Research has established that effective cross-cultural mentoring relationships impact minority student success in higher education and further career; however, a scarcity of studies focus on culturally responsive practices in mentoring relationships in STEM programs. This paper describes experiences and perceptions on culturally responsive mentoring of faculty in STEM programs, and thus, has a significant contribution to the existing body of literature on mentoring in STEM education. The theoretical framework for this research study was grounded in the ideas posited by sociocultural theory and culturally responsive pedagogy, and the research question that guided this study is as follows: How do STEM doctoral faculty mentors engage in culturally responsive mentoring? A case study research design was used to aid in providing in-depth insights into the dynamic nature of the culturally responsive mentoring journey. The findings reveal three themes that relate to mentoring journeys that mentor and underrepresented minority mentees experience: academic journey, intentional journey, and subliminal journey. This study offers several implications for mentoring and leadership in cross-cultural educational contexts.
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STEM doctoral mentoring: a call for a conscious, culturally responsive journey
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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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10321373
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- International journal of mentoring and coaching in education
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2046-6854
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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null (Ed.)Research has established that effective cross-cultural mentoring relationships impact minority student success in higher education and further career; however, a scarcity of studies focus on culturally responsive practices in mentoring relationships in STEM programs. This paper describes experiences and perceptions on culturally responsive mentoring of faculty in STEM programs, and thus, has a significant contribution to the existing body of literature on mentoring in STEM education. The theoretical framework for this research study was grounded in the ideas posited by sociocultural theory and culturally responsive pedagogy, and the research question that guided this study is as follows: How do STEM doctoral faculty mentors engage in culturally responsive mentoring? A case study research design was used to aid in providing in-depth insights into the dynamic nature of the culturally responsive mentoring journey. The findings reveal three themes that relate to mentoring journeys that mentor and underrepresented minority mentees experience: academic journey, intentional journey, and subliminal journey. This study offers several implications for mentoring and leadership in cross-cultural educational contexts.more » « less
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Research has established that effective cross-cultural mentoring relationships impact minority student success in higher education and further career; however, a scarcity of studies focus on culturally responsive practices in mentoring relationships in STEM programs. This paper describes experiences and perceptions on culturally responsive mentoring of faculty in STEM programs, and thus, has a significant contribution to the existing body of literature on mentoring in STEM education. The theoretical framework for this research study was grounded in the ideas posited by sociocultural theory and culturally responsive pedagogy, and the research question that guided this study is as follows: How do STEM doctoral faculty mentors engage in culturally responsive mentoring? A case study research design was used to aid in providing in-depth insights into the dynamic nature of the culturally responsive mentoring journey. The findings reveal three themes that relate to mentoring journeys that mentor and underrepresented minority mentees experience: academic journey, intentional journey, and subliminal journey. This study offers several implications for mentoring and leadership in cross-cultural educational contexts.more » « less
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Research has established that effective cross-cultural mentoring relationships impact minority student success in higher education and further career; however, a scarcity of studies focus on culturally responsive practices in mentoring relationships in STEM programs. This paper describes experiences and perceptions on culturally responsive mentoring of faculty in STEM programs, and thus, has a significant contribution to the existing body of literature on mentoring in STEM education. The theoretical framework for this research study was grounded in the ideas posited by sociocultural theory and culturally responsive pedagogy, and the research question that guided this study is as follows: How do STEM doctoral faculty mentors engage in culturally responsive mentoring? A case study research design was used to aid in providing in-depth insights into the dynamic nature of the culturally responsive mentoring journey. The findings reveal three themes that relate to mentoring journeys that mentor and underrepresented minority mentees experience: academic journey, intentional journey, and subliminal journey. This study offers several implications for mentoring and leadership in cross-cultural educational contexts.more » « less
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Background: Even though Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) make up only 3% of higher education's institutions, they play a pivotal role in producing Black scientists by virtue of the fact that many received either their undergraduate or doctorate degree from a HBCU. HBCUs are credited with providing a more supportive and nurturing environment that thrives on communal mindsets and practices, emphasizing the importance of relationships, offering opportunities for Black students to "see themselves" as part of the academic and social milieu whereas Historically White Institutions (HWIS) are characterized as being hostile and discriminatory. Mentoring is said to be pivotal in the attainment of the PhD. Mentorships have an inherent gatekeeping mechanism, better positioning those who receive effective mentorships while disadvantaging those who do not. It has potential to harm and marginalize when not engaged with deliberate care and a culturally liberative mindset. Mentoring, when not under the thumb of colonizing mindsets, can contribute to more equitable experiences and outcomes for students who hail from AGEP population groups. Literature has indicated that Black students are less likely to have a mentor or be engaged in effective mentorships. The HBCU narrative of supportive environment is consistently told but has scant empirical validation for Black students pursuing STEM doctoral degrees. In fact, the lure of having faculty and peers who look like you is something of an enigma given that even at HBCUs there are limited numbers of Black faculty in STEM. How are same race, same gender mentorships attained when, not unlike their HWIS counterparts, HBCU STEM faculties have a large number of White and Asian men? If the environment is indeed different at HBCUs, is it different for Black STEM doctoral students? Is STEM doctoral mentoring at HBCUs emblematic of anti-Blackness or is it yet another tool used to oppress marginalized students? Theoretical Framework: Anti-black racism and critical capital theory serve as critical theoretical frameworks and were selected because they highlight the ways violence is enacted through taken for granted colonized practices such as mentoring. Fanon understood that thoughts and mindsets are the progenitors of violence and dehumanization is the process through which violence is enacted. Anti-black racism and critical capital theory can be useful in unearthing the structural inequalities that uphold the current system in place for STEM doctoral learning. Research Design: An embedded multiple qualitative case study research project sought to understand the nature and quality of STEM doctoral mentorships at an HBCU. The analysis on the HBCU subcase asked, how are STEM doctoral mentorships understood by Black STEM doctoral students at HBCUs? Black STEM HBCU students were interviewed and completed a mentoring competency assessment survey. In addition STEM doctoral students from three universities also completed the survey. The qualitative data was analyzed using narrative analysis and the survey data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. This project is part of a larger NSF AGEP sponsored research study. Research findings: The findings from this study expose that Black STEM doctoral students at HBCUs have not reached the proverbial Promise Land. In spite of being in a space that is more diverse, they manage to simultaneously be invisible and hypervisible. An unmerited sense of assumed cultural belonging was highlighted with students reporting a lack of selfethnic reflectors in their programs. In many ways the systemic and institutional structures on HBCUs with respect to STEM doctoral programming mirrored the colonial structures more often associated with HWIS. Their culture and cultural-based experiences as domestic students as well as their academic strengths were often not recognized by mentors while that of international students were. Three themes were supported by the data: Conspicuous Absence, Race Still Matters, and Invisibilized Hypervisibility. Implications: Better understanding how STEM doctoral mentoring is facilitated at HBCUs holds the promise of informing a mentoring practice that supports cultural liberation instead of cultural degradation and suppression. It becomes one avenue as the “The Call'' suggests to "confront our own complicity in the colonial enterprise" by holding STEM doctoral mentors and the institutions they represent accountable for socially just mentoring practices. Greater intentionality as well as mandated training informed by the study's results are recommended. HBCU faculty doctoral mentors are challenged to be scholar activists who engage mentoring from an advocacy and accomplice framework. 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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-07-2020-0034
