Research Alert: Study Explores Program Staff Perceptions of Mentoring Relationship Quality
Reference
Dutton, H., Deane, K., & Bullen, P. (2017). Distal and experiential perspectives of relationship quality from mentors, mentees, and program staff in school-based mentoring program. Children and Youth Services Review (85), 53-62.
A 2017 study by Dutton, Deane and Bullen out of the University of Auckland examines the different perspectives of mentors, youth and program staff in a New Zealand school-based mentoring program, and their perceptions about the quality of the mentoring relationships. The study posits that gathering information from program staff can provide a more nuanced picture of how a mentoring relationship is going, when considered alongside self-reports from mentors and mentees. It also suggests that data gathered from program staff can enrich mentoring research, and that more research is needed to understand how program staff assess the quality of relationships, since those with accurate perceptions of relationship quality are better positioned to intervene and provide additional support to youth and their mentors when needed. Learn more about the study here.
Do you agree? Does your mentoring program collect and apply the perspectives of program staff in assessing the quality of the mentoring relationships between youth and their mentors? How is this information collected and used in your work?