What's The Research On...?

What Matters in Mentoring
College students from racial and ethnic groups, and White women, are especially at risk for inadequate mentoring relationships. But relatively little is known about specific factors in a research mentoring relationship that create positive experiences. Unfortunately, research mentors seldom receive training on the mentoring process and are sometimes ill-equipped to assume mentoring roles. Often, the techniques designed to improve mentoring lack a sound base in theory: They don’t employ the extensive research literature on teaching and learning, or the psychology of career development. Mentoring programs are often based on anecdotal evidence and unsubstantiated strategies.

That’s about to be remedied, thanks to this new collaboration. The team uses social cognitive career theory to explore students’ research-related self-efficacy beliefs and their career expectations. Long-term research outcomes should include an increased and diversified number of students who pursue science careers.

The Glass Ceiling
Discrimination for people of color is highest at the point of entry and during the early years of one’s career. Institutions could reduce the glass-ceiling effect on people of color early in their careers by providing mentoring, support networks, and socialization to assist them as they transition into the institution and begin to assume greater levels of responsibility. For those already in senior-level positions, graduate school and early career socialization seems to have been an important component of their success.