The Role of Mentoring as a Critical Innovation in Postbaccalaureate Programs Designed to Increase Representation of Women of Color in STEM Graduate Programs.
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| Title: | The Role of Mentoring as a Critical Innovation in Postbaccalaureate Programs Designed to Increase Representation of Women of Color in STEM Graduate Programs. |
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| Authors: | Mangum, Laurenia C.1 (AUTHOR) lmangumc@uic.edu, Booth, Jaime M.2 (AUTHOR), Copeland, Valire C.2 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Innovative Higher Education. Dec2025, Vol. 50 Issue 6, p2241-2268. 28p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Mentoring in education, *Bachelor's degree, *STEM education, *Graduate education, Women of color |
| Abstract: | Postbaccalaureate programs have become essential in addressing the underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minoritized and socially disadvantaged groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate programs. By maximizing institutional resources, which facilitate technical training, lab exposure, and specialized mentoring support, postbaccalaureate programs create a pathway for increasing the representation of people of color in STEM fields. While this may be the case, there is a dearth of literature on the lived experiences of underrepresented women of color participating in STEM postbaccalaureate programs. Moreover, descriptive accounts of women of color mentorship experiences in STEM postbaccalaureate programs are under-researched. As such, this study explored the mentorship experiences of Black and Latina women participating in a postbaccalaureate STEM program in a mid-western, research-intensive (R1), predominantly white institution (PWI). As part of a larger evaluation study of the Hot Metal Bridge (HMB) program, transcripts of past participants who identified as Black or Latina women (N = 25) were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes representing the experiences of Black and Latina women were generated: 1) mentor–mentee discordance, 2) mentor's commitment, 3) effective mentee-mentor communication, and 4) research supervision and training dynamics. Findings suggest that mentoring was a unique innovation within HMB, which contributed to the success of Black and Latina women pursuing STEM graduate education. Thus, mentorship should be viewed as an integral innovation of postbaccalaureate STEM programs for women of color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | Postbaccalaureate programs have become essential in addressing the underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minoritized and socially disadvantaged groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate programs. By maximizing institutional resources, which facilitate technical training, lab exposure, and specialized mentoring support, postbaccalaureate programs create a pathway for increasing the representation of people of color in STEM fields. While this may be the case, there is a dearth of literature on the lived experiences of underrepresented women of color participating in STEM postbaccalaureate programs. Moreover, descriptive accounts of women of color mentorship experiences in STEM postbaccalaureate programs are under-researched. As such, this study explored the mentorship experiences of Black and Latina women participating in a postbaccalaureate STEM program in a mid-western, research-intensive (R1), predominantly white institution (PWI). As part of a larger evaluation study of the Hot Metal Bridge (HMB) program, transcripts of past participants who identified as Black or Latina women (N = 25) were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes representing the experiences of Black and Latina women were generated: 1) mentor–mentee discordance, 2) mentor's commitment, 3) effective mentee-mentor communication, and 4) research supervision and training dynamics. Findings suggest that mentoring was a unique innovation within HMB, which contributed to the success of Black and Latina women pursuing STEM graduate education. Thus, mentorship should be viewed as an integral innovation of postbaccalaureate STEM programs for women of color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 07425627 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10755-025-09792-2 |
