Mentoring in the Preparation of Graduate Researchers of Color

Abstract

Schools of graduate education in the United States continue to be challenged to attract and retain students of color. We argue that effective mentoring within a department can improve multicultural students' graduate school experience and better position them for success in their postdoctoral careers. To be an effective mentor, a faculty member must cultivate understanding of the experience of students from various cultural backgrounds. This task is especially challenging for White faculty members because of societal dynamics involving race and ethnicity. We propose actions to help faculty members enhance their multicultural competence in mentoring.

An Analysis of Doctoral Dissertations Based on the Sex of Supervisors: A Case of Sociology Departments in Turkey

“…Supervisors provide immediate and constructive feedback regarding a student's attempts to understand nature [16]. Supervisor who supervises doctoral students' professional development and formalizes their disciplinary identities during academic socialization experiences [17] is not easy to find due to supervising characterized as activities and interactions that may be related to work, skill development, and social or emotional sides of the supervisor [18].…”

The Role of Attachment in Faculty Mentoring

“…In order to mentor competently to promote the protégé's career development, the mentor might need to explain certain aspects of his or her own culture to the protégé (Davidson & Foster-Johnson, 2001). …”

“…Intercultural communication involved the ability to identify barriers such as misinterpretation of nonverbal cues, and lack of language fluency that resulted from differences in modes and styles of communication (Davidson & Foster-Johnson, 2001). Research findings about mentoring functions and mentoring outcomes as they relate to culture are presented below.…”

Island Diasporas: Perceptions of Indo-Caribbean Protégés Regarding the Effects of their Cross-Cultural Mentoring Experiences in the United States

“…Low-income students, first-generation students, specific immigrant groups, women and students of color often complete degrees at unacceptably low rates (Davidson & Foster-Johnson, 2001;Freeman, 1999;Lee, 1999;Meritosis, 2005;Nettles, 1999). Mentoring serves to increase aspirations, persistence and achievement of minority students who would otherwise not attend or succeed in college (NATN, 2002;Fields, 2002;Hurte, 2002;Mayo, Murguia, & Padilla, 1995;Shutlz, Coulton & Coulton, 2001;Tinto, 1993).…”

“…Good crosscultural mentoring relationships however require participants' willingness to acknowledge and understand the experiences of those from diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds (Davidson & Foster-Johnson, 2001;Wright-Harp & Cole, 2008). …”