Mentor Training for Cultural Competence

Practice Review

Rating and Related Insight

Evidence Rating for this Practice:

Insufficient Research

Insight for Practitioners

View Insight

Rating and Related Insight

Evidence Rating for this Practice:

Insufficient Research

Insight for Practitioners

View Insight

Evidence Rating for this Practice

Insufficient Research (2 Studies)

In both of the studies reviewed, the methodology used for assessing effects of the practice did not meet relevant criteria for rigor. As a result, these studies were each designated as Insufficient Evidence and the practice as a whole is designated as Insufficient Research. This rating is based on currently available research and may change as new findings become available.

 

Description of Practice

Cultural competence training for mentors consists of guidance that is intended to develop attitudes, behaviors, and practices that enable mentors to interact and work effectively with mentees from different cultural backgrounds (Sanchez et al., 2014). Culture is understood broadly to include the values, norms, and practices of a given group that are learned, shared, and transmitted across generations (Kreuter et al., 2003). This practice is consistent with recommended enhancements to Training in the Elements of Effective Practice for MentoringTM (Garringer et al., 2015). Training for cultural competence is, however, distinguished from mentor training in general due to its specific focus on strengthening mentors’ ability to respect and value diverse cultural backgrounds. It is also distinguished from individualized support or coaching that may be provided to mentors with the aim of promoting culturally competent mentoring. This would include, for example, “cultural tailoring” in which individualized support is designed to be responsive to information gathered in an assessment of the unique characteristics of the mentor and/or mentee (Kreuter et al., 2003).

Training focused on cultural competence may be provided to mentors at any point in time and thus may take place before or at any point in time after the start of their relationships with mentees. Training of this type may be focused on one or more of the following: 1) increasing awareness about culture and important components of culture, 2) increasing mentors’ awareness of their own cultural background, values and assumptions and how these may influence their perceptions of their mentees, 3) increasing mentor knowledge of the cultural backgrounds of young people, including the potential needs and assets of the home, school, and community environments of mentees, and 4) increasing mentors’ skills in applying cultural knowledge in their relationships with mentees as well as others who are important in mentees’ lives (e.g., parents) (Sanchez et al., 2014; Suffrin, 2014).

Although not required, mentor training in cultural competence may be targeted to the backgrounds of a specific population of mentees (e.g., immigrant youth, Native American youth), to the specific goals of a program (e.g., a program focused on educational outcomes for African American youth might include training on the potential effects of stereotype threat on the academic achievement of minority youth), and/or to the backgrounds of mentors (e.g., White mentors matched with youth of color). The frequency, duration, and format of training can also vary. For example, training may be delivered in a group format or individually and either in-person or online. The training must, however, include an interactive component (e.g., role plays to practice skills being introduced) and incorporate standardized content; a passive review of written materials related to cultural competence or, as noted above, individualized coaching or support thus would not fall within the scope of this practice.

 

Goal

To prepare mentors to be sensitive and responsive to both the needs and assets of youth from diverse cultural backgrounds.

 

Target Population/Eligibility of Target Sites

This practice is potentially applicable to all forms of mentoring and the full range of youth who may be served by programs.

 

Theory and Background Research

The focus of this practice on strengthening mentors’ knowledge, skills, and efficacy beliefs for mentoring youth from different cultural backgrounds is consistent with the established importance of such factors as influences on engaging in new behavior (in this case, those involved with effectively mentoring a young person from a cultural background that is different from one’s own background) in well-established theories of behavior change (e.g., Montano & Kasprzyk, 2015). Furthermore, the potential for mentor cultural competence to enhance mutuality, trust, and empathy within the mentoring relationship is consistent with the posited importance of these factors in shaping development and adjustment outcomes in Rhodes’ (2005) model of youth mentoring. There are also several studies in which youths’ perceptions of their mentors’ cultural competence or mentors’ self-reports of cultural competence have been linked to better ratings of relationship quality (Sanchez et al., 2014). A qualitative study of youth mentoring relationship failures also revealed that the inability to matches to bridge cultural differences appeared to be a salient contributor to the end of relationships (Spencer, 2007). Furthermore, one recent study (Suffrin , 2014) found that the mentor’s score on a self-report measure of multicultural competence was a significant and positive predictor of mentor satisfaction with the mentoring relationship and the mentoring program, mentor plans to continue volunteering for the mentoring program, and reports of engaging in extra-role pro-social behaviors (i.e., going “above and beyond their prescribed roles”).

 

Corresponding Elements of Effective Practice

This practice is most relevant to the areas of Training within the Elements of Effective Practice.

 

Key Personnel

The successful implementation of this practice is likely to require staff to have mastery of the substantive content of the training, skills for group facilitation, and familiarity with adult learning principles. It may be very important, as well, for staff to have reflected on their own cultural background and experiences, including those relating to considerations such as privilege and implicit bias, and to have received appropriate opportunities for training and support around this process.

 

Additional Information

None.

  • Evidence Classification

    Insufficient Evidence

     

    Evaluation Methodology

    Taussig and colleagues (2010) examined correlates of mentor training for cultural competence as part of an evaluation of the Fostering Healthy Futures (FHF) program. FHF is a mentoring and therapeutic skills intervention for nine- to eleven-year old youth who have been placed in foster care due to maltreatment. As part of the mentoring component of the intervention, each child received nine months of one-on-one mentoring. Mentors were graduate students receiving internship or practicum credits. Mentors were matched with two children each and spent 2 to 4 hours per week working with each child over the course of an academic year. This program was reviewed for CrimeSolutions; the review and accompanying insights for practitioners are also available at the National Mentoring Resource Center website.

