How Near-Peer Mentoring Can Shape STEM Identity in Students of Color

Anderson, R. C., Bousselot, T., Madison, E., Kim, M. H., & Husman, J. (2025). The development of science identity through near peer mentoring and research experiences. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 97, 101765. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101765

Introduction
In their recent study, Anderson and colleagues (2025) explore how brief, near-peer mentored research experiences can catalyze science identity development in racially diverse high school students. Their findings offer insight into how short-term research experience programs (REPs) can foster durable shifts in self-concept, career aspiration, and motivation, particularly when those programs are grounded in identity-congruent mentorship.

Methods
Using a longitudinal comparative case study design, the researchers followed five students of color (three male, two female, and each paired with a near-peer mentor also from an underrepresented group) over two and a half years. The students participated in a three-day intensive REP on a Pacific Northwest university campus, and through daily lab sessions, video blogging, interviews, and informal social time, they engaged in authentic scientific practices and reflective dialogue.

Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews immediately after the REP, and again two and a half years later. A longitudinal comparative case study design allowed the team to explore identity and pathway development across time, using thematic analysis and replication logic (Yin, 2014) to highlight within- and across-case trends.

Results
Students reported lasting shifts in science identity and academic motivation. Nova, a Black female participant, described newfound confidence and a “curiosity of a scientist.” Katie, a Vietnamese-American student, cited her mentor’s advice to embrace discomfort in non-diverse STEM settings as transformative. Male students expressed increased STEM interest and course-taking, but placed less emphasis on bias and identity challenges. Across cases, students highlighted the significance of lab immersion, mentor modeling, and a sense of belonging. Near-peer mentors helped students reframe challenges, validate communal goals, and see themselves as potential scientists.

Discussion
Findings emphasize that even short-term, identity-congruent mentorship can produce developmental shifts, especially for students marginalized by race and gender. Female students of color described the REP as a “counterspace” where their identities were affirmed and their STEM aspirations strengthened. The study also confirms predictions from identity-based motivation theory (Oyserman & Destin, 2010), showing that students are more likely to pursue science pathways when those pathways align with their lived experiences and communal values. In contrast, male participants, while positively affected, focused more on practical benefits and less on issues of bias or identity negotiation.

Implications for Mentoring Programs
The study highlights the critical role of identity-aligned, near-peer mentorship in fostering science identity among diverse youth. Programs should prioritize mentor-mentee pairings based on shared identities, integrate opportunities for structured reflection, and design REPs that validate cultural and communal values. Even brief engagements can be powerful when thoughtfully structured.

Read the full paper here