Search for: All records

Mentorship has been established in the literature as being salient to degree completion for doctoral students. Mentoring primarily focuses on the extended academic development of a less experienced student by a more experienced faculty scholar. Federal governance policies have enabled greater participation in STEM by underrepresented populations, and as a result, enrollments in doctoral STEM programs by groups underrepresented in STEM have increased, but their success frequently hinges on support resources such as quality mentorship (Millett & Nettles, 2006). A substantial commitment to high-quality mentoring is needed to best prepare doctoral students for high skilled careers requiring innovation. This paper explores the perceptions of STEM doctoral faculty from three institutions in the southeastern part of the United States to understand their knowledge of STEM doctoral mentoring. This work seeks to improve STEM doctoral education by focusing on the mentorship relationship, an experience that is vital to matriculation, degree completion, and career planning Millett & Nettles, 2006). Using a qualitative multiple embedded case study design, the researchers interviewed and surveyed STEM doctoral faculty about their perceptions of STEM doctoral mentoring. This article focuses on five key findings from the qualitative interviews. STEM doctoral faculty: (a) have difficulty differentiating mentoring responsibilities from and in addition to advising; (b) have limited mentoring training opportunities; (c) see mentoring more exclusively as the development of scientific knowledge; (d) lack meaningful understanding of the role of culture in mentoring; and (e) lack deep understanding of the importance of relational connections with mentees. 

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. 

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.