Becky Wai-Ling Packard

Will that be one mentor or two? A cross‐sectional study of women's mentoring during college

College women are positioned at the juncture of adolescence and adulthood, as well as school and work. This study sought to identify whether the structural model underlying the mentoring of college women is dyadic in nature, as it is in adolescence and school settings, or networking in nature, as it is in adulthood and workplace settings. Traditional‐aged college women in their first year (n = 146) and fourth year (n = 115) participated in a mentoring survey. First‐year college students were more likely to seek and experience mentoring in the form of a dyadic relationship with one mentor, often with a family member or a recent high‐school teacher, while fourth‐year college students were more likely to seek and experience mentoring in the form of a network of multiple mentors, which included college faculty, family and peers. Both groups of students experienced psychosocial mentoring functions and sponsorship from mentors, but fourth‐year students reported more challenge from their mentors than first‐year students did. Implications for designing developmentally appropriate mentoring initiatives that simultaneously challenge female stereotypes are discussed.

Methodological Choice and Its Consequences for Possible Selves Research

The literature on possible selves has grown significantly since the development of the construct in the mid-1980s. Situating our discussion of possible selves in the long-standing and extensive literature on self and identity, our goal in this article is to examine methodological choice and its consequences within possible selves research for both the researcher and the participant. Toward this goal, we reviewed 141 empirical articles and highlight here 4 methodological clusters within them, including the original predominant cluster, involving structured survey and interview, and 3 more recent less frequently employed clusters: narrative, visual, and drama. In this article, we discuss various limitations and advantages of each cluster, focusing on researcher investment (e.g., time, resources), researcher role (e.g., information gathering, intervention), the nature of participant input, and what is learned by each approach. In our conclusion, we outline areas of future development and concern for the study of possible selves and the development of self-knowledge and identity more generally. We argue that for possible selves research to prosper conceptually, it is vital that researchers attend carefully to their methodological choices and the implications of those choices for what can be learned.

Mentoring and Retention in College Science: Reflections on the Sophomore Year

Although mentoring has been linked to the retention of college students in science, it is still unclear whether students who persist in science majors (pursuers) have greater mentoring experiences than students who do not persist (switchers). In this study, 79 upper-level students who had enrolled as science majors at a research university were surveyed about the science mentoring they experienced during their sophomore year, a time when students were asked to make final decisions about their major. Pursuers reported greater science career mentoring than switchers, but there were no differences for psychosocial mentoring. In addition, students perceived similar barriers to and need for science mentoring, but pursuers initiated science mentoring more than switchers. Implications for future mentoring initiatives are discussed.

From Drafter to Engineer, Doctor to Nurse An Examination of Career Compromise as Renegotiated by Working-Class Adults Over Time

This article explored career compromise as negotiated by working-class adults pursuing science-related careers. Using a multiple case study method, we focused on eight individuals who participated in an interview about their career choices and then were followed longitudinally for 2 years. All participants were first-generation college students from working-class families and, at the start of the study, were enrolled at a community college. The results highlight key factors that influenced initial compromises including time and financial constraints, family obligations, and lacking requisite skills. In addition, renegotiations of initial career compromises were sparked by plateaus at work, role models, wanting more money, and having limited time. An extended window of time and financial resources were critical for sustained college pursuit 2 years later. Implications for career development initiatives are discussed.

Navigating Community College Transfer in Science, Technical, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields.

Given financial barriers facing community college students today, and workforce projections in science, technical, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, the costs of unnecessary delays while navigating transfer pathways are high. In this phenomenological study, we analyzed the delay experiences of 172 students (65% female) navigating community college transfer pathways in STEM fields in Massachusetts. When focusing on institutional delays, three central elements emerged: (a) informational setbacks from dissatisfactory advising, (b) imperfect program alignment with four-year institutions, and (c) college resource limitations. Students took unnecessary courses or could not get into courses in a timely manner, resulting in lost time, money, and credit. An accumulation of delays is particularly detrimental to STEM women and men, given the sequential nature of their programming. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Academic Success Strategy Use among Community-Active Urban Hispanic Adolescents.

