Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Examining the Mentoring Approaches of African-American Mentors

  • ARTICLES
  • Published:
Journal of African American Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Understanding and identifying the mentoring approaches of African-American mentors may shed light on practices that can be implemented in higher education to help increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) graduates. This exploratory research seeks to identify the mentoring approaches that African-American mentors use to help their African-American undergraduate protégés persist and succeed in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors. Multiple interviews were conducted with ten African-American mentors from academia, government, and industry/non-profit sectors. Using an interpretivist lens, interview transcripts were thematically coded and analyzed to produce the most emergent themes about mentoring approaches. Findings indicate mentors use familial, guidance and resource acquisition, and empathetic mentoring approaches. These approaches promote the development of protégés’ sense of community and STEM identities to support student persistence. The intent of this study is to establish a foundation for future research to examine and identify the characteristics of mentoring practices and approaches that may assist URMs pursuing STEM degrees.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander Jr., C. N., & Beggs, J. J. (1986). Disguising personal inventories: A situated identity strategy. Social Psychology Quarterly, 49, 192–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, C. N. Jr., & Wiley, M. G. (1981). Situated activity and identity formation. In M. Rosenberg, R. H. Turner, (Eds.), Social psychology: Sociological perspectives (pp. 269–289). New York: Basic Books.

  • Allen, T., & Eby, L. (2011). The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach. United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alston, G. D., Guy, B. S., & Campbell, C. D. (2017). Ready for the professoriate? The influence of mentoring on career development for Black male graduate students in STEM. Journal of African American Males in Education, 8(1), 45–66.

  • Angelique, H., Kyle, K., & Taylor, E. (2002). Mentors and muses: New strategies for academic success. Innovative Higher Education, 26(3), 195–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Apprey, M., Preston-Grimes, P., Bassett, K. C., Lewis, D. W., & Rideau, R. M. (2014). From crisis management to academic achievement: A university cluster-mentoring model for Black undergraduates. Peabody Journal of Education, 89(3), 318–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blake-Beard, S. D., Bayne, M. L., Crosby, F. J., & Muller, C. B. (2011). Matching by race and gender in mentoring relationships: Keeping our eyes on the prize. Journal of Social Issues, 67(3), 622–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonner II, F. A. (2010). Focusing on achievement: African American student persistence in the academy. In M. C. Terrell & T. L. Strayhorn (Eds.), The Evolving Challenges of Black College Students: New Insights for Policy, Practice, and Research (pp. 66–84). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brittian, A. S., Sy, S. R., & Stokes, J. E. (2009). Mentoring: Implications for African American college students. Western Journal of Black Studies, 33(2), 87–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, D. L. (2008). African American resiliency: Examining racial socialization and social support as protective factors. Journal of Black Psychology, 34(1), 32–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casto, C., Caldwell, C., & Salazar, C. F. (2005). Creating mentoring relationships between female faculty and students in counselor education: Guidelines for potential mentees and mentors. Journal of Counseling & Development, 83(3), 331–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Church, A. (2010). STEM mentoring-aspiration to achievement. Lynchburg, VA: National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ930653&site=ehost-live. Accessed 24 June 2015.

  • Clayton, T. B. (2009). The role of race and gender in the mentoring experiences and career success of African American female senior executive administrators in higher education. ProQuest LLC, Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED516058&site=ehost-live Available from EBSCOhost eric database. Accessed 02 Feb 2015.

  • Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darling, N., Bogat, G. A., Cavell, T. A., Murphy, S. E., & Sánchez, B. (2006). Gender, ethnicity, development, and risk: Mentoring and the consideration of individual differences. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(6), 765–780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darwin, A., & Palmer, E. (2009). Mentoring circles in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 28(2), 125–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eby, L., & Lockwood, A. (2005). Proteges’ and mentors’ reactions to participating in formal mentoring programs: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67(3), 441–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eby, L., Rhodes, J., & Allen, T. (2007). Definition and evolution of mentoring. In L. Eby & T. Allen (Eds.), The Blackwell Handbook of Mentoring (pp. 7–20). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foor, C. E., Walden, S. E., & Trytten, D. A. (2007). “I wish that I belonged more in this whole engineering group:” achieving individual diversity. Journal of Engineering Education, 96(2), 103–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gammel, J. A., & Rutstein-Riley, A. A relational approach to mentoring women doctoral students. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2016, 2016(147), 27–35.

  • Gershenfeld, S. (2014). A review of undergraduate mentoring programs. Review of Educational Research, 84(3), 365–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gotian, R. (2016). Mentoring the mentors: Just because you have the title doesn’t mean you know what you are doing. College Student Journal, 50(1), 1–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, S. M. B. (2015). Our stories, our voices: How PhD students of color view mentoring in science and engineering graduate programs.

