Despite various efforts to broaden participation, racially marginalized students (i.e., Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and American Indian/Alaskan Native identifying people) continue to be underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields and careers. Mentoring is recognized as a mechanism that has been shown to support the persistence and success of racially marginalized students in STEM through providing relevant resources, psychosocial support, and fostering identity development. This quantitative work aims to understand the mentoring competencies of mentors who support racially marginalized students in STEM. To promote effective mentoring, it is essential to understand the mentoring competencies of mentors from the perspective of both mentors and mentees. Understanding how mentees perceive various mentoring competencies can help mentors understand deficiencies in their skills to improve their mentoring practices. Using survey data collected from mentors and racially marginalized mentees, we assessed the mentoring competencies of mentors from the perspective of both mentors and mentees. The survey data includes demographic and academic information about mentors and mentees. In addition, using a pre-validated survey instrument, mentors and mentees rated the mentoring competencies of the mentors on a Likert scale across five constructs of mentoring. The five mentoring constructs include maintaining effective communication, aligning expectations, assessing understanding, fostering independence, and promoting professional development. Each construct consists of multiple items for a total of 26 survey items. We compared the mentors’ self-rated competencies with the ratings provided by the mentees to identify differences across demographics. Preliminary findings identify differences in the mentoring competencies of mentors from the perspective of both mentors and mentees. Recommendations for research and practice are also presented.
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CREATING A SUSTAINABLE SUPPLEMENTAL INDUCTION PROGRAM FOR STEM TEACHERS
This paper is part of a larger project seeking to create a sustainable infrastructure for engineering students to become STEM teachers in high-need schools. Induction programs are a key component for new teacher retention. A review of the literature and a systematic review of district partners' induction programs provide content for determining what components are needed for a supplemental induction program. One district focuses more on the expectations of mentors, and the other focuses more on new teacher expectations. The initial findings suggest including financial support for both mentors and mentees, providing university engineering faculty mentors, and opportunities for STEM mentees to collaborate.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2149596
- PAR ID:
- 10415651
- Editor(s):
- Herron, J. &
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- School science and mathematics
- Volume:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 0036-6803
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 22-29
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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