Long-Term Mentors’ Perceptions of Building Mentoring Relationships with At-Risk Youth

Abstract

Youth mentoring, defined within this study, as the pairing of a youth at risk with a caring adult, is an intervention that is often used for youth at risk for academic and social failure. We sought to understand mentors’ perspectives of the fundamental elements that foster positive mentor–mentee relationships that build resiliency and increase social and academic success. Twelve participants with extensive experience in mentoring youth at high risk participated in structured interviews during two focus groups. Major themes revealed in data analysis included needs for supportive acceptance and consistency to help the mentees build social literacy and future visioning.

Keywords:

• mentoring
• focus group
• at risk youth
• mentor perceptions
• critical mentoring elements

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Cindy Ann Smith serves as an assistant professor of Special Education in the Department of Learning and Teaching at the University of West Georgia. Her research interests are mentoring as an intervention for adolescents at risk of academic and behavioral difficulty and over identification of students with minority status in Special Education. Smith graduated from the University of Missouri in 2012.

Cathy Newman-Thomas is an assistant professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Missouri. Her research interests focus on technology for learning in teacher education and to provide access to the general curriculum for diverse learners. She is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, beginning her work in 2009 at the University of Missouri.

Melissa Stormont is a professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Missouri. Her main line of research is on the prevention of social and emotional behavior problems in young children. She graduated from Purdue University in 1993.