  • Griffin, K. A. (2013). Voices of the “othermothers”: Reconsidering Black professors’ relationships with Black students as a form of social exchange. The Journal of Negro Education, 82(2), 169–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, K. A., & Reddick, R. J. (2011). Surveillance and sacrifice gender differences in the mentoring patterns of Black professors at predominantly white research universities. American Educational Research Journal, 48(5), 1032–1057.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gutiérrez y Muhs, G., Niemann, Y. F., González, C. G., & Harris, A. P. (2012). Presumed incompetent: The intersections of race and class for women in academia. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haggard, D. L., Dougherty, T. W., Turban, D. B., & Wilbanks, J. E. (2011). Who is a mentor? A review of evolving definitions and implications for research. Journal of Management, 37(1), 280–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, E. F. (2005). Approaches to mentoring: How to mentor and be mentored. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 17(11), 442–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirsch, B. J., Mickus, M., & Boerger, R. (2002). Ties to influential adults among Black and White adolescents: Culture, social class, and family networks. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 289–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson-Ahorlu, R. N. (2013). “Our biggest challenge is stereotypes”: Understanding stereotype threat and the academic experiences of African American undergraduates. The Journal of Negro Education, 82(4), 382–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, R., & Brown, D. (2011). The mentoring relationship as a complex adaptive system: Finding a model for our experience. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 19(4), 401–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karcher, M. J., Kuperminc, G. P., Portwood, S. G., Sipe, C. L., & Taylor, A. S. (2006). Mentoring programs: A framework to inform program development, research, and evaluation. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(6), 709–725.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kram, K. E. (1983). Phases of the mentor relationship. Academy of Management Journal, 26(4), 608–625.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leavitt, C. C. (2011). Developing leaders through mentoring: A brief literature review. In (ED517965 ed.): ERIC.

  • Lunsford, L. G., Baker, V., Griffin, K. A., & Johnson, W. B. (2013). Mentoring: A typology of costs for higher education faculty. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 21(2), 126–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons, B. D., & Oppler, E. S. (2004). The effects of structural attributes and demographic characteristics on protégé satisfaction in mentoring programs. Journal of Career Development, 30(3), 215–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maton, K. I., Hrabowski, F. A., & Pollard, S. A. (2011). African American males in the Meyerhoff scholars program: Outcomes and processes. Diversity in Higher Education, 11, 47–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maton, K. I., Beason, T. S., Godsay, S., Sto. Domingo, M. R., Bailey, T. C., Sun, S., & Hrabowski III, F. A. (2016). Outcomes and processes in the Meyerhoff scholars program: STEM PhD completion, sense of community, perceived program benefit, science identity, and research self-efficacy. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(3), ar48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClain, O. L. (2014). Negotiating identity: A look at the educational experiences of Black undergraduates in STEM disciplines. Peabody Journal of Education, 89(3), 380–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, J. L., Madison-Colmore, O., & Smith, D. M. (2003). The prove-them-wrong syndrome: Voices from unheard African-American males in engineering disciplines. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 12(1), 61–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mondisa, J. L. (2015a). In the mentor's mind: Examining the experiences of African-American STEM mentors in higher education (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/docview/1736117866?accountid=14667

  • Mondisa, J. L. (2015b, September). Increasing diversity in higher education by examining African-American STEM mentors’ mentoring approaches. In Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL), 2015 International Conference on (pp. 321–326). IEEE.

  • Mondisa, J. L. (2016, June), Capturing Our Stories in Our Voices: Constructing a Narrative Analysis Study of African-American STEM Mentors Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. https://doi.org/10.18260/p.26448.

  • Mondisa, J. L., & McComb, S. A. (2015). Social community: A mechanism to explain the success of STEM minority mentoring programs. Mentoring & tutoring: Partnership in learning, 23(2), 149–163.

  • Mondisa, J. L., & McComb, S. A. (2018). The role of social community and individual differences in minority mentoring programs. Mentoring & tutoring: Partnership in learning, 26(1), 91–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2018.1445432.

  • Museus, S. D. (2010). Delineating the ways that targeted support programs facilitate minority students’ access to social networks and development of social capital in college. Enrollment Management Journal, 4(3), 10–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, D. J. & Brammer, C. N. (2010). A national analysis of minorities in science and engineering faculties at research universities. Retrieved from http://chem.ou.edu/~djn/diversity/Faculty_Tables_FY07/FinalReport07.html. Accessed 10 Aug 2016.

