Posts

New study explores how teacher-child relationships shape children’s educational expectations

Davis, A. L., & McQuillin, S. D. (2023). Exploring changes in the teacher-child relationship and children’s educational expectations. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 87, 101564. Summarized by Saniya Soni About this Study Student-teacher relationships play a crucial role in children’s development. Children who perceive their teachers as caring and supportive tend to adapt better to […]

At the Heart of Mentorship, a Q&A with Dr. Hilary Dutton

Dr. Hilary Dutton is a Pākehā/Māori (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) youth development researcher at the University of Canterbury. Her research focuses on the relational processes that contribute to developing high quality mentoring relationships, particularly self-disclosure. In 2021 she was awarded a Rutherford Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship to undertake a two-year project exploring youth perspectives on disclosure in youth-adult […]

The Power of Mentoring and Employment Assistance for Youth in Foster Care

Leathers, S., Holtschneider, C., Ludington, M., Ross, E. V., & Barnett, J. L. (2023). Mentoring, Employment Assistance, and Enhanced Staff Outreach for Older Youth in Care: Outcomes from a Randomized Controlled Trial. Children and Youth Services Review, 107095. Summarized by Ellen Parry Luff About the Study This study investigated the effectiveness of the Adult Connections […]

New study explores how teacher-student bonds can promote wellbeing

Whitaker, R. C., Dearth-Wesley, T., Herman, A. N., Benz, T. L., Saint-Hilaire, S. A., & Strup, D. D. (2023). The Association Between Teacher Connection and Flourishing Among Early Adolescents in 25 Countries. The Journal of Early Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1177/02724316231190828 Summarized by Ariel Ervin About the Study With adolescents’ mental health declining worldwide, there is an urgent […]

Mature teacher playing piano and rehearsing song with children while they standing with notes around her in music class

Transforming Children’s Attitudes to Disability with the Power of Music and Mentoring

Mentors helping students prepare for college: More than just making the grade

Woods, C. & Preciado, M. (2016). Student–Mentor Relationships and Students’ College Attitudes. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR), 21(2), 90-103. DOI: 10.1080/10824669.2015.1127767 Summarized by Justin Preston   Introduction Research has demonstrated that low-income high school students are less likely to plan for college, apply to selective colleges and universities, and complete a […]

Lessons From Generation Work on Incorporating Positive Youth Development Into Employment Training

By Kristin Anderson Moore, Hannah Lantos, and Zakia Redd, Reprinted from Child Trends Moore, K.A., Lantos, H., & Redd, Z. (2023). Lessons from Generation Work on incorporating positive youth development into employment training. Child Trends.  https://www.childtrends.org/blog/lessons-from-generation-work-on-incorporating-positive-youth-development-into-employment-training Generation Work, an initiative launched by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 2016, aims to connect more of America’s […]

Social media survey has implications for mentoring

The American Psychological Association (APA) released a report that explores the impact of technology and communication on stress levels in the United States. In addition to the insight the report provides on broader trends in our relationships with technology, social media, and work, there are some important takeaway lessons for mentoring programs and mentors. While […]

Defining and Promoting Youth Well-Being — With Young People Leading the Way

By and reprinted from The Annie E. Casey Foundation How do young peo­ple from dif­fer­ent cul­tur­al back­grounds define their well-being? How is youth well-being tied to racial and eth­nic iden­ti­ty? What does it take to improve well-being? Youth & Young Adult Well­be­ing, a new report fund­ed by the Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion, begins to answer […]

Questions for Dr. Rebecca L. Stelter: A randomized controlled trial of enhanced mentoring program practices for children of incarcerated caregivers

Interviewed By Saniya Soni 1. Several meta-analyses have found that targeted mentoring programs have better outcomes. Your recent paper looked at a targeted mentoring approach for COIP and found that it was indeed more effective for COIP. Why do you think programs are hesitant to become more targeted when the research clearly points to better […]