The impact of mentoring on academic achievement of at-risk youth

Juggling the roles of parents, therapists, friends and teachers – a working model for an integrative conception of mentoring

“…In fact, much research has investigated mentoring to promote academic achievement, which was deemed its chief goal (e.g. August, Realmuto, Hektner, & Bloomquist, 2001;Grossman & Tierney, 1998;Rhodes et al 2000;Thompson & Kelly-Vance, 2001). Due to its effectiveness, Hamilton and Darling (1989) recommend the implementation of instrumental mentoring that focuses on definite goals such as promoting and teaching cognitive, behavioral and social skills, rather than psychological mentoring that concentrates on personality and emotional development.…”

What Counts in After School? Findings from the Massachusetts Afterschool Research Study (MARS)

“…Previous research in afterschool and education has pointed to the importance of program staff in providing a high quality experience for youth (for example, see Commission on Children at Risk, 2003;Pianta, 1999;Rosenthal & Vandell, 1996;Thompson & Kelly-Vance, 2001). Therefore, it is not surprising that a number of staff characteristics in the MARS study had significant relationships with program quality (see Table 3).…”

Mentoring girls in juvenile facilities: Connecting college students with incarcerated girls

“…Although mentoring is increasingly viewed as an effective intervention for at-risk youth, there is a clear lack of research on the positive effects of mentoring (Royse 1998); Slicker and Palmer 1993), particularly with regard to the unique needs and experiences of delinquent girls and youth who are non-white and of lower socio-eeonomie status (Sullivan 1996). In addition, many studies suffer from small sample sizes (Thompson and Kelly-Vance 2001). Clearly, it is important to investigate and recognize the potential of mentoring to produce positive outcomes for at-risk youth.…”