Diverse Applications of Sociological Imagination: A Qualitative Study of Service-Learning Mentoring

This project expands discussions regarding critical ways that students’ diverse backgrounds and experiences intertwine with service-learning and social justice. Educators need to empower the next generation to explore their views, apply their skills, and engage with social issues. The research intersects with complex conversations about students’ perspectives regarding media representations, justice system responses, and views of at-risk youth. The project spanned four semesters of a sociology of media and crime course with service-learning mentoring. Qualitative reflection data drawn from 104 participating student mentors provided insights into how service-learners’ unique personal histories and sociological imaginations inform their views of youth, the mentoring experience, and social justice. The findings focus attention upon diversity within classrooms and expand the conversation about social justice praxis and service-learning pedagogy. Through reflexivity, the researchers consider their own social justice and service-learning practices, and add to the call for greater reflexivity within community-engaged sociology classrooms.

STUDENT MENTOR'S IDEAL FEATURES: PEER CHOICE

Introduction: A student mentor is someone who shares his or her knowledge with a less experienced colleague in order to help the other developing his or her full academic potential by providing him/ her with the right guidance and support during his learning, social and academic integration processes. Objective: To assess the features higher education students consider to be the most effective characteristics their Student Peer Mentor should possess. Method: A descriptive-exploratory study, with a cross-sectional focus, involving a sample of 306 higher education health students, with a mean age of 21.15 (± 3,540) years. 81.7% of the participants are female. Data collection was achieved using Cunha’s Ideal Mentor Faces Scale (2017) with images adapted from Botas, Gabriel & Welling, (1997/1998). Results: Results show that 61.8% of the students surveyed would like to be student mentors and that most participants (54.2%) look at their ideal mentor as someone who possesses positive features, while 12,1% of the participants would choose for their ideal mentor a student whose features might suggest the existence of a risk profile. Finally, and paradoxically, 33.7% of them would choose a student mentor who tends to exhibit certain negative features. Positive characteristics were granted the highest mean values. Those values ranged between Satisfied (68%), Tranquil (78.1%); Optimistic (85%); Confident (88.2%) and Interested (87.9%). Conclusions: Results suggest that higher education students value the existence of student mentors with positive features/characteristics and realize that their existence is of great pedagogical importance. Therefore, there is now a greater need to ask higher education students to participate in Mentoring programs implemented with the support of second or third year Student Mentors who, on a voluntary basis, using their experiences and academic experiences can supervise incoming first year students (Mentee Students) in order to facilitate their integration and their adaptation to the different dimensions (pedagogical, scientific, social and any other) of the academic environment.

The Role of Student Support in the Implementation of the Russian-Finnish Program “Skilful Class”

The article is devoted to the consideration of the role of student support in the adaptation of the Finn-ish short-term program of skills formation “Skilful Class” on the territory of Russia. The program is realizing in Russian educational organizations within the framework of joint projects of Moscow State University of Psychology & Education and Helsinki Brief Therapy Institute. The implementation of projects is realizing with the accompaniment of student-mentors, whose participation, presumably, has a positive effect on the effectiveness of the “Skilful Class” program. The article considers the in-teraction between children and student-mentors from the point of view of their generational commu-nity, as well as the creation of a supportive community in the process of skill formation. Information about the methodological basis of the program is given and the 15-step algorithm of its action is de-scribed, with the rationale for the participation of student-mentors in its implementation. A number of psychological problems for the prevention of which the program is used by foreign and Russian specialists are indicated.

Mentorship Experiences of Doctoral Students: Understanding Desired Attributes of Doctoral Student Mentors

Background: Mentorship is a critical aspect of the professional development of the doctoral student who wishes to pursue a role in higher education. Continued understanding is needed regarding the needs of the doctoral student when it comes to mentorship. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the needs of a doctoral student from their mentoring relationships, as they work towards their terminal degree. Methods: This is a descriptive, phenomenological qualitative research study within universities that offer doctoral education. One-on-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted using Zoom video conference technology. Each interview, after transcribed, was analyzed following the step-wise approach of a phenomenological study. Credibility was established by 1) research triangulation, 2) bracketing/reflexivity, and 3) peer review. Results: Twelve doctoral students (7 females, 5 males) who were enrolled in doctoral programs with a focus on allied health or exercise science completed the Zoom interviews. Our participants were an average age of 28 3 years, and all twelve had graduate assistantship positions in association with their doctoral programs. Three main themes materialized from the data analyses including 1) guided autonomy, 2) humanistic nature, and 3) professional advocate. Doctoral students want guidance to develop the technical skills necessary for success by providing opportunities to perform with the chance to gain feedback. Mentors were identified as needing to demonstrate humanistic qualities that were rooted in being interpersonal. The importance of a mentor serving as a professional advocate to help the student grow and develop as a professional was also discussed. Conclusions: Doctoral students need their mentors to demonstrate both personal and professional attributes in the mentor relationship. Specifically, they are looking for guidance and feedback through independent learning, as well as a mentor who values them, is relatable, and is invested in their development as a professional.

