Theoretical Considerations Regarding the Ecological Systems of Mentorship

• In Event: Evolving Ecological Models and Their Use in Research on College Students

Abstract

This paper offers a theoretical and critical analysis of race-dysconscious mentorship involving students of color and white faculty. Inspired by ecological systems theory, critical race theory, and the NIH-funded program, Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity: Promoting Opportunities for Diversity in Education and Research (BUILD PODER), our interdisciplinary analysis considered the ecosystems that promote “student pushout” and hinder diversification of the scientific workforce (Author, 2021). We examined the historical, social–political, institutional, interpersonal, and intrapsychic ecosystems of traditional mentor–protégé relationships. We connect the five ecosystems of mentorship by integrating literature on critical history, white consciousness, the interpersonal context of mentoring, and mentor–protégé phenomenology. We also critique the race-neutral concept of “diversity” as it operates in universities and research laboratories, as well as the social psychological and discursive properties of race-dysconscious ideologies that rationalize modern racism. Our critical analysis demonstrates how the racialized lives of members involved in a mentoring relationship are situated within racist macro-level ecological systems wherein intrapsychic and interpersonal actions and discourses unfold. We discuss the development of race-consciousness among faculty and the institutionalization of anti-racist faculty mentor training programs within universities.

Author

• Jose H. Vargas, California State University - Northridge
  Presenting Author