    Mentors participated in a three-day orientation before they were matched with children, during which they were trained on methods for setting limits, establishing and maintaining appropriate boundaries, working with different cultures, and protecting confidentiality. Mentors also received on-going training and supervision, which included weekly didactic seminars on topics salient for working with maltreated children. In the sixth year of the program, based on mentor feedback, a formalized training on cultural competence was incorporated into the orientation and an effort was made to incorporate regular discussions of cultural competence issues into supervision sessions.

    Mentors who participated in the program between 2002 and 2008 were invited to complete an online survey. Of the 52 mentors contacted, 50 completed the survey; 88 percent were female, 94 percent were White, and the mean age was 29.3 years. The survey asked mentors to rate their FHF training experience and how well it prepared them for their careers. For this review, we focused on mentor ratings of how well the training prepared them to work with diverse cultures. The question was rated on a 3-point scale – Very Well, Well, or Not Well.

    Ratings on the question of interest were compared between mentors who did not receive training for cultural competence (mentors in years 1-5 of the program) and those who did receive the training (mentors in year 6). For purposes of this review, chi-square analysis and independent samples t-tests were conducted on the ratings to assess the statistical significance of the association between ratings and group membership.

     

    Evaluation Outcomes

    Work with Diverse Cultures
    Taussig and colleagues (2010) found that mentors who received training on cultural competence did not differ significantly from those who did not in their ratings of how well the training prepared them to work with diverse cultures.

  • Evidence Classification

    Insufficient Evidence

     

    Evaluation Methodology

    Peaslee & Teye (2015) examined correlates of mentor training for cultural competence as part of a longitudinal evaluation of the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County school- and site-based mentoring program. This evaluation assessed the impact of enhanced mentor training and peer support on mentoring relationship quality and mentee outcomes. The study sample included 459 newly matched mentor-mentee dyads. The dyads were block randomized into one of four conditions: enhanced mentor training only (n=114), peer support only (n=115), both training and peer support (interaction intervention; n=115), and control (n=115). Using this method, mentor-mentee dyads were randomly subdivided into blocks of fours and dyads within each block were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions.

    Mentor training for cultural competence was provided as part of the enhanced mentor training intervention, a six-module post-match training program on topics related to effective mentoring. The training was web-based, with hard copies were provided for mentors who had limited computer or internet access. Mentors were encouraged to complete all six modules within the first six months of the mentoring relationship. The “Navigating Cultural Differences” module was designed to help “mentors gain a better understanding of their own cultural values and how they affect perception of others; recognize the possible underlying cultural influences in common situations; gain knowledge for respectfully exploring cultural values and practices with others; learn an approach for recovering from cultural misunderstandings; have a stronger foundation for building a trusting relationship with their Little and his or her family” (p. 18).

    Mentors were administered the Strength of Relationship-Mentor (SORM) survey via email or phone at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months into the mentoring relationship. At the 6- and 12-month survey administrations, the original, 14-item SORM survey was expanded to include a 22-item Mentor Self-Efficacy scale. The Mentor Self-Efficacy scale was also administered at baseline. Questions specific to this review are those that assessed a mentor’s confidence to “mentor a child whose ethnic or cultural background is different than mine”, “mentor a child whose parents’ primary language is different than mine”, and “mentor a child who is underprivileged or in poverty”. Responses were measured on a 10-point Likert scale, ranging from “Cannot Do at all” to “Highly Confident”.

    Of the 459 participating mentors, 450 provided data at baseline and 318 (of 342 in open matches) provided data at 12 months. Among all mentors (n=459), 84 percent were female, 87 percent were White, and 89 percent were college students (mean age was 21.7 years). At baseline, 52.5 percent of matches were site-based and 47.5 percent were community-based; 79.5 percent of matches were matched by gender and 40.5 percent were matched by ethnicity; and mean match length was 13.35 months. Baseline bias analysis revealed that mentor occupation, education level, and gender were not equivalent across the four study conditions – the control condition had a higher proportion of mentors who were community members (relative to students) and had graduate degrees than those in the other conditions. Match characteristics, however, were found not to differ significantly across the study conditions. Sixty-eight percent of mentors assigned to the conditions with the training program reported completing or starting any of the training modules; 21.7 percent reported completing or starting the “Navigating Cultural Differences” training module. At baseline, 63.2 percent of mentees were female; in terms of race/ethnicity, 39.8 percent were White, 41.3 percent were Hispanic, 15.3 percent were Black, and 3.4 percent were Other. Additionally, nearly all (94.1%) of mentees were in elementary school (grades K-6).

    Statistical tests were conducted to investigate the effect of the enhanced training, which included the “Navigating Cultural Differences” module, by comparing the enhanced training only and control groups on mentor ratings of self-efficacy for mentoring a child from a different cultural background, a child whose parents primarily speak a different language, and a child who is underprivileged or in poverty.

     

    Evaluation Outcomes

    Peaslee & Teye (2015) found no significant difference, at 12-months post-test, between mentors who did and did not receive training for cultural competence with regard to their confidence to mentor a child whose cultural background is different from the mentor’s, their confidence to mentor a child whose parent’s primary language is different from the mentor’s, or their confidence to mentor a child who is underprivileged or in poverty.

