Expert Corner

What is Your Evidence-Based Mentoring IQ? The Winner is…

by David DuBois I apologize for the delay in following up on my “evidence-based mentoring IQ” posting from May. I appreciate the time (and courage!) of all who took the time to try their hand at the quiz. The winner of the free copy of the new Handbook of Youth Mentoring (2nd edition) is F. […]

Politicians and constituents: Here’s why we do research (and why you should care)

I’m from Texas, where we have our fair share of politicians who don’t get why we do research, how it funds the university system, and why research universities relieve rather than burden state budgets. It appears to me that many in government don’t seem to fully understand how the system and its institutions work to […]

POLL: What short course would most interest YOU?

Our first-ever Short-Course @ UMass Boston (9/30-10/1o: Mentoring youth in the foster care system) was a big success. Based on your many suggestions, and the generosity of both BNY Mellon and UMass Boston, we are delighted to announce that this and all other Short Courses will be offered online. Continuing Education Units will be available […]

Practice Corner: What is the role of natural mentoring?

by Marty Martinez   As an advocate for quality-based mentoring that includes evidence based practices and strategies, I continue to be faced with the question of what role does informal mentoring or natural mentoring relationships have at our table. Time and time again, programs are faced with the need to recruit more caring adults to […]

A call to action on behalf of our nation’s youth

By Rev. W. Wilson Goode, Sr. We are in an interesting season of social and political action.  This is our moment to push this movement to the next level and beyond. This is our season to elevate the status of black men and boys. Back home in Philadelphia the National Urban League is meeting. One […]

Do results apply to my program?: External validity, generalizability, and transferability refer to fairly similar ideas.

by Adar Ben-Eliyahu, Ph.D. Technically speaking there are slight differences in the definitions presented below: External validity– to what extent do the study findings apply to other programs not studied within the particular study? Generalizability  – is this true for other similar programs? Transferability – can this be applied to other programs that are different? […]

Policy Corner: The Breaking Chain Model. Ending the cycle of intergenerational incarceration

 By W. Wilson Goode, Sr. On June 12, 2013, I was designated one of ten champions of change for our work with mentoring children of the incarcerated.  I sat in the room with eleven other honorees, working in various areas of helping to stabilize children of the incarcerated.  Back in 2000 when the Amachi Program started, […]

No longer a drive-by mentor (or how Renee Spencer got me to slow my roll)

Three years ago, Renee Spencer and her colleagues at Boston University published a study exploring what parents think about their child’s mentor. I knew of the article but had not read it carefully. Two months ago, I heard Dr. Spencer talk about this study and had a chance to discuss her findings with other researchers and […]

Program Corner: The Power of Engaging Local Churches in Mentoring

Dave Van Patten (Program Editor): I have known Peter Vanacore for 30 years.  We both worked together in Long Island Youth Guidance, a faith-based mentoring program serving juvenile offenders.  In the early 80’s, nearly 100 churches formed five coalitions that underwrote the costs of running an intensive one-on-one mentoring program in each of their respective towns.  […]

Mentors connecting with mentors

  Editors Note: In this column Gail Manza and Susan Patrick draw from their new book Mentor’s Field Guide, which is framed as a series of 67 answers to the most common questions that arise in youth mentoring.  Question #13: I want to connect with other mentors. How do I do that? First, follow your impulse […]