Premium Essay

Middle School Mentoring Research

Submitted By
Words 1183
Pages 5
Middle school students who are failing academically will become part of the ever increasing dropout statistics in our nation; it is imperative that we seek a solution to the problem (Slack, Johnson, Dodor & Woods). Research suggests relationships formed between mentors and mentees are effective and can contribute to lower dropout rates, healthy relationships and lifestyle choices. In the five articles reviewed, the findings put into perspective the importance of mentoring programs. The articles that were looked at specifically focused on middle age students, as this is an age where things can rapidly change physically, intellectually and socially.
The most common findings of the five articles reviewed found that one-to-one relationships between …show more content…
However, the mentoring program is not only for at-risk students (Slack, Johnson, Dodor & Woods). A total of 59 mentees participated in this study. Mentees completed online surveys that were voluntary and confidential participation. The mentees were also asked to rate five items on a five point Likert scale. The study indicated that the majority of the mentees benefitted from building relationships with their mentors, at the end of the study students reported not experiencing any discipline consequences during the year as well as better …show more content…
Documentation of the characteristics studied had validity, through the use and examination of school records, such as Grade point averages, and attendance records which provides some higher level of credibility as the data is factual and recorded.
Some of the weaknesses identified specifically in the article written by Slack, Johnson, Dodor, and Woods not all subjects were identified as being at-risk youth which can create some offset to the evaluation of “at-risk” youth. In the articles written by Herrera, Grossman, Kuah & McMaken & Slack, Johnson, Dodor, and Woods surveys were self-administered which leaves room for inaccuracies as well as incomplete information, this can potentially skew outcomes

Similar Documents

Free Essay

The Impact of School-Based Mentoring on Youths with Different Relational Profiles

...47, No. 2, 450 – 462 © 2010 American Psychological Association 0012-1649/10/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0021379 The Impact of School-Based Mentoring on Youths With Different Relational Profiles Sarah E. O. Schwartz, Jean E. Rhodes, and Christian S. Chan University of Massachusetts Boston Carla Herrera Public/Private Ventures, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Associations between youths’ relationship profiles and mentoring outcomes were explored in the context of a national, randomized study of 1,139 youths (54% female) in geographically diverse Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based mentoring programs. The sample included youths in Grades 4 –9 from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, the majority of whom were receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Latent profile analysis, a person-oriented approach, was used to identify 3 distinct relational profiles. Mentoring was found to have differential effects depending on youths’ preintervention approach to relationships. In particular, youths who, at baseline, had satisfactory, but not particularly strong, relationships benefited more from mentoring than did youths with profiles characterized by either strongly positive or negative relationships. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Keywords: youth mentoring, parent relationships, teacher relationships, latent profile analysis Youth mentoring programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) pair youths with volunteers who are trained to provide support and guidance...

Words: 12031 - Pages: 49

Premium Essay

Teacher Collaboration

...enduring understanding of strategies and concepts that I implement to help improve learning. The prospect of having these teaching communities for my students will keep them active and involved in classroom, and they will continue to reduce learning gaps as a whole because the better the enduring understanding; leads to the likelihood of a successful learning student. Demographics • Attendance roughly 800 students (85 special needs) ; 55 teachers; 5 administrators • 94% Black; 3% White; 3% Other • 254 6th graders; 246 7th graders; 302 8th graders • 46% Male; 54% Female We have made AYP the past two years, but our administration is not satisfied with that accomplishment. They are continuously researching ways to continue to improve our schools learning efforts. So in saying that, I think that they are very willing to change, and that they are always open to programs and strategies that can help our students to have success in learning. Success brings drive, so when you have some success in collaborating the teachers and administration, you want to continue to get better. I think that the teachers are more of a problem in buying into to change then the administration. You have teachers that are the “traditionals” so they have problems with new strategies that takes away some of there power, so they feel that these changes are not...

Words: 2609 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Dream Stage of It

...strategic intents. Dream Recap Feedback to Date No additional relevant feedback has been received directly from instructor or peers to influence the Dream or Discovery phases. Reiteration of Affirmative Topic and Core Themes The affirmative topic for this project is: “Preventing Drop-outs by Improving Middle School Student Engagement Through CareerStart Academies”. The following core themes were identified during the Discovery phase: * Focus on College and Career. * Raise Student Aspiration and Commitment. * Increase Student Achievement. * Student Selection. * Career Themes Fit the Local Economy. * Community Involvement. Provocative Propositions Focus on college and career. CareerStart Academy’s aim is to prepare all students for post-secondary education and careers. The academies will enable students to complete post-secondary entrance academic requirements while exposing them to a vertical segment of the occupations within a career field, encouraging them to aim as high as they wish. Raise student aspiration and commitment. CareerStart Academy seeks to raise, maintain, and increase the level of students ‘motivation while in school by giving a focus to the program of studies that reflects their own talents, aspirations and interests. Continued personal awareness and exploration, along with curriculum and experiential components and extracurricular choices, also help to provide guidance. The biggest limiting factor in many youths’ future plans...