External Validity Evidence

Variations in the Practice
The format of cultural competence training offered to mentors differed across the two reviewed studies. In Taussig and colleagues (2010), training was offered as part of a three-day, in-person orientation program and was required for all mentors. In Peaslee & Teye (2015), training was provided as a single, electronic training module that mentors could access as often as needed; completion of the module was also encouraged rather than required. Detailed information about the content areas addressed is limited for both studies. Although differences in the content, format, and/or delivery of mentor training for cultural competence could be consequential, this possibility was not examined within either study and with only two studies there is insufficient information to draw possible inferences in this regard based on examination of findings across investigations.

Youth
The mentoring programs that where the focus of the two studies reviewed targeted youth with differing backgrounds of risk. Specifically, whereas youth in the Taussig and colleagues (2010) study were preadolescents who were in foster care due to maltreatment, those in the Peaslee & Teye (2015) study were characterized as having low levels of individual and environmental risk. In terms of racial and ethnic backgrounds, youth in the Peaslee & Teye (2015) study were predominantly White or Hispanic; youth racial and ethnic information was not provided in the Taussig and colleagues (2010) study. Notably, neither of the programs studied was oriented toward serving older adolescents, for whom cultural considerations (e.g., ethnic identity development) may be particularly salient and consequential (e.g., Quintana ethnic identity review or others). Neither study tested for differences in effects of the practice across subgroups of youth. In sum, available findings provide only a limited basis for developing an understanding of the potentially similar and/or differential implications of this practice based on characteristics of the youth being mentored.

Mentors
Most of the mentors represented in the two studies reviewed were female, White, and undergraduate or graduate students. The studies reviewed, moreover, did not test for differences in effect of mentor training for cultural competence in relation to these mentor characteristics or others that could be consequential for this practice, such as pre-existing levels of cultural awareness or understanding.

Program Settings/Structures
Both studies in this review were conducted within mentoring programs that use a 1-to-1 mentoring format. There was, however, notable variation in other aspects of the programs. Whereas the study by Taussig and colleagues (2010) was conducted within a multi-component program (i.e., one that combined mentoring with other supports or services for the youth being mentored, in this case therapeutic skills training), the other (Peaslee & Teye , 2015) involved “stand alone” mentoring programs of a BBBS affiliate. There remain, however, a number of other types of programs (e.g., e-mentoring, those based in correctional settings) not represented in existing research on this practice.

Outcomes
The studies reviewed evaluated the effects of mentor training for cultural competence on outcomes focused on the mentors’ self-assessed readiness for working with youth from diverse cultural backgrounds. Thus, although findings were consistent, they do not contribute to understanding of potential effects of this practice on other types of outcomes (i.e., mentoring relationships or the youth being mentored) as well as its effects on mentors when using other measurement strategies (e.g., ratings of program staff).

Resources Available to Support Implementation

Resources to support implementation of mentor training for cultural competence can be found under the Resources section of this website These include:

BGCA Best Practices: Mentoring Native Youth – This resource contains tips and recommendations for mentoring practitioners for enhancing cultural competence in their work with Native youth. It includes information about cultural norms and cross-cultural communication as well as tips for training and retaining mentors, with specific information about training non-Native mentors.

Guide to Mentoring Boys and Young Men of Color – This guide serves as a supplement to the fourth edition of The Elements of Effective Practice for MentoringTM, and includes additional recommended practices focusing on boys and young men of color.

Ready to Go: Mentor Training Toolkit – This resource offers a variety of training activities for both pre-match and ongoing training of adult and peer mentors. Activities are grouped by subject in modules: Building Mentoring Relationships; Setting Boundaries; Communication; and Youth Development and Cultural Competency.

Evidence Base

Peaslee, L., & Teye, A. C. (2015). Testing the impact of mentor training and peer support on the quality of mentor-mentee relationships and outcomes for at-risk youth. Harrisonburg, VA: James Madison University. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/248719.pdf

Taussig, H. N., Culhane, S. E., Raviv, T., Fitzpatrick, L. E. S., & Hodas, R. W. (2010). Mentoring children in foster care: Impact on graduate student mentors. Educational Horizons, 89, 17–32.

 

Additional References

Garringer, M., Kupersmidt, J., Rhodes, J., Stelter, R., & Tai, T. (2015). Elements of effective practice for mentoring (4th ed.). Boston, MA: MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership.

Kreuter, M. W., Lukwago, S. N., Bucholtz, D. C., Clark, E. M., & Sanders-Thompson, V. (2002). Achieving cultural appropriateness in health promotion programs: Targeted and tailored approaches. Health Education & Behavior, 30, 133–146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1090198102251021

Montano, D. E., & Kasprzyk D. (2015) Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behavior, and the Integrated Behavior Model. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer & K. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior: Theory, research, and action (5th ed., pp. 95-124). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Rhodes, J. E. (2005). A model of youth mentoring. In D. L. DuBois & M. J. Karcher (Eds.), Handbook of youth mentoring (pp. 30–43). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Sanchez, B., Colon-Torres, Y., Feuer, R., Roundfield, K. E., & Berardi, L. (2014). Race, ethnicity, and culture in mentoring relationships. In D. L. DuBois & M. J. Karcher (Eds.), Handbook of youth mentoring (2nd ed., pp. 145–158). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Spencer, R. (2007). “It’s not what I expected:” A qualitative study of youth mentoring relationship failures. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22, 331–354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0743558407301915

Suffrin, R. L. (2014). The role of multicultural competence, privilege, attributions, and team support in predicting positive youth mentor outcomes. College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations. Paper 69. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.676.2912&rep=rep1&type=pdf

When the nation’s mentoring programs ask adults to mentor children in their community, they are often asking them to do something that American adults don’t do very often: build a deep relationship with someone of a different culture. One of the more subtle, if not disturbing, trends over the last several decades is the fact that Americans are more likely to interact with individuals and communities that are most like them. We increasingly live in communities that reflect who we already are and find ourselves limiting, by choice, the types of cross-cultural interactions that can broaden our perspectives and engender understanding with, and empathy for, others in our society who may be different. Given the demographics of those most often served by mentoring programs, as well as those who have the free time and capital to most easily volunteer, it seems as though youth mentoring represents a counter to that trend by giving adults an opportunity to connect with a child or family that may be very come from a very different culture, class, and worldview. Mentoring is often an explicit invitation to cross those cultural lines in a genuine way.