Although much has been written about the “risky” behaviors in which some Hispanic adolescents participate, the predictors of academic success are less understood. Toward this end, predictors of academic self-regulation were investigated in Hispanic adolescents. Specifically, a predictive model incorporating self-efficacy, instrumentality, salience of becoming a college student, and structured programming was examined in a sample of 66 Hispanic teens drawn from an urban community center. A model including self-efficacy, instrumentality, and salience of becoming a college student explained 53% of the variance in academic self-regulation, and further regression tests suggested that self-efficacy acted as a mediator of the other two predictors. However, structured leadership programming was not related to self-regulation. Case illustrations are presented. Future research involving the study of community-active Hispanic teens and their academic success is discussed.

Advising and Progress in the Community College STEM Transfer Pathway

Community college students enrolled in science and technology fields face many challenges as they pursue transfer pathways to earn a 4-year degree. Despite clear links to student persistence, advising interactions that facilitate or inhibit transfer progress are not clearly understood. In this study, 82 community college students pursuing science and technology transfer-based programs of study participated in phenomenological interviews. Students described how professors, major advisors, and transfer office staff supported their progress by providing accurate information or referring them to helpful resources; students learned answers to unasked questions and stayed on track to transfer. Interactions impeded progress when initial advisors, in particular, provided misinformation, leading to frustration and costly delays. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Composition matters: multi‐context informal mentoring networks for low‐income urban adolescent girls pursuing healthcare careers

In the career research literature focused on adults, diversely composed mentoring networks are advocated due to their effectiveness in providing a wide range of mentoring functions. This study investigates the composition of informal mentoring networks utilized by low‐income urban adolescent girls with healthcare college and career aspirations. In this study, sixty ethnically diverse students in their third year of secondary school participated in a survey about their future educational and career plans and the persons providing support for their future plans. The number of mentoring sources and the number of contexts from which mentoring was derived were both positively associated with the number of mentoring functions (i.e., receiving both socio‐emotional and instrumental functions, more comprehensive array of instrumental mentoring functions). Results suggest that diversely composed, or multi‐context, informal mentoring networks are effective in supporting adolescents in their educational and career pursuits. Implications for future research and programming that bridge home and school contexts are discussed.

An Overwhelming Climb: The Complexities of Combining College, Full-Time Work, and Company Tuition Assistance.

This paper examines the complex experiences of full-time employed adults trying to climb the career ladder in their company by making use of company tuition assistance to earn their first college degree. Guided by Savickas’ (2005) career construction theory, emphasizing the personal agency and meaning-making within career development, we conducted phenomenological interviews with a purposive sample of eight men and women from six different companies using company tuition assistance while working full-time. Participants held complex feelings toward dual roles of work and school including feeling overwhelmed and delayed in their progress as well as experiencing positive synergy between school and work roles. Workplace features such as flexible scheduling and having an encouraging supervisor facilitated progress. Implications for understanding and supporting the career development of full-time employed adults are discussed.

Expanding capacity and promoting inclusion in introductory computer science: a focus on near-peer mentor preparation and code review

Abstract A dilemma within computer science departments is developing sustainable ways to expand capacity within introductory computer science courses while remaining committed to inclusive practices. Training near-peer mentors for peer code review is one solution. This paper describes the preparation of near-peer mentors for their role, with a focus on regular, consistent feedback via peer code review and inclusive pedagogy. Introductory computer science students provided consistently high ratings of the peer mentors’ knowledge, approachability, and flexibility, and credited peer mentor meetings for their strengthened self-efficacy and understanding. Peer mentors noted the value of videotaped simulations with reflection, discussions of inclusion, and the cohort’s weekly practicum for improving practice. Adaptations of peer mentoring for different types of institutions are discussed. Computer science educators, with hopes of improving the recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups, can benefit from expanding their peer support infrastructure and improving the quality of peer mentor preparation.