by Jean Rhodes Researchers and practitioners often refer to Homer’s Odyssey, when discussing the ancient roots of mentoring. In it Odysseus appoints an old friend, Mentor, to watch over his household and son, Telemachus, in his absence during the Trojan War. By nearly all accounts Mentor was a protective, guiding and supportive figure who acted […]
by Jean Rhodes Early in my career, I developed a conceptual model of youth mentoring that, to my surprise, has been a remarkably durable and useful heuristic. It has been applied to formal and natural mentoring relationships and used to explain everything from short-term, goal-focused relationships with classroom volunteers to lifelong bonds with devoted grandparents. […]
by Jean Rhodes “The way a problem is defined determines not only what is done about it, but also what is not done—or what apparently need not be done.” Caplan, N., & Nelson, S. D. (1973). On being useful: The nature and consequences of psychological research on social problems. American Psychologist, 28(3), 199-211. According to data […]
Levi Van Dam, L., Wildschut, B., Smit, D., Branje, S., Rhodes, J., Assink, M., Stams, G. J., (in press). Does natural mentoring matter? A multilevel meta-analysis on the association between natural mentoring and youth outcomes. American Journal of Community Psychology. By Levi Van Dam and Jean Rhodes Natural mentoring relationships are far more common than those […]
by Jean Rhodes My friend Rick recently shared a graduation photo with his long-time mentee that conveyed so much love and pride I was moved to tears. Rick and Kevin were paired through a program that embraces the “friendship” model. Rather than take a focused, skills approach, Rick was tasked only with forging a close, […]
by Jean Rhodes Research on early terminations in therapy, including the specific behaviors and attitudes that increase their likelihood, is relevant to mentoring relationships. Nearly half of all therapeutic ties terminate prematurely, owing to a variety of factors. Sometimes parents or spouses sabotage the process; sometimes clients reenact earlier, dysfunctional behaviors; and sometimes clients are dissatisfied […]
“Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshiped and fondled like a priceless diamond.” -Hunter S. Thompson by Jean Rhodes Let us take a moment to recognize an extraordinary mentoring program that recently produced remarkably promising findings. The Arches Transformative Mentoring program has delivered […]
By Jean Rhodes In a recent JAMA psychiatry paper, Boston University researchers described a very effective strategy for helping depressed, overwhelmed low-income young women engage in active problem solving. In just six 45 minute one-on-one sessions, the women learned how to discuss the daily “sticky points” in their lives and then, as the lead author […]
by Jean Rhodes For the past year, I’ve been writing a book on mentoring and, as I pull together the many threads of history, social policy, and research, an interesting picture is emerging. One that raises uncomfortable questions about mentoring in the age inequality. Mentoring as a field can trace its lineage to the progressive […]
by Jean Rhodes Over the past few decades, considerable federal, state, and foundation resources have been invested in research and evaluation aimed at improving the evidence base of youth mentoring. This can be seen in the rigorous evaluations of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, the National Guard Youth […]
MentorPROFebruary 21, 2023 - MentorPRO is a leading digital tool platform to support educators to build developmental relationships with their students in easy and fun ways.
AlongMarch 30, 2022 - In support of our continued conversation on how to support today’s youth, this issue of the Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring is proudly sponsored by Along, a free digital tool designed to support educators to build developmental relationships with their students in easy and fun ways.
MENTOR: The National Mentoring PartnershipNovember 12, 2014 - MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) is the unifying champion for expanding quality youth mentoring relationships in the United States. For nearly 25 years, MENTOR has served the mentoring field by providing a public voice, developing and delivering resources to mentoring programs nationwide and promoting quality for mentoring through standards, cutting-edge research and state of the art tools.
Academic Web PagesAugust 6, 2012 - Academic Web Pages is the leading provider of customized websites for researchers, centers, nonprofits, and universities. AWP designed and has contributed generously to the creation of the Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring.