But because crossing those lines is something that Americans do infrequently, it has left the nation’s pool of potential mentors perhaps a bit rusty in terms of navigating the intersection of their culture and that of their mentees. As noted in the practice review, the work of qualitative researchers like Renee Spencer has found that challenges in crossing those cultural divides appears to be a significant factor in premature closure of mentoring relationships. In keeping with this finding, recent years have seen a real push to include cultural competence training in the suite of trainings offered to mentors as they begin and progress through their relationships.

Although there is little direct research on the value of cultural competence training in mentoring program contexts, other research noted in the review tells us that offering this has the potential to be beneficial⎯in particular the conclusions by Sanchez and colleagues that youth pick up on the cultural competence (or lack thereof) of their mentors and that it impacts the closeness of their relationships with them. There are also outspoken critics of traditional youth mentoring that see a lack of responsiveness to issues of culture and race as almost being an assault against the culture and ethnicity of the youth being served by programs.

Given that the aim of promoting cross-cultural understanding and respect is a given in most mentoring programs, how should practitioners approach this aspect of their work? There are a few key ideas practitioners may wish to consider putting into action if they want to address this directly:

 

1. Get cultural competence training for your staff first.

If anyone doubts that those running programs and working with youth directly could use this type of training themselves, please see this fascinating research by Jennifer Lindwall detailing her interviews with mentoring program staff and others who work directly with youth. It is clear that program staff members – regardless of identified cultural background – also bring their individual backgrounds and biases to the work. Arguably, they may have little chance of helping mentors and youth navigate the choppy waters of cross-cultural understanding if they have not explored their own positionality, struggles, and assumptions in this space first. The qualitative research of Spencer and others has also uncovered evidence of some disturbing aspects of how program staff tend to see the families and youth they serve, often unaware that their own “dominant culture” perspectives (as Lindwall puts it) may interfere with their ability to effectively meet youth and family needs. Training staff offers one logical starting point for any program that wants to be stronger in this area.

 

2. Assess mentors’ cultural competence and understanding at intake.

There are many surveys and tools for assessing cultural competence and practitioners can likely find many examples with just a bit of online searching. They could even borrow an idea from one of the studies noted in the practice review and assess mentor’s confidence around interacting with and supporting a youth from a different culture or whose family speaks a different language (see the Peaslee & Teye study for details). Not only can this information about each individual help with matching decisions it can also help understand what level of training is needed. Mentors who already feel confident may benefit from a training that focuses in on some very specific concerns, whereas those who express widespread concern about their ability to connect across cultures may need a longer or more in-depth training. If programs don’t spend any effort to assess where their mentors are at with these issues, it could be argued that they are simply hoping that their matches don’t become harmful and short-lived due to cultural conflicts⎯and that easily can be viewed as not acceptable given the ethical imperative to “do no harm” in mentoring services.

 

3. Partner with other community organizations and professionals to design and deliver cultural comptence training for mentors.

It can feel daunting for a program’s staff to develop a strong training on this topic from scratch or even to deliver a training that they obtain from another source. An arguably better – that is, possibly easier and more effective – path is to partner with local cultural groups or service providers to offer relevant training to your mentors. Chances are that there are already groups or professional consultants in your community who could offer this type of training directly or lead program staff through a train-the-trainer approach to develop capacity to deliver this training in the future. These types of partnerships connect a program’s mentoring work to others in the community who think about these issues and can bring some instant credibility, authenticity, and cultural nuance to the training that is offered to mentors. Especially when a program feels a bit intimidated by the topic (which is entirely understandable and, in fact, an encouraging sign of cultural awareness itself), seeking out others who know what they are talking about and finding a way to partner is an important strategy to consider.

For those who have trouble finding quality partners to assist in this work, please note that there are some resources available online to help with this type of training. For example, MENTOR and the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance have released several online trainings designed to address issues of cultural competence in mentors working under that initiative. This is also a topic that the nation’s mentoring programs can request free technical assistance from the National Mentoring Resource Center in addressing. So even in remote communities, there is no reason to “go it alone” when it comes to offering this type of training.

 

4. Consider offering culturally-themed training to mentees and their families as well.

Unfortunately, this type of training is often thought of as something that applies only to members of dominant (most often “white) culture. The truth is that everyone should be able to benefit from this type of training and the youth and families served by the program are no exception. They are also being asked to cross cultural lines in the mentoring relationship and equipping them with understanding and strategies may go a long ways toward negating cultural mistrust and misunderstandings. For programs that are going to require this training of their mentors, it is advisable to give careful consideration to also requiring it, at some level, of youth (and their parents, if they are going to be interacting directly with the mentor or staff).


For more information on research-informed program practices and tools for implementation, be sure to consult the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ and the “Resources for Mentoring Programs” section of the National Mentoring Resource Center site.

