T.I.M.E. Teachers Interfaculty Mentorship Efforts A Study - PDF document

Salinitri Effect of Mentoring on First-year Students 1 T.I.M.E. – Teacher’s Interfaculty Mentorship Efforts A Study Evaluating the Effects of a Formal Mentoring Program on First-Year At-Risk Students ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of a formal mentoring program on the retention rate and academic achievement of first-year university students. During orientation, first-year students applying to the faculties of Arts and Social Science and Science were offered the opportunity to participate in pilot mentoring program. Mentors were Intermediate/Senior qualified teacher candidates enrolled in the Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor and were selected by invitation. The retention rates, grade point averages and number of courses completed by the students who participated (experimental group) will be compared to the retention rates, grade point averages, and number of coursed completed by the control group consisting of an equal number of first-time, full-time, credit-seeking students with similar program of study and similar exiting OAC averages. The Manitoba Satisfaction survey, measuring satisfaction of first-year students, will be given to both groups and analyzed for the purpose of program evaluation. INTRODUCTION: The future belongs to societies that organize themselves for learning. What we know and can do holds the key to economic progress…. From Thinking for a Living: Education & Wealth of Nations, (1996) Student attrition has been the focus of investigation for many years. Some researchers (Tinto, 1987) have identified student completion rates as a fundamental measurement of the institution's success in meeting the needs of its students. More

Salinitri Effect of Mentoring on First-year Students 2 recently, the validity of assuming that attrition somehow suggests failure, has been questioned (Tucker, 1999). There is, however, a concern regarding the waste of human and financial resources resulting from the increased interest in investigating why students do not complete university programs (Sarkar, 1993). Research into the factors that impact persistence (program completion) is crucial for institutions in order to develop specific policies and practices that enhance retention. Strategies for increasing student retention are among the most important issues facing universities today (Tinto, 1997). There appears to be a universal recognition of higher education as a prerequisite to success in the information era. This means that there is an increased demand for a university education for everyone (Paul, 2001). As more students enter university there is an increase in the diversity of learning styles and in the factors that adversely affect the transition of these first- year students from high school to university. These factors include, inability to meet the academic standards of the university, inability to adapt to the new social and academic environment, changes in personal goals and aspirations, lack of motivation and clearly-defined goals, priority of other commitments, such as work or family, financial difficulty, and incongruence between the institution’s orientation and approach and that desired by the individual (Lang & Ford, 1992). This translates into a growing need for increased academic and counseling programs that will help improve student retention particularly for at-risk students (defined as students with OAC exiting averages of 70% or less) Universities not only need to accept these at- risk students, but they need to make their transition from high school to university

Salinitri Effect of Mentoring on First-year Students 3 fluid by providing them with the skills, knowledge and confidence necessary to successfully fulfill their degree requirements. These students are a particular challenge because they generally, have poor study habits, study alone, usually don’t seek help, and often don’t know how to seek help. In other words, they often find themselves dropping out because they were unable to seek and acquire the tools for success. This study will evaluate the concept and practices of a formal mentoring program designed for first-year at-risk university students. While there is extensive anecdotal evidence about the benefits of mentoring as an instruction strategy (Jacobi, 1991; Merriam, 1983; Wunsch, 1994), more research is needed to investigate specific factors that may impact the outcomes of formal mentoring programs. Formal mentoring programs for at- risk students became prevalent in the 1980s (Haensly & Parsons, 1993). According to Redmond (1990), mentoring showed students that university employees care, resulting in a psycho-social comfort that empowers them to successfully remain at the institution. Academic survival of students is often the primary goal of the institution as is, the enhancement of students’ cognitive and affective educational experience. Mentoring programs typically link faculty, staff, and peers with first-year students to encourage relationships that will strengthen and enrich the learning experience. With low retention rates for first- year students, it is clear that universities need to respond to issues affecting student satisfaction and success.

Salinitri Effect of Mentoring on First-year Students 4 In the last few decades, various strategies have been used by educational institutions to provide students with the academic, personal, and social support systems necessary to facilitate their academic persistence. These intervention strategies include the implementation of developmental courses, education technology programs, individual and group tutoring, freshman seminar courses, summer bridge programs, academic advisory programs, and career guidance seminars (Cohen, 1987; Lang & Ford, 1992). Although studies have indicated that students involved in intervention programs have better retention rates, it has also been documented that the increase in these retention rates has been minimal (Tucker, 1999). Consequently, many public undergraduate institutions have now turned to mentoring as a possible intervention, despite the lack of documented empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of mentoring in undergraduate education to date. There is also a lack of theoretical or conceptual bases to explain proposed links between mentoring and academic success (Jacobi, 1991). To strengthen the conviction of the positive academic effects of mentoring and retention it must be linked or grounded in theoretical perspectives. Erkut and Moros (1984) suggested that mentoring has its roots in social learning theory. Social learning theorists assume that imitation was an important way of learning. Bandura and Waters (1963) found that most human behaviour was learned by observation of models. Accordingly, when feedback and reinforcement are combined, skill development is the outcome. Research also suggests that mentoring is rooted in social comparison theory (Suls, 1986; Wei, 1994). Social comparison theory examines the process of seeking out those with similarities to

Salinitri Effect of Mentoring on First-year Students 5 oneself. Suls noted that people seek to know how well they perform compared to others. This is tied to Bandura’s (1997) theory of self-efficacy. According to Bandura, there is a strong correlation between high self-efficacy and academic success and persistence. Mentoring relationships also have roots in social capital theory, which is defined as those resources inherent in social relations which facilitate collective action. Social capital resources include trust, norms, and networks of association representing any group which gathers consistently for a common purpose. In the case of mentoring, this would include meetings with mentors and mentees. Coleman (1987) further explained that social capital in the community was manifested in the interest of one adult in the activities of another’s child. Social capital enabled the development of necessary attitudes, efforts and conception of self that students need to succeed in school and as adults. Within education, mentoring has been traditionally linked to graduate student education rather than undergraduate education. A student pursuing a graduate degree is paired with a mentor in order to facilitate the degree process (Jacobi, 1991). Mentoring has now emerged as a means of improving the academic performance and persistence of at-risk, attrition-prone undergraduate students. It also enhances the overall development of students, as well as facilitates and supports the academic and social educational experience of students (American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 1995). Several theories on the attrition within higher education have indirectly linked students’ academic persistence to the intervention of mentoring. Tinto(1987) and