New Study Finds Peer Mentors Help Student-Parents Stay in STEM

Contreras Aguirre, H. C., & Long, M. (2026). Balancing academics and parenthood: The impact of a peer mentoring program. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2026.2639463

Introduction

Adult learners, broadly defined as students 25 and older, represent nearly a quarter of all undergraduates in the United States, and many are managing full-time jobs, children, and caregiving responsibilities while pursuing degrees. At community colleges (CCs), this population is especially prominent, yet institutional supports are rarely designed with their lives in mind. Contreras Aguirre and Long (2026) argue that embedded peer mentoring offers a practical, relationship-centered intervention that addresses both the academic and personal pressures adult learners face in STEM coursework.

Methods

The authors conducted the study at a Hispanic-Serving Community College in the Southwest United States, where a peer mentoring program was established in Spring 2023 through a Department of Education Title III grant. Drawing on data collected across the spring and fall 2025 semesters, the researchers employed a qualitative design with three participant groups: 68 student mentees, 20 peer mentors, and 19 faculty members. Data were gathered through virtual focus groups and open-ended post-surveys, then analyzed using inductive thematic coding. The study was guided by Baxter Magolda and King’s (2004) Learning Partnerships Model, which frames knowledge construction as a shared, relational process.

Results

Three themes emerged. First, adult students faced significant, compounding responsibilities, including childcare, employment, and time constraints, that made traditional academic support inaccessible. Second, student parents had distinct unmet needs, including limited scheduling flexibility and, notably, the absence of on-campus childcare. Third, and most critically, peer mentors’ flexibility and in-class accessibility were identified as transformative. Students described peer mentors showing up on weekends, staying for hours before and after class, and offering a level of availability that faculty, given their competing responsibilities, are unlikely to match. Embedding peer mentors directly into STEM courses delivers support where adult learners already are, rather than requiring them to seek it out elsewhere.

Discussion

The findings extend prior applications of the Learning Partnerships Model, which has largely examined faculty-student dynamics, to peer-to-peer relationships among adult learners. The study is among the first to document how in-class peer mentoring supports community college students over the age of 25 navigating simultaneous academic and caregiving roles.

Implications for Mentoring Programs

Peer mentors should receive structured training and scheduling flexibility to accommodate nontraditional students’ availability. Institutions should also address structural gaps, in particular childcare, that peer mentoring alone cannot resolve.

Read the full article here