  • Evidence Rating for this Practice

    Insufficient Research (2 Studies)

    In both of the studies reviewed, the methodology used for assessing effects of the practice did not meet relevant criteria for rigor. As a result, these studies were each designated as Insufficient Evidence and the practice as a whole is designated as Insufficient Research. This rating is based on currently available research and may change as new findings become available.

     

    Description of Practice

    Cultural competence training for mentors consists of guidance that is intended to develop attitudes, behaviors, and practices that enable mentors to interact and work effectively with mentees from different cultural backgrounds (Sanchez et al., 2014). Culture is understood broadly to include the values, norms, and practices of a given group that are learned, shared, and transmitted across generations (Kreuter et al., 2003). This practice is consistent with recommended enhancements to Training in the Elements of Effective Practice for MentoringTM (Garringer et al., 2015). Training for cultural competence is, however, distinguished from mentor training in general due to its specific focus on strengthening mentors’ ability to respect and value diverse cultural backgrounds. It is also distinguished from individualized support or coaching that may be provided to mentors with the aim of promoting culturally competent mentoring. This would include, for example, “cultural tailoring” in which individualized support is designed to be responsive to information gathered in an assessment of the unique characteristics of the mentor and/or mentee (Kreuter et al., 2003).

    Training focused on cultural competence may be provided to mentors at any point in time and thus may take place before or at any point in time after the start of their relationships with mentees. Training of this type may be focused on one or more of the following: 1) increasing awareness about culture and important components of culture, 2) increasing mentors’ awareness of their own cultural background, values and assumptions and how these may influence their perceptions of their mentees, 3) increasing mentor knowledge of the cultural backgrounds of young people, including the potential needs and assets of the home, school, and community environments of mentees, and 4) increasing mentors’ skills in applying cultural knowledge in their relationships with mentees as well as others who are important in mentees’ lives (e.g., parents) (Sanchez et al., 2014; Suffrin, 2014).

    Although not required, mentor training in cultural competence may be targeted to the backgrounds of a specific population of mentees (e.g., immigrant youth, Native American youth), to the specific goals of a program (e.g., a program focused on educational outcomes for African American youth might include training on the potential effects of stereotype threat on the academic achievement of minority youth), and/or to the backgrounds of mentors (e.g., White mentors matched with youth of color). The frequency, duration, and format of training can also vary. For example, training may be delivered in a group format or individually and either in-person or online. The training must, however, include an interactive component (e.g., role plays to practice skills being introduced) and incorporate standardized content; a passive review of written materials related to cultural competence or, as noted above, individualized coaching or support thus would not fall within the scope of this practice.

     

    Goal

    To prepare mentors to be sensitive and responsive to both the needs and assets of youth from diverse cultural backgrounds.

     

    Target Population/Eligibility of Target Sites

    This practice is potentially applicable to all forms of mentoring and the full range of youth who may be served by programs.

     

    Theory and Background Research

    The focus of this practice on strengthening mentors’ knowledge, skills, and efficacy beliefs for mentoring youth from different cultural backgrounds is consistent with the established importance of such factors as influences on engaging in new behavior (in this case, those involved with effectively mentoring a young person from a cultural background that is different from one’s own background) in well-established theories of behavior change (e.g., Montano & Kasprzyk, 2015). Furthermore, the potential for mentor cultural competence to enhance mutuality, trust, and empathy within the mentoring relationship is consistent with the posited importance of these factors in shaping development and adjustment outcomes in Rhodes’ (2005) model of youth mentoring. There are also several studies in which youths’ perceptions of their mentors’ cultural competence or mentors’ self-reports of cultural competence have been linked to better ratings of relationship quality (Sanchez et al., 2014). A qualitative study of youth mentoring relationship failures also revealed that the inability to matches to bridge cultural differences appeared to be a salient contributor to the end of relationships (Spencer, 2007). Furthermore, one recent study (Suffrin , 2014) found that the mentor’s score on a self-report measure of multicultural competence was a significant and positive predictor of mentor satisfaction with the mentoring relationship and the mentoring program, mentor plans to continue volunteering for the mentoring program, and reports of engaging in extra-role pro-social behaviors (i.e., going “above and beyond their prescribed roles”).

     

    Corresponding Elements of Effective Practice

    This practice is most relevant to the areas of Training within the Elements of Effective Practice.

     

    Key Personnel

    The successful implementation of this practice is likely to require staff to have mastery of the substantive content of the training, skills for group facilitation, and familiarity with adult learning principles. It may be very important, as well, for staff to have reflected on their own cultural background and experiences, including those relating to considerations such as privilege and implicit bias, and to have received appropriate opportunities for training and support around this process.

     

    Additional Information

    None.

    • Evidence Classification

      Insufficient Evidence

       

      Evaluation Methodology

      Taussig and colleagues (2010) examined correlates of mentor training for cultural competence as part of an evaluation of the Fostering Healthy Futures (FHF) program. FHF is a mentoring and therapeutic skills intervention for nine- to eleven-year old youth who have been placed in foster care due to maltreatment. As part of the mentoring component of the intervention, each child received nine months of one-on-one mentoring. Mentors were graduate students receiving internship or practicum credits. Mentors were matched with two children each and spent 2 to 4 hours per week working with each child over the course of an academic year. This program was reviewed for CrimeSolutions; the review and accompanying insights for practitioners are also available at the National Mentoring Resource Center website.