Words: 785 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Effects of Intervention Programs on the Dropout Rate in High School

...will have On High School Dropouts Male and female A directed study project submitted to the faculty of the Graduate school of business candidacy For the degree of masters of Education Definition of terms………………………………………………………………8 Significance of the study………………………………………………………...9 Organization of the study………………………………………………………..9 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Current Literature…………………………………………………………………….13 III. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODLOGY Research methodology……………………………………………………………….16 IV. FINDINGS Results………………………………………………………………………………..17 V. CONCLUSION Introduction………………………………………………………………………….30 Summary and Conclusion……………………………………………………………31 Recommendations……………………………………………………………………32 REFERENCES References………………………………………………………………………...33 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Context of the problem Every year the statistics reveal that more high school students are dropping out of school at an alarming rate. There are many factors that contribute to the high school dropout rate such as: teen pregnancy, substance abuse and socio-economic standards, peer pressure and familial factors. Three-quarters of state prison inmates are high school drop outs, 90% of the 11,000 youth in adult detention facilities...

Words: 4137 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Developing Asian Leaders

...CORPORATE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL® DECEMBER 2005 www.corporateleadershipcouncil.com LITERATURE KEY FINDINGS Developing Asian Leaders Finding 1: Many Western companies believe they will gain competitive advantage by developing senior Asian leaders due to decreased staffing costs and better navigation of local culture compared to that of expatriates. That said, significant challenges exist for developing local talent, such as a lack of formal extensive education, Western management skills, and language skills. Advantages of Developing Asian Leaders Asian Trend: Sourcing Locally A Hudson Recruitment survey of 500 multinational companies indicates that 87% of companies do not plan to bring in new expatriate employees in the near future. This strategy is expected to avoid the increasing salary costs and lack of local market knowledge common 2 among expatriate new hires. Trend: Developing talent locally—According to a Deloitte Touche Tomatsu study (n=680), local employees will significantly outweigh expatriate talent in senior management positions in China in the coming years. Leaders at multinational firms expect expatriates to only hold 26% of senior positions that they currently hold. Therefore, to compete with other companies in the future, companies should invest now 1 in developing their local leaders. 2 Expatriates are expensive—The primary driver behind localization of the senior leadership in China is cost savings. Costs of expatriates include...

Words: 2830 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

School Counselors

...Technology Mentors on Effective Technology Integration Into the Elementary Classroom by Debra Chester An Applied Dissertation Submitted to the Fischler School of Education and Human Services in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Nova Southeastern University 2008 Approval Page This applied dissertation was submitted by Debra Chester under the direction of the persons listed below. It was submitted to the Fischler School of Education and Human Services and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Nova Southeastern University. Deeb Paul Kitchen, EdD Committee Chair Date Patricia Heiselberg, EdD Committee Member Date Maryellen Maher, PhD Executive Dean for Research and Evaluation Date ii Abstract The Impact of Technology Mentors on Effective Technology Integration Into the Elementary Classroom. Chester, Debra, 2008: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Fischler School of Education and Human Services. Technology Integration/Educational Technology/Teacher Training/Professional Development/ Mentoring The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of mentors to increase the integration of technology, to provide teachers with skills, and to investigate the most effective strategies. Three research questions guided the study: 1. Will the utilization of technology mentors provide teachers with the skills needed to effectively integrate technology...

