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A Systematic Review of the Effects of Mentoring Programs in English Learners

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Abstract

English learners are a very diverse population with unique academic, linguistic, social, cultural, and emotional needs. For decades, English learners in the USA have been found to perform significantly lower than their monolingual peers in standardized academic tests. Many efforts to address the academic and language needs of ELs have been documented in the extant literature; however, little research has been conducted on the effects of social mentoring on the diverse needs of ELs. In this paper, we summarize the results of a systematic literature review that examined the benefits, opportunities, and implications of social based mentoring programs for emergent bilinguals in either community or school settings. Although only five studies met our criteria for inclusion, these studies highlight the benefits of using social mentors to support the social, emotional, cultural, linguistic, and academic needs of ELs. Common themes of positive outcomes or reported experiences from participating EL youth or mentors are reported. In addition, we discuss implications of social mentoring under a transformative social-emotional learning (SEL) framework. Limitations of the existing research on mentoring for EL youth and recommendations for future research directions are also discussed.

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Notes

  1. The terms emergent bilinguals (EBs) and English learners (ELs) are used interchangeably in this paper. ELs continue to be the most commonly used term to describe this population in the USA; however, this term has been found to be insensitive and not inclusive of all emergent bilinguals in school settings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas A&M University, College Station, USA

    Sara Castro-Olivo, Kayla Witcher, Hector Rivera & Wualu Altamira

  2. Educational Psychology Department, Texas A&M University, 4225 TAMU, Harrington Tower 704J, College Station, TX, 77384, USA

    Sara Castro-Olivo

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  1. Sara Castro-Olivo
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Castro-Olivo, S., Witcher, K., Rivera, H. et al. A Systematic Review of the Effects of Mentoring Programs in English Learners. Contemp School Psychol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-023-00463-7

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