or she needs to thrive and grow into a healthy and productive adult. It is estimated that 5,000 mentoring programs serve 3,000,000 youth in the United States alone (DuBois, Portillo, Rhodes, Silverthorn, & Valentine, 2011). In many of these programs, a majority of the mentors are matched with a mentee who comes from a culture and community they know very little about. Many of the youth development programs that were founded and implemented by people of the perceived dominant culture represent their values and cultural experience. To look more deeply into this, my primary research included seven one-on-one interviews with experienced youth workers, most who currently work at a community or site-based mentoring program. This article is a summary of their responses and reflections on the potential risks involved in matching across culture and considers how we might work together to mitigate these risks for the youth we serv

Peer Mentoring for Undergraduates in a Research-Focused Diversity Initiative

To provide multi-dimensional support for undergraduates from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds who aspire to careers in research, the BUILD EXITO project, part of a major NIH-funded diversity initiative, matches each scholar with three mentors: peer mentor (advanced student), career mentor (faculty adviser), and research mentor (research project supervisor). After describing the aims of the diversity initiative, the institutional context of the BUILD EXITO project, and the training program model, this article devotes special attention to the rationale for and implementation of the peer mentoring component within the context of the multi-faceted mentoring model

Investigating a Multiple Mentor Model in Research Training for Undergraduates Traditionally Underrepresented in Biomedical Sciences

Models of persistence and success in undergraduate research training emphasize the importance of engagement and integration across social, educational, research, and career settings. Students are likely to benefit from multiple sources of mentoring to meet their multidimensional needs for support across these domains. As part of a comprehensive training initiative for traditionally underrepresented students aspiring to careers in biomedical research, BUILD EXITO implemented a multiple mentoring model matching each undergraduate scholar with a research mentor, a faculty mentor, and a peer mentor. By design, each mentor has a different functional role. This study investigates whether the nature of support scholars actually receive differs by type of mentor. The data are activity records (n=11,756) generated from monthly logs on which scholars (n=223) indicated the form of support received from each mentor by selecting from several items (e.g. personal support, making connections, career advising). Analyses with repeated- measures ANOVA indicate that peer mentors are more likely to address scholars’ personal lives, academic skills, and connections to campus programs and services. Career mentors focus on advising related to academics, academic progress, and careers. Research mentors, although also providing career advising and addressing personal life, primarily engage scholars in research-related training activities. The findings confirm that each type of mentor provides a distinctive pattern of support for undergraduate scholars, suggesting that students in comprehensive programs emphasizing academic success, research training, and career development may benefit from multiple sources of mentoring

Like I Was an Actual Researcher : Participation and Identity Trajectories of Underrepresented Minority and First-Generation STEM Students in Research Training Communities of Practice

Although calls for a more diverse workforce in biomedical fields have been widespread, racial and ethnic gaps in biomedical degree attainment remain. Contextualist perspectives seek to understand persistent STEM inequities by examining person-in-context experiences and how systemic factors filter into students\u27 proximal contexts shaping their participation and science identity trajectories. Research training communities of practice aim to offer underrepresented minority and first-generation students support, guidance, and opportunities to learn the practices of science and construct their science identity. However, many students still choose to leave these programs. There is limited research on these students\u27 science identity construction process and their identity trajectories. This study fills this gap by examining contextual factors shaping participation, identifies essential experiences shaping student science identity construction, and explores the link between science identity and decisions to leave research training communities of practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 underrepresented racial and ethnic minority and/or first-generation students participating in a research training community of practice. Twelve participants completed the program, and eleven left the program. Through thematic analysis, several themes were identified. Study results revealed the central role of contextual factors including college affordability, racialized dynamics in STEM, scientific norms that impact student well-being, narrow pedagogical approaches, and the program\u27s motivational climate in shaping students\u27 participation and departure decisions. Study results also highlighted the importance of explicit inclusion in meaningful science practice, legitimate peripheral participation, and scaffolded mentoring as they learned scientific practices. Additionally, the study highlighted the importance of performance, competence, recognition, within the research training community of practice and the centrality of marginalized identities in the science identity construction process. This study provides critical insight into the underrepresented racial and ethnic minority and first-generation STEM student experience, the science identity construction process, and contextual factors contributing to choices to depart from research training programs and/or STEM career pathways

A classification of motivation and behavior change techniques used in self-determination theory-based interventions in health contexts

While evidence suggests that interventions based on self-determination theory have efficacy in motivating adoption and maintenance of health-related behaviors, and in promoting adaptive psychological outcomes, the motivational techniques that comprise the content of these interventions have not been comprehensively identified or described. The aim of the present study was to develop a classification system of the techniques that comprise self-determination theory interventions, with satisfaction of psychological needs as an organizing principle. Candidate techniques were identified through a comprehensive review of self-determination theory interventions and nomination by experts. The study team developed a preliminary list of candidate techniques accompanied by labels, definitions, and function descriptions of each. Each technique was aligned with the most closely related psychological need satisfaction construct (autonomy, competence, or relatedness). Using an iterative expert consensus procedure, participating experts (N�18) judged each technique on the preliminary list for redundancy,essentiality, uniqueness, and the proposed link between the technique and basic psychological need. The procedure produced a final classification of 21 motivation and behavior change techniques (MBCTs).Redundancies between final MBCTs against techniques from existing behavior change technique taxonomies were also checked. The classification system is the first formal attempt to systematize self-determination theory intervention techniques. The classification is expected to enhance consistency in descriptions of self-determination theory-based interventions in health contexts, and assist in facilitating synthesis of evidence on interventions based on the theory. The classification is also expected to guide future efforts to identify, describe, and classify the techniques that comprise self-determination theory-based interventions in multiple domains

Individual experiences following a 6-month exercise intervention: A qualitative study

Purpose: Dropout is a common problem in various exercise interventions. The individual's experience is believed to greatly impact dropout, yet little is known about the individual experiences of taking part in exercise interventions. The aim of this study was to examine individuals’ experiences following a self-determination theory–based exercise intervention in order to gain understanding of how standardized interventions can be adjusted to fit individuals’ specific needs, capacities, and circumstances. Methods: A qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews was conducted with eight informants (three male and five female) aged between 26 and 47 years, whom all had participated in a 6-month exercise intervention with individual coaching based on self-determination theory and motivational interviewing. The interviews were analyzed thematically with an inductive approach. Results: Aspects that influenced the informants’ motivation and participation in the exercise intervention were linked to three themes: the frames of the intervention, measurable changes, and the individual's context. The themes present information about the process and to what extent the informants felt that the intervention was adapted to fit their lives and needs. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance of individualizing exercise interventions to support individuals’ diverse capacities and psychological needs