Brief instrumental school-based mentoring for middle school students: theory and impact

Finding the Sweet Spot: Investigating the Effects of Relationship Closeness and Instrumental Activities in School‐based Mentoring

“…In contrast, the association between instrumental activities and treatment effects and most academic outcomes fell between the moderate to large range. Although these effect sizes are consistent with other experimental studies of manualized instrumental mentoring programs (McQuillin & Lyons, ), this result is significant because it demonstrates the association of instrumental activities within highly variable mentoring programs.…”

“…Previous research indicates that the strength of mentoring relationships plays a key role in programs achieving desired outcomes in SBM programs (Bayer et al., ; Lyons & McQuillin, ). In addition, instrumental activities (i.e., constructive feedback and goal‐setting) have also been considered key mechanisms for promoting youth development, and programs that emphasize instrumental activities show promise (McQuillin & Lyons, ). However, the relative merit of these mechanisms (i.e., developmental vs. instrumental) is not well understood.…”

“…Balancing developmental and instrumental activities may be particularly important in SBM programs due to the time‐limited nature of the mentoring relationship. Additionally, instrumental activities provide a basis for researchers and practitioners to understand what occurs in mentoring relationships, thereby making it easier to identify the mechanism for change (McQuillin & Lyons, ). When assessing developmental mentoring outcomes, the activities that the mentor and mentee engage in together are often unclear.…”

“…In fact, there is some evidence that brief‐instrumental (i.e., goal focused) programs are capable of producing positive effects. McQuillin and Lyons (), for example, found moderate, positive changes in student grades and behavior after middle school youth participated in a brief (i.e., 12‐week), goal‐focused, mentoring program. There is concern, however, that goal focused, or instrumental mentoring programs may detract from the construct of mentoring.…”

“…Most evaluation research indicates that on average SBM programs produce small positive effects on some outcomes, but there is considerable variability in the effects (Wheeler, Keller, & DuBois, ). As a result of these findings, researchers have investigated the relations between two theoretical mechanisms through which mentors are thought to influence youth outcomes – the quality of the mentor–mentee relationship and the skills that mentors teach youth (Bayer et al., ; McQuillin & Lyons, ). Rhodes (), for example, described the process of a close mentoring relationship as leading to skills development (i.e., cognitive, social‐emotional, and identity development).…”