What Makes an Effective Mentoring Relationship? Insights from an Examination of an Online Peer Mentoring Program

This presentation focuses on the characteristics that graduate and undergraduate STEM peer mentors and mentees cited as being effective to building and maintaining an effective online peer mentoring relationship as part of the eSTEM program, an online peer mentoring program implemented at two historically black institutions. The current study is an extension of a previous pilot and expands the development, implementation, and evaluation of the eSTEM program--specifically designed to support historically underrepresented women and racially and ethnically minoritized students enrolled in STEM degree programs.

Context

Women and individuals that identify as racially and ethnically minoritized continue to be underrepresented in STEM degree programs and career fields (NSF, 2021). This has led to numerous efforts to broaden participation within STEM and to diversify the STEM workforce to be more representative of the global population. While some fields, such as biology and ‘helping’ professions, have shown an improvement in equitable representation, others, such as engineering and computer science, continue to demonstrate a disparity in women and racially and ethnically minoritized individuals both pursuing degrees within the field and remaining within the profession. The lack of congruence in representation is attributed to many reasons, including a hostile climate, mismatch between responsibilities typically shouldered by women (e.g., child rearing) and the demand of the STEM work environment, and lack of access to ‘like others’ to serve as mentors or role models (see Brue, 2019; Dawson et al., 2015; Fouad et al., 2016; Jensen & Deemer, 2019; Mondisa, 2018). Peer mentoring is one method that has demonstrated promise in supporting interest in STEM, self-efficacy in STEM, and intent to persist in STEM (see Rockinson-Szapkiw et al., 2020, 2021; Wendt et al., 2019).

 

The overall eSTEM program within which the current study is situated was grounded in social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent et al., 1994) and further informed by theories on persistence, self-efficacy, identity, and mentoring. Peer mentoring is one promising method for providing support for the development of interest in STEM, STEM self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and STEM identity (see Rockinson-Szapkiw et al., 2020, 2021; Wendt et al., 2019).

Further, research has demonstrated that not all mentoring relationships are effective. Research supports that informal mentoring relationships are often more beneficial than formal relationships and that, even when provided with opportunities to engage in mentoring relationships, barriers are often present that prohibit the formation of connections that enable long-term relationships (Saffie-Robertson, 2020). Saffie-Robertson, for instance, found that four barriers to the development of mentorship exist: “need for fit, demonstrating capability, commitment of the mentor, and trust in the mentor” (p. 566). When these barriers are mitigated, mentoring relationships can thrive and the benefits of the relationships can be fully realized. Thus, understanding what characteristics are most effective from the perspective of mentors and mentees, especially in the context of STEM programs at HBCUs, can aid in the development of peer mentoring programs that are meaningful and lasting. The current study, therefore, is guided by the following research questions:

RQ1: What characteristics, dispositions, and behaviors should a peer mentor display in order to enable a quality peer mentoring relationship from the perspective of peer mentees?

RQ2: What characteristics, dispositions, and behaviors should a peer mentee display in order to enable a quality peer mentoring relationship from the perspective of peer mentors?

RQ3: What characteristics are indicative of a quality peer mentoring relationship from the perspective of peer mentors and peer mentees?

In Summer 2020, undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in STEM degree programs at the participating institutions were recruited. A total of 34 students participated in the program to completion (n = 8 mentors, n = 26 mentees). All participants were assigned a role as either a peer mentor or peer mentee, completed a pre-test survey, and then engaged in a series of 8 online training modules (mentors completed mentor training and mentees completed mentee training) in Summer and Fall 2020. The trainings were designed to facilitate mentoring competencies and cultural responsiveness while, in tandem, supporting the development of STEM self-efficacy, STEM identity, and sense of belonging (see Rockinson-Szapkiw et al., 2020; Wendt et al., 2019). After completing the training, mentors were assigned 2-4 mentees in which to engage in an online mentoring relationship. The mentoring relationships, termed STEM Communities, interacted through the Spring 2021 semester. Throughout the 2020/2021 academic year, participants were also provided the opportunity to participate in a series of STEM Webinars featuring women in STEM career fields. Participants then completed a post-survey and participated in individual interviews and focus groups. Using a case study approach, open ended interviews and focus groups were conducted, and data was collected and transcribed for analysis. Using a grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) data was coded using a combination of inductive and deductive coding. From the codes, themes were identified.

Several salient themes based on these characteristics were identified:

Openness and Transparency

• All participants shared that openness to new ideas, perspectives, cultures, and experiences were essential to an effective mentoring relationship. There was consensus among participants that honesty, truthfulness, and transparency were key to building trust and fostering a relationship in which mentors and mentees felt safe and welcomed.

Availability and Flexibility

• All participants shared that both mentors and mentees must make themselves available—both within their schedules and within their willingness to participate in a mentoring relationship. When considering schedules, it was important to participants that those involved in their mentoring relationship demonstrated flexibility while simultaneously respecting others’ commitments and responsibilities.

Skilled Communication

• Participants reiterated throughout the interviews and focus groups the need for clear and frequent communication, no matter how brief, in order to sustain an effective mentoring communication. They saw communication as not only a means by which to connect and share information, but also a method through which respect for others was demonstrated.

Acknowledgement of Humanity and Identity

• All participants identified that acknowledgement of their own struggles and the struggles of those involved in their mentoring relationships was key to an effective relationship. They voiced the importance of shared experience and shared identity, knowing that they were not ‘in this alone” while also recognizing the uniqueness of individual identities, experiences, and worldviews.

Key Take-Aways

Conference attendees will:

• Gain an understanding of the characteristics that women and racially and ethnically minoritized populations, as represented in the study sample, perceive as necessary for building and maintaining effective peer mentoring relationships; and
• Learn about the implications of the findings as they relate to development and implementation of peer mentoring programs.

Plan for Interactivity

This presentation will elaborate on the salient themes identified by providing a robust discussion of participant responses. Directions for further research will be shared. Conference attendees will be invited to share their suggestions for future application of the findings. There will be an opportunity to suggest potential collaborations to extend the current project to other historically black institutions and minority serving institutions. Conference attendees will also be provided access to the program website.

References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company.

Brue, K. L. (2019). Work-life balance for women in STEM leadership. Journal of Leadership Education, 18(2), 32–45.

Dawson, A. E., Bernstein, B. L., & Bekki, J. M. (2015). Providing the psychosocial benefits of mentoring to women in STEM: CareerWISE as an online solution. New Directions for Higher Education, 2015(171), 53-62.

Fouad, N., Singh, R., Cappaert, K., Chang, W., & Wan, M. (2016). Comparison of women engineers who persist in or depart from engineering. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 92, 79-93.

Jensen, L. E., & Deemer, E. D. (2019). Identity, campus climate, and burnout among undergraduate women in STEM fields. Career Development Quarterly, 67(2), 96–109.

Lent, R., Brown, S., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45(1), 79-122.

Mondisa, J. (2018). Examining the mentoring approaches of African-American mentors. Journal of African American Studies, 22, 293-308.

National Science Foundation. (2021). Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering. Retrieved from https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf21321

Rockinson-Szapkiw, A., & Wendt, J. L. (2020). The benefits and challenges of a blended peer mentoring program for women peer mentors in STEM. International Journal on Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 10(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-03-2020-0011

Rockinson-Szapkiw, A., Wendt, J. L., & Stephen, J. S. (2021). The efficacy of a blended peer mentoring experience for racial and ethnic minority women in STEM pilot study: Academic, professional, and psychosocial outcomes for mentors and mentees. Journal for STEM Education Research, 4, 173-193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41979-020-00048-6

Saffie-Robertson, M. C. (2021). It’s not you, it’s me: An exploration of mentoring experiences for women in STEM. Sex Roles, 83, 566-579.

Wendt, J. L., Rockinson-Szapkiw, A., & Conway, A. (2019). Using technology to foster peer mentoring relationships: Development of a virtual peer mentorship training model for broadening participation in STEM. In L. Winfield, Z. Wilson-Kennedy, G. Thomas, & L. Watkins (Eds.), Growing diverse STEM communities: Methodology, impact, and evidence. (pp. 255-268).