Words: 23482 - Pages: 94

Premium Essay

Assessing Human Resource Practices Alignment: a Case Study

...ASSESSING HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES ALIGNMENT: A CASE STUDY HERBERT G. HENEMAN III AND A N T H O N Y T. M I L A N O W S K I Research has established the link between HR practices and organizational performance, suggesting that the HR system has great strategic potential to drive organizational effectiveness. To capitalize on this potential, the organization must design and deliver HR practices that focus on necessary employee performance competencies, creating an HR system with vertical and horizontal alignment around those competencies. Doing this requires that the organization first assess how its HR practices are currently aligned and then develop ideas for improving HR practice that will be alignment enhancing. We call this diagnostic process Human Resource Alignment (HRA) assessment. We describe an HRA assessment process we developed and applied in a large public school district for the key job of teacher. The assessment was based on the district’s formal teacher performance competency model used, and was conducted by a group of human resources and instructional job experts from the district. These experts rated the degree of vertical and horizontal alignment and then developed suggestions for HR practice changes that would improve alignment. After describing the process and results, we present a series of lessons learned and directions for future research. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Keywords: strategic human resource management, human resource alignment assessment ...

Words: 10368 - Pages: 42

Premium Essay

Why I Want To Be A SIA

...do some activities outside of campus, but it is all in my comfort zone. Me mentoring at elementary schools is me getting a preview of my future being a teacher and being a part of NSCS is like me being on the honor roll, even though I am experiencing these things as a college student, I am still in my comfort zone. I know as time passes at UMD I will leave my comfort zone and do new things, I feel that I am going to do them alone and that is something that I do not want. I feel that SIA will encourage me to step out of my box quicker but also a comfortable pace for me. SIA will allow me to do things that I would not think is possible for me to do, it will create new experiences for me to try out. Even though I have been on campus for one year, through research, my own personal experience, presentations etc., I know there is a lack of teachers and education majors and I feel that I can bring more awareness and shed more light on the field of education to the community, and to future potential students who view education as a bad thing. I also feel that I can bring more SIA involvement in education and actual schools, whether it is mentoring middle or high school students, or create/partnering up with elementary schools to mentor/tutor elementary students. I feel that if a Latinx based sorority like SIA encourages students in a heavily minority driven place like Langley Park in terms of enjoying school and wanting to go to college regardless of obstacles then I feel that we...

Words: 684 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Education

...education: An appeal for a conceptual shift TEBELLO LETSEKHA 44. 19. Improving schools: The importance of culture JACKY LUMBY Mentorship challenges in the teaching practice of distance learning students 54. 71. A managerial perspective of the role of secondary school learners in the development and implementation of a code of conduct Adolescents' gender stereotypes, differences and other aspects of behaviour in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa C.F. STEINMANN TUNTUFYE MWAMWENDA VOLUME 8 / 2013 29. ELIZE DU PLESSIS Practitioners’ Corner Good policy, bad results: An investigation into the implementation of a plagiarism policy in a faculty at a South African university ESRINA MAGAISA THE INDEPENDENT Formerly The Journal of Independent Teaching and Learning The Independent Journal of Teaching and Learning The Independent Journal of Teaching and Learning is a peer-reviewed journal, which focuses on making a difference to educators at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. It publishes original contributions of interest to researchers and practitioners in the field of education. The following types of contribution will be considered for publication: • research-based empirical, reflective or synoptic articles that would be of interest to the educational practitioner • review articles that critically examine research carried out in a specific field • discussion or advocacy papers suitable for publication...

Words: 32538 - Pages: 131

Free Essay

Research Spotlight on Peer Tutoring

...Research Spotlight on Peer Tutoring NEA Reviews of the Research on Best Practices in Education Found In: teaching strategies 145 Peer tutoring is a term that’s been used to describe a wide array of tutoring arrangements, but most of the research on its success refers to students working in pairs to help one another learn material or practice an academic task. Peer tutoring works best when students of different ability levels work together (Kunsch, Jitendra, & Sood, 2007). During a peer tutoring assignment it is common for the teacher to have students switch roles partway through so that the tutor becomes the one being tutored. Since explaining a concept to another helps extend one’s own learning, this practice gives students the opportunity to understand better the material being studied. What does the research say about peer tutoring? In reviews of peer tutoring programs, researchers found: * When students participated in the role of reading tutor, improvements in reading achievement occurred * When tutors were explicitly trained in the tutoring process, they were far more effective and the students they were tutoring experienced significant gains in achievement * Most of the students benefited from peer tutoring in some way, but same-age tutors were as effective as cross-age tutors (Burnish, Fuchs & Fuchs, 2005; Topping, 2008)  Some benefits of peer tutoring for students include higher academic achievement, improved relationships with peers, improved personal...

