From Diversifying Economic Quality: A Wiki for Instructors and Departments
Mentoring, by both peers and faculty, is crucial
Peer mentoring has been used as a tool to increase the retention rates of underrepresented students in a range of academic fields. "Differences in ethnic cultural values and socialization; internalization of stereotypes; ethnic isolation and perceptions of racism; and inadequate program support" (Halpin, Halpin, Good) are all factors that contribute to the difficulties underrepresented students endure in academic fields like economics.
The implementation of peer and faculty mentoring programs can alleviate issues which typically cause the attrition rates of underrepresented students to be high. Mentoring promotes greater student/faculty contact, communication and understanding, can encourage the use of university resources designed to aid students with nonacademic problems, promotes prompt interventions with academic difficulties, and creates a culturally validating atmosphere for students. Peer and faculty mentors, through personal connections and one on one understanding, allow underrepresented students to feel comfortable in an otherwise uncomfortable academic environment.
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<http://fie-conference.org/fie2007/papers/1268.pdf> A Promising Prospect for Minority Retention: Students Becoming Peer Mentors Jennifer M. Good, Glennelle Halpin and Gerald Halpin The Journal of Negro Education , Vol. 69, No. 4, The School Reform Movement and the Education of African American Youth: A Retrospective Update (Autumn, 2000), pp. 375-383 Published by: Journal of Negro Education Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2696252 Nagda, BA, Gregerman SR, Jonides J, von Hippel W, Lerner JS. 1998. Undergraduate student-faculty research partnerships affect student retention. The Review of Higher Education. 22:55-72.l Campbell, Toni A., and David E. Campbell. "Faculty/Student Mentor Program: Effects on Academic Performance and Retention." SpringerLink. Research in Higher Education. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. <http://www.springerlink.com/content/v21t781257134158/export-citation/ <http://www.springerlink.com/content/n724l17269g79xkj> Effective Strategies to Increase Diversity in STEM Fields: A Review of the Research Literature Author(s): Lisa Tsui Source: The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Fall, 2007), pp. 555-581 Published by: Journal of Negro Education Stable URL: <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40037228> |