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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This content will become publicly available on September 1, 2025
Exploring How Culture Matters in Building Responsive and Humanizing Contexts for Community College Students Pursuing STEM
While the vertical transfer process and culturally responsive approaches to education have been studied extensively, few scholars have addressed these two areas of concern simultaneously, particularly within higher education contexts. This study explores what cultural responsiveness means and how it matters for low-income community college (CC) students aspiring toward STEM careers and transferring to STEM majors at a local university. As part of a bridge program, students received two STEM faculty mentors, one faculty mentor from the community college and the other from the local university, beginning in their last year of enrollment at the community college. Each STEM mentor was trained in culturally responsive mentoring, and their mentorship extended post-transfer. Students participated in focus groups to share their experiences. The findings reveal that specific aspects of the community college students’ identities, primarily their race and language, were relevant as aspects of culture that mattered for their STEM aspirations. The findings also show that cultural responsiveness in mentoring and support outside the classroom are important steps toward humanizing STEM spaces, but they are wholly insufficient when not paired with extensive culturally responsive efforts in STEM teaching and within the curriculum to improve the internal classroom climate for those with racialized identities.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1930455
- PAR ID:
- 10542229
- Publisher / Repository:
- MDPI
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Education Sciences
- Volume:
- 14
- Issue:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 2227-7102
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 956
- 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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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.more » « less