      Mentors participated in a three-day orientation before they were matched with children, during which they were trained on methods for setting limits, establishing and maintaining appropriate boundaries, working with different cultures, and protecting confidentiality. Mentors also received on-going training and supervision, which included weekly didactic seminars on topics salient for working with maltreated children. In the sixth year of the program, based on mentor feedback, a formalized training on cultural competence was incorporated into the orientation and an effort was made to incorporate regular discussions of cultural competence issues into supervision sessions.

      Mentors who participated in the program between 2002 and 2008 were invited to complete an online survey. Of the 52 mentors contacted, 50 completed the survey; 88 percent were female, 94 percent were White, and the mean age was 29.3 years. The survey asked mentors to rate their FHF training experience and how well it prepared them for their careers. For this review, we focused on mentor ratings of how well the training prepared them to work with diverse cultures. The question was rated on a 3-point scale – Very Well, Well, or Not Well.

      Ratings on the question of interest were compared between mentors who did not receive training for cultural competence (mentors in years 1-5 of the program) and those who did receive the training (mentors in year 6). For purposes of this review, chi-square analysis and independent samples t-tests were conducted on the ratings to assess the statistical significance of the association between ratings and group membership.

       

      Evaluation Outcomes

      Work with Diverse Cultures
      Taussig and colleagues (2010) found that mentors who received training on cultural competence did not differ significantly from those who did not in their ratings of how well the training prepared them to work with diverse cultures.

    • Evidence Classification

      Insufficient Evidence

       

      Evaluation Methodology

      Peaslee & Teye (2015) examined correlates of mentor training for cultural competence as part of a longitudinal evaluation of the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County school- and site-based mentoring program. This evaluation assessed the impact of enhanced mentor training and peer support on mentoring relationship quality and mentee outcomes. The study sample included 459 newly matched mentor-mentee dyads. The dyads were block randomized into one of four conditions: enhanced mentor training only (n=114), peer support only (n=115), both training and peer support (interaction intervention; n=115), and control (n=115). Using this method, mentor-mentee dyads were randomly subdivided into blocks of fours and dyads within each block were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions.

      Mentor training for cultural competence was provided as part of the enhanced mentor training intervention, a six-module post-match training program on topics related to effective mentoring. The training was web-based, with hard copies were provided for mentors who had limited computer or internet access. Mentors were encouraged to complete all six modules within the first six months of the mentoring relationship. The “Navigating Cultural Differences” module was designed to help “mentors gain a better understanding of their own cultural values and how they affect perception of others; recognize the possible underlying cultural influences in common situations; gain knowledge for respectfully exploring cultural values and practices with others; learn an approach for recovering from cultural misunderstandings; have a stronger foundation for building a trusting relationship with their Little and his or her family” (p. 18).

      Mentors were administered the Strength of Relationship-Mentor (SORM) survey via email or phone at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months into the mentoring relationship. At the 6- and 12-month survey administrations, the original, 14-item SORM survey was expanded to include a 22-item Mentor Self-Efficacy scale. The Mentor Self-Efficacy scale was also administered at baseline. Questions specific to this review are those that assessed a mentor’s confidence to “mentor a child whose ethnic or cultural background is different than mine”, “mentor a child whose parents’ primary language is different than mine”, and “mentor a child who is underprivileged or in poverty”. Responses were measured on a 10-point Likert scale, ranging from “Cannot Do at all” to “Highly Confident”.

      Of the 459 participating mentors, 450 provided data at baseline and 318 (of 342 in open matches) provided data at 12 months. Among all mentors (n=459), 84 percent were female, 87 percent were White, and 89 percent were college students (mean age was 21.7 years). At baseline, 52.5 percent of matches were site-based and 47.5 percent were community-based; 79.5 percent of matches were matched by gender and 40.5 percent were matched by ethnicity; and mean match length was 13.35 months. Baseline bias analysis revealed that mentor occupation, education level, and gender were not equivalent across the four study conditions – the control condition had a higher proportion of mentors who were community members (relative to students) and had graduate degrees than those in the other conditions. Match characteristics, however, were found not to differ significantly across the study conditions. Sixty-eight percent of mentors assigned to the conditions with the training program reported completing or starting any of the training modules; 21.7 percent reported completing or starting the “Navigating Cultural Differences” training module. At baseline, 63.2 percent of mentees were female; in terms of race/ethnicity, 39.8 percent were White, 41.3 percent were Hispanic, 15.3 percent were Black, and 3.4 percent were Other. Additionally, nearly all (94.1%) of mentees were in elementary school (grades K-6).

      Statistical tests were conducted to investigate the effect of the enhanced training, which included the “Navigating Cultural Differences” module, by comparing the enhanced training only and control groups on mentor ratings of self-efficacy for mentoring a child from a different cultural background, a child whose parents primarily speak a different language, and a child who is underprivileged or in poverty.

       

      Evaluation Outcomes

      Peaslee & Teye (2015) found no significant difference, at 12-months post-test, between mentors who did and did not receive training for cultural competence with regard to their confidence to mentor a child whose cultural background is different from the mentor’s, their confidence to mentor a child whose parent’s primary language is different from the mentor’s, or their confidence to mentor a child who is underprivileged or in poverty.

  • External Validity Evidence

    Variations in the Practice
    The format of cultural competence training offered to mentors differed across the two reviewed studies. In Taussig and colleagues (2010), training was offered as part of a three-day, in-person orientation program and was required for all mentors. In Peaslee & Teye (2015), training was provided as a single, electronic training module that mentors could access as often as needed; completion of the module was also encouraged rather than required. Detailed information about the content areas addressed is limited for both studies. Although differences in the content, format, and/or delivery of mentor training for cultural competence could be consequential, this possibility was not examined within either study and with only two studies there is insufficient information to draw possible inferences in this regard based on examination of findings across investigations.