Mentoring Black Teens during National Pandemics: Mutually Beneficial Service

Black youth face systemic educational and social barriers that impede their development and achievement. Research shows that mentoring equips youth to tackle these barriers and use their racial background as an asset. Additionally, college students have limited opportunities to engage in long-term service to local communities. The Heads Up Teen Mentoring Program was begun in September 2019 to provide local Black teens access to Black role models committed to helping them achieve their goals. We currently serve five local Black teens and pair them with five Black graduate student mentors. We engage in monthly group and one-on-one sessions with our teens to provide safe spaces for teens to build life skills and decompress. In this essay, we reflect on how our service as mentors has impacted both our teens and ourselves. We focus our reflection on how we are addressing challenges brought on by the COVID-19 and longstanding police brutality pandemics. Specifically, we have found virtual ways to continue group engagement such as virtual game nights, virtual escape rooms, and weekly challenges using group messaging. We also hosted a virtual healing session for our teens addressing systemic racism with a licensed psychologist and added monthly check-in sessions where teens can unload their stresses. We have learned that our teens struggle through these pandemics in ways similar to us, except they lack safe spaces to unpack these challenges. Teens value having a mentor to talk with who is genuinely interested in their growth. We, as mentors, value the opportunity to invest in Black youth and appreciate this service-based opportunity to develop leadership and mentoring skills. Offering virtual programming to address teens' concerns has been a mutually beneficial form of service by creating a safe space for both teens’ and mentors’ development and well-being.

Utilizing Medical Students As Patient Mentors: An Intervention to Improve Transition Readiness in Young Adults with Sickle Cell Disease

Background:Advances in medical care have resulted in nearly 95% of all children with sickle cell disease (SCD) living to adulthood. Standardized transition programming does not currently exist, resulting in high rates of mortality and morbidity among young adults (YA) during the transition period. Mentoring and social support have been used to impact health behavior change. Medical student mentors can serve as mentors offering specialized support for YA. This study examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a medical student mentor intervention to improve transition outcomes for YAs with SCD. Methods:24 YA with sickle cell disease and 9 medical student mentors enrolled in the intervention. Feasibility and acceptability of the intervention was assessed through enrollment rates, reasons for refusal, retention rates, engagement with the intervention, satisfaction, and reasons for drop-out. The preliminary efficacy of the intervention among patient participants was assessed using dependent t-tests to evaluate changes in transition readiness, health related quality of life, self-efficacy, SCD knowledge medication adherence, and health literacy. Among medical student mentor participants, changes in attitudes towards chronic illness and SCD knowledge were explored. Results:Patient participants demonstrated adequate enrollment (63.2%), retention (75.0%), and adherence to the intervention (88.3%) and rated the intervention components highly. Patient participants demonstrated significant improvements in transition readiness (p= .001), self-efficacy (p= .002), medication adherence (p= .02), and health literacy (p= .05). Medical students also demonstrated significant improvements in SCD knowledge (p= .01). Discussion:A medical student mentor intervention to facilitate transition from pediatric to adult care for young adults with SCD is both feasible and acceptable to patients and medical students. Preliminary evidence suggests such an intervention may provide dual benefit for both patients and students. A randomized controlled trial is needed to evaluate efficacy. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

The Benefits of Academically Oriented Peer Mentoring for At-Risk Student Populations

This article examines an academically oriented peer-mentoring program at St. John’s University. The program targeted at-risk first-year students who were having difficulty making the transition to college and matched them with trained student mentors within their major discipline. In addition to meeting with one another bi-weekly, all of the students came together for a series of organized events over the course of the academic year. The goals of the program were that mentees would (1) feel an increased sense of belonging at the university, (2) raise their GPAs, and (3) show improved retention to the second year. After examining how successful the program was relative to these goals, the authors recommend some best practices for peer-mentoring programs. These recommendations are based on both features of the program in the study that contributed to its success and areas where the program could have been improved based on the results.