An Investigation of Peer Mentoring to Ease the Middle School to High School Transition

Peer Group Connection;Middle School to High School Transition;Baltimore City Public Schools;College and Career Readiness;Peer Mentoring;Social Capital;First-generation;Girls;not listed

Lorenzo, Christian G.Gonzalez, Ileana ;

Johns Hopkins University

关键词: Peer Group Connection;    Middle School to High School Transition;    Baltimore City Public Schools;    College and Career Readiness;    Peer Mentoring;    Social Capital;    First-generation;    Girls;    not listed;   

Others  :  https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/58638/LORENZO-DISSERTATION-2017.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: JOHNS HOPKINS DSpace Repository

【 摘 要 】

Transitions are a turning point in development and the middle school to high school transition entails a degree of concern and anxiety for every student (Pickles & Rutter, 1991; Uvaas & McKevitt, 2013). The study at hand explored the degree to which a peer mentoring program called Peer Group Connection (PGC) may ease the negative effects of the middle school to high school transition by facilitating academic, social, and college and career readiness (CCR) outcomes. Ninety-nine students from a Baltimore City Public School participated in the study by completing a series of surveys that measured social anxiety, social capital, and CCR. Forty-five students were in the non-mentored group and 54 students were in the mentored group. Correlational and an independent samples t-test revealed the freshman minority experience. Girls experienced significantly higher social anxiety and first-generation Black girls (FGBG) were more likely to have lower GPAs. However, when mentored students were split by generational status and gender, it was revealed that first-generation girls reported a significantly higher CCR than non-first-generation boys in the areas of interpersonal skills and initiative. FGBG reported a significantly higher collaboration. Girls overall had a significantly higher GPA and social-emotional development than boys. Social capital was found to support peer mentoring through its interactions with GPA, social-emotional development, initiative, and social anxiety. Results suggest that peer mentoring benefited FGBG, the same vulnerable group that was identified in the freshman minority experience. Findings illustrate evidence to suggest that peer mentoring is a worthwhile investment to ease the middle school to high school transition because it facilitated positive academic, social, and CCR outcomes for the students who participated in PGC.