ERIC Number: ED465457
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2002-Jan
Pages: 79
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Mentoring Programs and Youth Development: A Synthesis.
Jekielek, Susan; Moore, Kristin A.; Hair, Elizabeth C.
The mentoring of youth by adults has been identified as one of the more promising program approaches to promoting positive youth outcomes. This synthesis examines the role that mentoring plays in helping youth develop a broad array of strengths and capacities related to: (1) education and cognitive attainment; (2) health and safety; (3) social and emotional well-being; and (4) self-sufficiency. The synthesis describes five mentoring programs that have undergone an experimental evaluation, three programs with non-experimental evaluations, and two quasi-experimental programs. Many of the programs featured mentoring as a component of a comprehensive evaluation, with mentors often recruited from the community and mentored children always at-risk youth. Overall, youth participating in mentoring relationships improved on some educational measures. Mentoring showed promise in helping youth develop healthy and safe behaviors. Mentoring indirectly improved a number of social and behavioral outcomes. However, the impact of mentoring programs on young adult self-sufficiency has not been well researched. Program practices and participant characteristics associated with positive and negative youth outcomes are suggested. The synthesis identifies additional research needs, including the need to compare impact of different program components, models of mentoring relationships, and participant characteristics. Two appendices describe youth mentoring programs and their evaluation studies, and delineate program components offered in addition to mentoring. (Contains 38 references.) (KB)
Descriptors: Adolescent Development, Adolescents, At Risk Persons, Health Promotion, Mentors, Models, Participant Characteristics, Program Effectiveness, Program Evaluation, Well Being, Youth Programs
Child Trends, Inc., 4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC 20008. Tel: 202-362-5580; Fax: 202-362-5533. For full text: http://www.childtrends.org/PDF/MentoringSynthesisFinal2.6.02Jan.pdf.
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, New York, NY.
Authoring Institution: Child Trends, Inc., Washington, DC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A