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1. Mentoring is not created equal: Doctoral STEM faculty perceptions of mentoring and implications for underrepresented STEM learners.

   Douglas, NC ; Howell, C ; Merriweather, LR ; Sanczyk, A. ( January 2021 , CoNECD - Collaborative Network for Computing and Engineering Diversity - Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   Underrepresented minority (URM) students have not been well represented within the ranks of doctoral degree holders or faculty in STEM disciplines despite the increased attention in recent years to this concern. URM students lag considerably behind White and Asian students in degree completion and faculty appointments. One intervention widely touted as effective in promoting positive outcomes is mentoring however URM students often lack access to mentoring and just as importantly mentors lack culturally responsive knowledge, skills and dispositions required to be effective mentors to URM students. A qualitative study was conducted to better understand how the knowledge, skills and dispositions of STEM faculty align with culturally responsive mentoring. Three themes were constructed from the data: role ambiguity, preparedness, and culture of doing. The study concluded that faculty need more and better training around cultural responsiveness to meet the needs of URM students. 

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2. Mentoring is not created equal: Doctoral STEM faculty perceptions of mentoring and implications for underrepresented STEM learners.

   Douglas, N ; Howell, C ; Sanczyk, A ; Merriweather, L. ( January 2021 , CoNECD - Collaborative Network for Computing and Engineering Diversity - Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   Underrepresented minority (URM) students have not been well represented within the ranks of doctoral degree holders or faculty in STEM disciplines despite the increased attention in recent years to this concern. URM students lag considerably behind White and Asian students in degree completion and faculty appointments. One intervention widely touted as effective in promoting positive outcomes is mentoring however URM students often lack access to mentoring and just as importantly mentors lack culturally responsive knowledge, skills and dispositions required to be effective mentors to URM students. A qualitative study was conducted to better understand how the knowledge, skills and dispositions of STEM faculty align with culturally responsive mentoring. Three themes were constructed from the data: role ambiguity, preparedness, and culture of doing. The study concluded that faculty need more and better training around cultural responsiveness to meet the needs of URM students. 

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3. STEM doctoral mentoring: a call for a conscious, culturally responsive journey

   https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-07-2020-0034  

   Sanczyk, A ; Merriweather, LR ( June 2021 , International journal of mentoring and coaching in education)

   Purpose The purpose of this research study was to explore U.S. STEM faculty’s perceptions of culturally responsive mentoring underrepresented doctoral students in STEM programs. The research question that guided this study was “How do STEM doctoral faculty mentors engage in culturally responsive mentoring? Design/methodology/approach A case study research design was used and included findings from an embedded case drawn from a larger ongoing study. Six STEM faculty participants provided in-depth insights into the dynamic nature of the culturally responsive mentoring journey through semi-structured interviews that were analyzed using thematic analysis. The theoretical framework for this research study was grounded in the ideas posited by culturally responsive pedagogy. Findings The findings revealed three themes related to the mentoring journeys experienced by the faculty fellows: an academic journey, an intentional journey, and a subliminal journey. Research limitations/implications The findings of this research provide significant contribution to the current literature on mentoring and point to the importance of continuous, structured research efforts to increase the quality of mentoring for URM students in doctoral STEM programs. Practical implications STEM faculty could benefit from participating in mentor training framed by culturally responsive pedagogy. Future research is needed to explore the mentor training needs of STEM faculty in other environments, including contexts outside the United States. Originality/value This study extends understanding of STEM faculty's knowledge, dispositions, and abilities of culturally responsive mentoring and emphasizes the need for ongoing professional development training in this area. 

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4. Challenges in STEM PhD Programs: Biased Mentoring

   https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE44824.2020.9274209  

   Howell, Cathy D. ; Merriweather, Lisa R. ; Sanczyk, Anna ; Douglas, Niesha ( October 2020 , 2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE))

   null (Ed.)

   Work in Progress - Research Category The purpose of this work in progress paper is to understand the influence of mentoring on the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) doctoral student experience. This qualitative case study sought to better understand mentoring relationships between faculty doctoral mentors and STEM doctoral students. This research emphasizes the role of mentoring as part of an intervening strategy for doctoral retention and suggests culturally responsive mentoring as a means to improve the experiences of PhD under-represented minority (URM) students. This study addresses a gap in the literature related to culturally responsive mentoring and the STEM disciplines. The findings were developed from four qualitative research focus group interviews. Focus group interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded by the research team. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method, an iterative process to extrapolate key words and identify significant patterns [1]. This study uses critical inquiry as a theoretical framework. Our findings revealed that mentoring takes place within a complex environment framed by systems of inequity grounded in race and gender. Three themes were constructed from the data: mentoring as a biased environment, lack of responsiveness to student needs, and relational tensions. This paper briefly examines one theme: mentoring as a biased environment. The data highlight how biased standpoints result in a shift in the learning experience. Bias may be based on race, gender, or age, and may be implicit or explicit. Within this environment doctoral students are challenged to navigate spaces such as classrooms and laboratories that can be wrought with difficulties springing from gender and race.This paper is relevant to mentoring and STEM as it acknowledges that mentoring is a heavily nuanced practice with important cultural implications relative to PhD STEM students and faculty. 

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5. Challenges in STEM PhD program: Biased mentoring.

   Howell, C ; Merriweather, L ; Sanczyk, A ; Douglas, N. ( October 2020 , Proceedings Frontiers in Education Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   The purpose of this work in progress paper is to understand the influence of mentoring on the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM doctoral student experience. This qualitative case study sought to determine the impact of how mentoring relationships between faculty doctoral mentors and STEM doctoral students. This research emphasizes the role of mentoring as part of an intervening strategy for doctoral retention and suggest culturally responsive mentoring as a means to improve the experiences of PhD underrepresented minority (URM) students. This study addresses a gap in the literature related to culturally responsive mentoring and the STEM disciplines. The findings were developed from four focus group interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and coded by the research team. Data were analyzed using constant comparative methods as an iterative process to extrapolate key words and identify significant patters [1]. This study uses critical inquiry as a theoretical framework. Our findings revealed that mentoring takes place within a complex environment framed by systems of inequity grounded in race and gender. Three themes were constructed from the data: mentoring as a biased environment, lack of responsiveness to student needs, and relational tensions. This briefly examines one themes: mentoring as a biased environment. The data highlight how the past experiences of faculty contribute to their bias standpoints. Bias may be based on race, gender, or age, and may be implicit or explicit. Within this environment doctoral students are challenged to navigate the spaces such as the classroom and laboratory that can be wrought with the difficulties springing from gender and race. This paper is relevant to mentoring and STEM as it acknowledges that mentoring is a heavily nuanced practice with important cultural implications relative to PhD STEM students and faculty. 

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