  • Palmer, R. T., & Young, E. M. (2010). The uniqueness of an HBCU environment: How a supportive campus climate promotes student success. In M. C. Terrell & T. L. Strayhorn (Eds.), The Evolving Challenges of Black College Students: New Insights for Policy, Practice, and Research (pp. 138–161). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascarella, E. T., Terenzini, P. T., & Feldman, K. A. (2005). How College Affects Students (Vol. 2). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfund, C., Byars-Winston, A., Branchaw, J., Hurtado, S., & Eagan, K. (2016). Defining attributes and metrics of effective research mentoring relationships. AIDS and Behavior, 20(2), 238–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ragins, B. R., & Kram, K. E. (2007a). The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research, and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ragins, B. R., & Kram, K. E. (2007b). The roots and meaning of mentoring. In B. R. Ragins & K. E. Kram (Eds.), The Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research, and Practice (pp. 3–15). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasheem, S., Alleman, A., Mushonga, D., Anderson, D., & Vakalahi, H. F. (2018). Mentor-shape: exploring the mentoring relationships of Black women in doctoral programs. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 26(1), 50–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2018.1445443.

  • Reddick, R. J. (2012). Male faculty mentors in Black and White. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 1(1), 36–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Revelo, R. A., & Loui, M. C. (2016). A developmental model of research mentoring. College Teaching, 64(3), 119–129.

  • Rockquemore, K., & Laszloffy, T. A. (2008). The Black academic’s guide to winning tenure--without losing your soul. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, M. S., Capobianco, B. M., & Godwin, A. (2017). Repositioning race, gender, and role identity formation for Black women in engineering. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 23(1), 37–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saddler, T. (2010). Mentoring and African American undergraduates’ perceptions of academic success. The Evolving Challenges of Black College Students: New Insights for Policy, Practice, and Research, 1, 179–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuman, D. (1982). Policy analysis, education, and everyday life: An empirical reevaluation of higher education in America. Lexington, MA: DC Heath.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schunk, D. H., & Mullen, C. A. (2013). Toward a conceptual model of mentoring research: Integration with self-regulated learning. Educational Psychology Review, 25(3), 361–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seidman, I. (2012). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. New York: Teachers college press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, J. R., & Williams, A. M. (2012). The role of stereotype threats in undermining girls’ and women’s performance and interest in STEM fields. Sex Roles, 66(3–4), 175–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, D. K. & Stoloff, D. L. (2003). Mentoring faculty of color. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, New Orleans, LA.

  • Singh, R., Chresfield, K., & Salau, Y. (2012). Listening to students: The power of the posse. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 44(1), 64–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snead-McDaniel, K. (2010). Exploration of the lived experiences of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics minority students. ProQuest LLC, Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED522517&site=ehost-live. Available from EBSCOhost eric database. Accessed 21 Aug 2017.

  • Solorzano, D., Ceja, M., & Yosso, T. (2000). Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: The experiences of African American college students. Journal of Negro Education, 69(1/2), 60–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stake, R. E. (2010). Qualitative research: Studying how things work. New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steele, C. M. (2003). Stereotype threat and African-American student achievement. In T. Perry, C. M. Steele, & A. Hilliard III (Eds.), Young, gifted, and black: Promoting high achievement among African-American students (pp. 109–130). Boston: Beacon.

  • Steele, C. M. (2011). Whistling Vivaldi: How stereotypes affect us and what we can do (issues of our time). New York, NY: WW Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolle-McAllister, K., Sto. Domingo, M. R., & Carrillo, A. (2011). The Meyerhoff way: How the Meyerhoff scholarship program helps Black students succeed in the sciences. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(1), 5–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strayhorn, T. L. (2015). Factors influencing Black males’ preparation for college and success in STEM majors: A mixed methods study. Western Journal of Black Studies, 39(1), 45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, G. D., & Hollenshead, C. (2001). Resisting from the margins: The coping strategies of Black women and other women of color faculty members at a research university. Journal of Negro Education, 70(3), 166–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winkle-Wagner, R. (2015). Having their lives narrowed down? The state of Black women’s college success. Review of Educational Research, 85(2), 171–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, A. M., Cady, S., & Foxon, M. J. (2006). Demystifying gender differences in mentoring: Theoretical perspectives and challenges for future research on gender and mentoring. Human Resource Development Review, 5(2), 148–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, 2785 IOE, 1205 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Joi-Lynn Mondisa

Authors
  1. Joi-Lynn Mondisa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joi-Lynn Mondisa.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mondisa, JL. Examining the Mentoring Approaches of African-American Mentors. J Afr Am St 22, 293–308 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-018-9411-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-018-9411-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation