Research Alert: Study Explores School-Based Mentoring Program Outcomes, and the Impact of Mentee Expectations
Reference
Laco, D. & Johnson, W. (2017). I expect it to be great…but will it be? An investigation of outcomes, process and mediators of a school-based mentoring program. Youth and Society, 1-27.
A 2017 study conducted by David Laco and Wendy Johnson may be of interest to mentoring practitioners implementing school-based mentoring programs. The study was conducted with first and second year students attending a private high school in Bratislava, Slovakia who were paired with mentors (mostly teachers) who they selected themselves. The students, who were required to participate in the program, were asked to report on the quality of the mentoring environment (QME), and those with a higher QME rating tended to also report a higher degree of engagement with school. They also tended to perceive the discussion of personal matters as more beneficial. These trends were not seen with regard to academic discussions or benefits. More positive expectations about the program were also associated with higher QME, such that the researchers posit that a sort of “self-fulfilling prophecy” may influence these outcomes. Learn more about the study here.