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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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