    Youth
    The mentoring programs that where the focus of the two studies reviewed targeted youth with differing backgrounds of risk. Specifically, whereas youth in the Taussig and colleagues (2010) study were preadolescents who were in foster care due to maltreatment, those in the Peaslee & Teye (2015) study were characterized as having low levels of individual and environmental risk. In terms of racial and ethnic backgrounds, youth in the Peaslee & Teye (2015) study were predominantly White or Hispanic; youth racial and ethnic information was not provided in the Taussig and colleagues (2010) study. Notably, neither of the programs studied was oriented toward serving older adolescents, for whom cultural considerations (e.g., ethnic identity development) may be particularly salient and consequential (e.g., Quintana ethnic identity review or others). Neither study tested for differences in effects of the practice across subgroups of youth. In sum, available findings provide only a limited basis for developing an understanding of the potentially similar and/or differential implications of this practice based on characteristics of the youth being mentored.

    Mentors
    Most of the mentors represented in the two studies reviewed were female, White, and undergraduate or graduate students. The studies reviewed, moreover, did not test for differences in effect of mentor training for cultural competence in relation to these mentor characteristics or others that could be consequential for this practice, such as pre-existing levels of cultural awareness or understanding.

    Program Settings/Structures
    Both studies in this review were conducted within mentoring programs that use a 1-to-1 mentoring format. There was, however, notable variation in other aspects of the programs. Whereas the study by Taussig and colleagues (2010) was conducted within a multi-component program (i.e., one that combined mentoring with other supports or services for the youth being mentored, in this case therapeutic skills training), the other (Peaslee & Teye , 2015) involved “stand alone” mentoring programs of a BBBS affiliate. There remain, however, a number of other types of programs (e.g., e-mentoring, those based in correctional settings) not represented in existing research on this practice.

    Outcomes
    The studies reviewed evaluated the effects of mentor training for cultural competence on outcomes focused on the mentors’ self-assessed readiness for working with youth from diverse cultural backgrounds. Thus, although findings were consistent, they do not contribute to understanding of potential effects of this practice on other types of outcomes (i.e., mentoring relationships or the youth being mentored) as well as its effects on mentors when using other measurement strategies (e.g., ratings of program staff).

  • Resources Available to Support Implementation

    Resources to support implementation of mentor training for cultural competence can be found under the Resources section of this website These include:

    BGCA Best Practices: Mentoring Native Youth – This resource contains tips and recommendations for mentoring practitioners for enhancing cultural competence in their work with Native youth. It includes information about cultural norms and cross-cultural communication as well as tips for training and retaining mentors, with specific information about training non-Native mentors.

    Guide to Mentoring Boys and Young Men of Color – This guide serves as a supplement to the fourth edition of The Elements of Effective Practice for MentoringTM, and includes additional recommended practices focusing on boys and young men of color.

    Ready to Go: Mentor Training Toolkit – This resource offers a variety of training activities for both pre-match and ongoing training of adult and peer mentors. Activities are grouped by subject in modules: Building Mentoring Relationships; Setting Boundaries; Communication; and Youth Development and Cultural Competency.

  • Evidence Base

    Peaslee, L., & Teye, A. C. (2015). Testing the impact of mentor training and peer support on the quality of mentor-mentee relationships and outcomes for at-risk youth. Harrisonburg, VA: James Madison University. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/248719.pdf

    Taussig, H. N., Culhane, S. E., Raviv, T., Fitzpatrick, L. E. S., & Hodas, R. W. (2010). Mentoring children in foster care: Impact on graduate student mentors. Educational Horizons, 89, 17–32.

     

    Additional References

    Garringer, M., Kupersmidt, J., Rhodes, J., Stelter, R., & Tai, T. (2015). Elements of effective practice for mentoring (4th ed.). Boston, MA: MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership.

    Kreuter, M. W., Lukwago, S. N., Bucholtz, D. C., Clark, E. M., & Sanders-Thompson, V. (2002). Achieving cultural appropriateness in health promotion programs: Targeted and tailored approaches. Health Education & Behavior, 30, 133–146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1090198102251021

    Montano, D. E., & Kasprzyk D. (2015) Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behavior, and the Integrated Behavior Model. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer & K. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior: Theory, research, and action (5th ed., pp. 95-124). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Rhodes, J. E. (2005). A model of youth mentoring. In D. L. DuBois & M. J. Karcher (Eds.), Handbook of youth mentoring (pp. 30–43). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

    Sanchez, B., Colon-Torres, Y., Feuer, R., Roundfield, K. E., & Berardi, L. (2014). Race, ethnicity, and culture in mentoring relationships. In D. L. DuBois & M. J. Karcher (Eds.), Handbook of youth mentoring (2nd ed., pp. 145–158). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

    Spencer, R. (2007). “It’s not what I expected:” A qualitative study of youth mentoring relationship failures. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22, 331–354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0743558407301915

    Suffrin, R. L. (2014). The role of multicultural competence, privilege, attributions, and team support in predicting positive youth mentor outcomes. College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations. Paper 69. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.676.2912&rep=rep1&type=pdf

  • When the nation’s mentoring programs ask adults to mentor children in their community, they are often asking them to do something that American adults don’t do very often: build a deep relationship with someone of a different culture. One of the more subtle, if not disturbing, trends over the last several decades is the fact that Americans are more likely to interact with individuals and communities that are most like them. We increasingly live in communities that reflect who we already are and find ourselves limiting, by choice, the types of cross-cultural interactions that can broaden our perspectives and engender understanding with, and empathy for, others in our society who may be different. Given the demographics of those most often served by mentoring programs, as well as those who have the free time and capital to most easily volunteer, it seems as though youth mentoring represents a counter to that trend by giving adults an opportunity to connect with a child or family that may be very come from a very different culture, class, and worldview. Mentoring is often an explicit invitation to cross those cultural lines in a genuine way.

