The Deaf Mentoring Survey: A Community Cultural Wealth Framework for Measuring Mentoring Effectiveness with Underrepresented Students

Abstract

We describe the development of a next-generation mentoring survey drawing from prior surveys, capital theory, and critical race theory, with the goal of improving mentoring for students from underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This survey focused on deaf mentees. The results show that the mentor’s cultural competence affected mentoring experiences.

“Everyone Was Nice…But I Was Still Left Out”: An Interview Study About Deaf Interns’ Research Experiences in STEM

“…We developed the interview protocol based on our research question and previous work (5). Interviews focused on communication problems and effective strategies (Table 1).…”

“…In contrast, research experiences involve intense interaction, with commensurate benefits. Unfortunately, these interactions are predominantly with faculty who have little to no experience working with deaf students and who may have preconceptions about deafness (4,5). …”

“…The literature has shown that not having cultural competency and an understanding of deaf students’ life experiences negatively affects research experiences (5,6). Conversely, when mentors do understand an underrepresented mentee’s minority culture, mentees have improved outcomes, including higher graduating GPA and graduation rates (6).…”

“…Consequently, students may feel left behind, and information gaps may impact their research experiences. Deaf students may have difficulty with informal communication with lab-mates, resorting to indirect communication methods such as written notes or e-mail (5, 7). …”

“…Knowing the importance of cultural competency (5, 6), we interviewed deaf undergraduates and asked how they navigated internships with hearing mentors. We hypothesized that internships were successful when deaf students advocated for themselves and educated their mentors.…”