Words: 6206 - Pages: 25

Premium Essay

Making a Difference

...professions to make a difference in the next generation. Most middle class Dallasites go about their business and never notice the crumbling middle school around the corner or the kids who go hungry before lunch. But Dan Micciche does. And Dan has made it his life’s work to help those very kids. Dan is a partner at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. He has been recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America by Texas Monthly magazine. Dan has lived in Dallas for 25 years. I first met Dan when he was canvassing our neighborhood seeking votes as he was running for DISD school board, district 3. Last year, Dan was elected to the Dallas school board with 64% of the vote, he was elated. He said “After three months of walking door-to-door it has been a real privilege to meet so many people who are so passionate about improving our neighborhoods and our schools. I have seen how a school can be transformed with the community joins together”. Dan is a man who is small in stature, serious and confident about his vision for Dallas. I asked him about the changes he made at Fannin Elementary and how much he knew about the BIC program; he seemed excited to discuss it. Dan told me he started and chaired his firm’s School Partnership Program with Fannin Elementary in Dallas which essentially “adopted” the school from 2015 to 2012. This included support through mentoring, tutoring, and working with the school to provide supplies and clothing. The program won the...

Words: 612 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Importance of Reserch in Education

...chapter explores the commitments that new teachers bring to their roles and the challenges they face. It sets forth the need for the development of a comprehensive induction program to help all new teachers become fully committed and more effective in the classroom. A CASE OF BEGINNING TEACHING Anna was a first-year teacher in an urban school. Although Business was her undergraduate major, she found her initial foray into the business world to be very unsatisfying. She wanted a career that would allow her to make a contribution to society. She heard about the need for teachers— particularly for math teachers—in her area. Not being quite sure what she needed to do to become eligible to work in a teaching capacity, she attended a recruitment fair put on by the local school district. There she heard about the program that would allow her to begin teaching while she completed work on a teaching credential through a district-led or a university-led alternative certification program. 1 Bartell 01.qxd 7/21/04 5:45 PM Page 1 After taking a test that measured her “basic skills” (reading, math, and writing), she was sent on some interviews at several middle schools. She was hired immediately and was told to sign up for a credential program. She was accepted into a program at a nearby university. She chose the university program because she knew she could earn a credential and a master’s degree at the same time. However, she knew it would take two or more years, including summers, at a pretty...

Words: 7754 - Pages: 32

Premium Essay

Recruiting The USNA

...They encouraged me to research other colleges at a young age. I conducted endless hours of research on schools that appealed to me, it was then I realized the USNA was a custom fit. That’s when my pledge began to become an ideal candidate for the USNA. At age thirteen, I began to study a little more, train a little harder, volunteer more time to those less fortunate. My hard work paid off and I was inducted into the Junior National Honor Society, I won my first five miler (age 13), but above all I learned how rewarding it is to assist those less fortunate by volunteering. In middle school, I was voted most likely to...

Words: 496 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Treatment Versus Punishment - That Is the Question!

...Treatment versus Punishment - That is the Question! CRJ301: Juvenile Justice (BLI1518A) Treatment versus Punishment - That is the Question! For someone who committed a serious crime, prison may be a revelation, but for our youth that commit such crimes, the results could be daunting, even detrimental to the development of the youth. In most instances, the youth does not even realize the consequences to their actions. The juvenile justice system began with the concept parens patriae, meaning when a parent is no longer fit to provide for the welfare of a child, the state must step in and embody that role and provide protection for the wayward or troubled child” (St. Mary’s Law Journal, 2013). The juvenile justice system’s core concept is rehabilitation or change of our youth to the right path. The goal of punishment is not one of revenge, but prevention that the crime will not happen again. Putting our youth in adult prisons, making them face the penalties of such crimes, but if we do this, are we just giving up on our youth, believing that they cannot be rehabilitated? We, the people, need protection for the child that does not know better than to join a gang, the troubled child that comes from a broken home, where both parents are absent or abusive. The people of this community need to make a change for these children so that they will have an opportunity to live a morally healthy life instead of a life of crime. Many questions come up with regard to prosecuting...

Words: 3146 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

National Junior Honor Society Essay

...After conducting extensive research on the history of the National Junior Honor Society, my understanding and appreciation of what this program represents and offers have deepened immensely. It is truly an honor to be considered for membership in the Copiague Middle School chapter of the National Junior Honor Society. To have the opportunity to be a part of a community that takes pride in motivating students to inspire other young people to be selfless, to become leaders, and thrive academically is heartwarming. Furthermore, being recognized as a dedicated and tenacious student who loves helping people, mentoring, and encouraging others to pay it forward has inspired me to continue to welcome challenges and inspire positive change within myself as well...

Words: 527 - Pages: 3