    But because crossing those lines is something that Americans do infrequently, it has left the nation’s pool of potential mentors perhaps a bit rusty in terms of navigating the intersection of their culture and that of their mentees. As noted in the practice review, the work of qualitative researchers like Renee Spencer has found that challenges in crossing those cultural divides appears to be a significant factor in premature closure of mentoring relationships. In keeping with this finding, recent years have seen a real push to include cultural competence training in the suite of trainings offered to mentors as they begin and progress through their relationships.

    Although there is little direct research on the value of cultural competence training in mentoring program contexts, other research noted in the review tells us that offering this has the potential to be beneficial⎯in particular the conclusions by Sanchez and colleagues that youth pick up on the cultural competence (or lack thereof) of their mentors and that it impacts the closeness of their relationships with them. There are also outspoken critics of traditional youth mentoring that see a lack of responsiveness to issues of culture and race as almost being an assault against the culture and ethnicity of the youth being served by programs.

    Given that the aim of promoting cross-cultural understanding and respect is a given in most mentoring programs, how should practitioners approach this aspect of their work? There are a few key ideas practitioners may wish to consider putting into action if they want to address this directly:

     

    1. Get cultural competence training for your staff first.

    If anyone doubts that those running programs and working with youth directly could use this type of training themselves, please see this fascinating research by Jennifer Lindwall detailing her interviews with mentoring program staff and others who work directly with youth. It is clear that program staff members – regardless of identified cultural background – also bring their individual backgrounds and biases to the work. Arguably, they may have little chance of helping mentors and youth navigate the choppy waters of cross-cultural understanding if they have not explored their own positionality, struggles, and assumptions in this space first. The qualitative research of Spencer and others has also uncovered evidence of some disturbing aspects of how program staff tend to see the families and youth they serve, often unaware that their own “dominant culture” perspectives (as Lindwall puts it) may interfere with their ability to effectively meet youth and family needs. Training staff offers one logical starting point for any program that wants to be stronger in this area.

     

    2. Assess mentors’ cultural competence and understanding at intake.

    There are many surveys and tools for assessing cultural competence and practitioners can likely find many examples with just a bit of online searching. They could even borrow an idea from one of the studies noted in the practice review and assess mentor’s confidence around interacting with and supporting a youth from a different culture or whose family speaks a different language (see the Peaslee & Teye study for details). Not only can this information about each individual help with matching decisions it can also help understand what level of training is needed. Mentors who already feel confident may benefit from a training that focuses in on some very specific concerns, whereas those who express widespread concern about their ability to connect across cultures may need a longer or more in-depth training. If programs don’t spend any effort to assess where their mentors are at with these issues, it could be argued that they are simply hoping that their matches don’t become harmful and short-lived due to cultural conflicts⎯and that easily can be viewed as not acceptable given the ethical imperative to “do no harm” in mentoring services.

     

    3. Partner with other community organizations and professionals to design and deliver cultural comptence training for mentors.

    It can feel daunting for a program’s staff to develop a strong training on this topic from scratch or even to deliver a training that they obtain from another source. An arguably better – that is, possibly easier and more effective – path is to partner with local cultural groups or service providers to offer relevant training to your mentors. Chances are that there are already groups or professional consultants in your community who could offer this type of training directly or lead program staff through a train-the-trainer approach to develop capacity to deliver this training in the future. These types of partnerships connect a program’s mentoring work to others in the community who think about these issues and can bring some instant credibility, authenticity, and cultural nuance to the training that is offered to mentors. Especially when a program feels a bit intimidated by the topic (which is entirely understandable and, in fact, an encouraging sign of cultural awareness itself), seeking out others who know what they are talking about and finding a way to partner is an important strategy to consider.

    For those who have trouble finding quality partners to assist in this work, please note that there are some resources available online to help with this type of training. For example, MENTOR and the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance have released several online trainings designed to address issues of cultural competence in mentors working under that initiative. This is also a topic that the nation’s mentoring programs can request free technical assistance from the National Mentoring Resource Center in addressing. So even in remote communities, there is no reason to “go it alone” when it comes to offering this type of training.

     

    4. Consider offering culturally-themed training to mentees and their families as well.

    Unfortunately, this type of training is often thought of as something that applies only to members of dominant (most often “white) culture. The truth is that everyone should be able to benefit from this type of training and the youth and families served by the program are no exception. They are also being asked to cross cultural lines in the mentoring relationship and equipping them with understanding and strategies may go a long ways toward negating cultural mistrust and misunderstandings. For programs that are going to require this training of their mentors, it is advisable to give careful consideration to also requiring it, at some level, of youth (and their parents, if they are going to be interacting directly with the mentor or staff).


    For more information on research-informed program practices and tools for implementation, be sure to consult the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ and the “Resources for Mentoring Programs” section of the National Mentoring Resource Center site.