Youth Voice in Mentoring

• In Event: 52.068 - New Tools, New Voices: Innovations in Understanding and Analyzing Life-Wide Ecologies for Youth Interest-Driven Learning

Abstract

Objectives and Theoretical Framework
A mentoring framework was developed to determine how best to engage youth across various settings and programs. The framework was developed based on the latest research on youth mentoring and out-of-school programs, practitioner experiences in working with youth, and via a workshop conducted at a Hive Chicago meet-up. The mentoring framework was also developed based on extensive research of Hive programs conducted by the Center for Evidenced-Based Mentoring, which involved visiting various Hive organizations, speaking with staff and surveying the Hive network. A theme that consistently emerged in Hive members’ feedback about our framework as well as in general discussions among Hive members at various meet-ups is that staff would like to see youth’s voices better represented in the works that emerge from Hive. The long-term goal of this project is for adult/staff to use this mentoring framework so they can better serve youth.

Methods
Our proposed project occurred in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of five focus groups of Youth. Focus group sessions lasted two hours each, and each focus group began by asking youth to individually respond to a survey about their personal experiences with adult staff/volunteers at their respective organizations. Then a discussion was held where youth were asked about what adults mean to them, how adults have supported them, the characteristics of the most meaningful relationships they have with adults, how adults have helped them outside of their organization and have connected them to other settings, effective strategies that adults have used to engage youth, and how youth have benefited from their interactions and relationships with adults. Youth were asked to discuss negative experiences with adults to contrast effective and ineffective strategies used to engage youth.

Each of the focus groups were digitally recorded and transcribed, and transcripts were analyzed for themes regarding the processes by which youth and adults form meaningful connections. These themes were used to revise our current mentoring framework so that youth voices are clearly represented.

Phase 2 consisted of a workshop in which the revised mentoring framework was presented to youth to gain their feedback. The framework was presented and described to youth, and then youth worked in groups to discuss whether the framework captures their experiences of effective adult-youth engagement strategies and to provide us with feedback on how the framework can be further improved.

Scholarly significance
The mentoring framework will help Hive organizations because the intentionality and strength of youth-adult relationships in programming directly impacts how well staff members know their youth. Understanding interests, strengths and challenges is a key component to being able to guide youth in their learning pathways. The framework will include minimal guidelines on how best to engage youth. These guidelines will be partly created by youth who participate in the focus groups and workshop.

Author

• Tene Gray, Digital Youth Network