Jenepher Lennox Terrion

A taxonomy of the characteristics of student peer mentors in higher education: findings from a literature review

Peer mentoring in higher education is regarded as an effective intervention to ensure the success and retention of vulnerable students. Many universities and colleges have therefore implemented some form of mentoring program as part of their student support services. While considerable research supports the use of peer mentoring to improve academic performance and decrease student attrition, few studies link peer mentoring functions with the type of peer best suited to fulfill these functions. This literature review categorizes the abundant student peer mentor descriptors found in mentoring research. The result is a preliminary taxonomy that classifies ten peer mentor characteristics according to mentoring function served (career‐related or psychosocial). The proposed taxonomy and the discussion developed in this article help shed light on the dynamics of successful student peer mentoring relationships in higher education.

From ‘I’ to ‘We’: The Role of Putdown Humor and Identity in the Development of a Temporary Group

Participant observation of a 6-week Executive Development Course suggests that humor provides a key mechanism for enacting a sense of community for group members. Specifically, the study examines the process through which putdown humor helps foster group identity and cohesion in a temporary group. Putdowns followed a pattern of development that signaled increasing trust and inclusion, and was regulated by implicit rules that incubated the emergent solidarity. The meaning of certain humorous episodes was equivocal, but the act of laughing together glossed over the equivocality so that the sense of community was reaffirmed. Further, social identity dynamics appeared to strongly affect perceptions of the appropriateness of humor. The authors conclude that shared putdown humor and the implicit set of rules regarding its use may facilitate solidarity, and they attempt to reconcile why ‘inclusionary putdowns’ were found here when ‘exclusionary putdowns’ are usually reported in the literature.

Building Social Capital in Vulnerable Families: Success Markers of a School-Based Intervention Program.

Researchers suggest that key to addressing the needs of vulnerable families is to involve parents in their childs academic life. However, this article argues, it is not simply involvement that matters for the improved functioning of these families but the production of the three dimensions of social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking) through human interaction in the school that reduces risk factors in vulnerable families. Thematic analysis of semistructured interviews with participants and community stakeholders in a school-based family support program, Families and Schools Together (F&ST), revealed six success markers implicit in the narratives. The success markers demonstrate that the major outcome of F&ST is the production of social capital in all three of its dimensions. The article highlights the importance of social capital in building stronger, more resilient families.

The experience of post-secondary education for students in recovery from addiction to drugs or alcohol: Relationships and recovery capital

Given the drug and alcohol-friendly nature of most college and university campuses, young people who have struggled with addiction to substances – and who are overcoming these struggles – face many challenges in maintaining their recovery and achieving academic success. Using recovery capital as a theoretical framework, this study explored aspects of the academic experience of students in recovery, including the identity formation process, development of relationships, and use of support services. Thematic analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews showed the development and mobilization of personal, family/social, and community recovery capital and highlighted areas of difficulty in building these resources. The article points to the importance of social and personal relationships to both abstinence and academic success for students in recovery and discusses the role of policy in facilitating the mobilization of recovery capital.

The electronic journal as reflection‐on‐action: a qualitative analysis of communication and learning in a peer‐mentoring program

The University of Ottawa in Canada offers a peer‐mentoring program (whereby an experienced student provides support and guidance to another student) and an associated training program for all peer mentors through its Student Academic Success Service. In addition to the formal training, some peer mentors receive feedback and support through an electronic journal system that records communication between mentors and their supervisor, a paid employee of the university. As a transcript of the interaction between those peer mentors who use the journal and their supervisor, and a record of the mentor’s competency development, the journals provide a rich source of data. This project used an in‐depth content analysis of 192 journals in order to assess the learning process experienced by the mentor. Using reflection‐on‐action as a theoretical framework, this study explores the processes involved as peer mentors reflect on and assess their own practices, and examines the role of dialogue, in the form of feedback provided by the supervisor, in this learning process.

The impact of a management training program for university administrators

Purpose – Management training is perceived as one of the most effective ways to improve management skill, increase productivity and change corporate culture. To reap these perceived benefits, the University of Ottawa has delivered, since 2001, a Management Leadership Program (MLP) to better hone the core competencies of senior directors of administrative units at the University. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of this program on the participants in terms of learning, behavioural change and achievement of core competencies.Design/methodology/approach – Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews.Findings – The study found that informal learning strategies are the primary means by which University directors develop core competencies. However, the MLP provides a forum for informal learning through greater self‐awareness, the establishment and maintenance of social networks or social capital, for discussion and problem solving by senior managers and for the development and reinforcement of skil...

A Communication Model of Relational Pathways Into and Out of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder

This theoretical article traces one of the pathways of adolescent substance abuse from its roots in insecure attachment in childhood through ineffective relational mental models, poor communication skills, peer rejection, and the formation of antisocial friendships that lead to delinquency and substance use disorder. The model suggests communication skills training as a mediator and a means to altering this trajectory through changes to internal working models about relationships and the building of healthy peer relationships and recovery capital. This model focuses on communication as central to this complex process.

Journalism and suicide reporting guidelines in Canada: perspectives, partnerships and processes

Research suggests that reporting suicide in the media has the potential to influence vulnerable individuals to emulate suicide behavior. Therefore, media guidelines for the responsible reporting of suicide have been developed and disseminated worldwide, but with mixed success. This study used semi-structured interviews with Canadian media professionals to understand the experience of reporting suicide and attitudes towards the suicide reporting guidelines in Canada. Findings indicate that media professionals view the guidelines as useful information within the bounds of normal reporting, but find them difficult to implement in light of media culture and realities. Interviews also highlighted the unique challenges of working across sectors with different sets of values, priorities and working styles. The study echoes the literature suggesting that collaborative guideline development and implementation is essential to meaningfully change suicide reporting practices.

The Relationship Between Friendship Quality and Antisocial Behavior of Adolescents in Residential Substance Abuse Treatment

This exploratory study aimed to measure antisocial tendencies and friendship quality of adolescents in residential substance abuse treatment and to compare the findings to the general population for this age group. Fifty-four adolescents completed Bukowski, Hoza, and Boivins (1994) Friendship Quality Scale and their counselor completed the antisocial measures of Merrell and Caldarellas (2002) Home and Community Social Behavior Scales. As anticipated, the sample exhibited significantly more antisocial behavior; however, they also reported similar levels of positive and negative friendship quality compared with other adolescent populations. Implications for substance abuse treatment are discussed.

Assessing the Impact of Supplemental Instruction on the Retention of Undergraduate Students after Controlling for Motivation

The University of Ottawa (UofO) in Ottawa, Canada offers a formal supplemental instruction program, called the residence study group program (RSGP), to residence students registered in first year courses that are associated with a high degree of failure or attrition. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of this program by comparing a sample of first year residence students who participated in the RSGP with a sample who did not participate. The study compared final grades of students in these courses after controlling for personal motivation and found that while those who participated in the RSGP did not receive higher final grades than non-participants, they were more likely to persist in their studies. It appears that the RSGP contributes in many important ways to the academic and social integration of first year students and these are critical to persistence beyond the first year.