USA
The Mentoring Effect is a compelling report informed by the first-ever nationally representative survey of young people on the topic of both informal and formal mentoring, as well as a literature and landscape review and insights from a variety of key leaders in business, philanthropy, government, and education. The report was commissioned by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership with support from AT&T, and written by Civic Enterprises in partnership with Hart Research.
The findings of this report are consistent with a powerful mentoring
effect as demonstrated by the life experiences of the young people
surveyed and mentoring’s link to improved academic, social and economic
prospects. This mentoring effect is growing and, if harnessed, it has
the potential to help meet a range of national challenges and strengthen
our communities and economy.
The survey found that 1.8 million
at-risk young adults had been matched in mentoring relationships through
mentoring programs while they are growing up. In the early 1990s an
estimated 300,000 at-risk young people had a structured mentoring
relationship. Another 4.1 million at-risk young adults had informal
mentoring relationships with teachers, coaches, extended family members
or neighbors while they were growing up.
Despite this positive
trend, one in three young people surveyed did not have a mentor while
they were growing up. Applying their experiences to the U.S. Census
demographics for 8-18 year olds, it is projected that 16 million young
people, including 9 million at-risk young people, will reach adulthood
without connecting with a mentor of any kind.
The experiences of the young people surveyed showed significant
positive outcomes for those who had a mentor. At-risk young people with
mentors were more likely to aspire to attend and to enroll in college.
They were more likely to report participating in sports and other
extracurricular activities. They also were more likely to report taking
leadership roles in school and extracurricular activities and to
regularly volunteer in their communities.
The survey also showed
that with each additional risk factor a young person experiences, the
less likely he or she is to connect with an informal mentor. This
finding suggests a systemic shift to leverage quality mentoring programs
to introduce mentors to young people who face a greater number of risk
factors is a powerful and necessary strategy.
