The Empowerment Leadership and Mentorship (ELM) program: enhancing academic performance and retention through social-emotional learning and peer mentorship.

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Title: The Empowerment Leadership and Mentorship (ELM) program: enhancing academic performance and retention through social-emotional learning and peer mentorship.
Authors: Orgel, Joseph1 (AUTHOR) orgel@iit.edu, Madhurapantula, Rama Sashank2 (AUTHOR) rmadhura@iit.edu, Jagannathan, Nisha3 (AUTHOR) Nisha.Jagannathan@bcm.edu, Moller, Arlen3 (AUTHOR) amoller@iit.edu
Source: Journal of Leadership Education. 2026, Vol. 25 Issue 2, p215-223. 9p.
Subject Terms: *Social emotional learning, *Metacognition, *STEM education, *Academic achievement, Mentoring, Perseverance (Ethics), Self-efficacy
Abstract: Purpose: ELM aims to boost student success by integrating social-emotional intelligence, metacognition (learning about learning) and peer support, fostering academic resilience and personal growth in a university setting. Design/methodology/approach: Built on five core principles that encourage the practical dissemination of skills, ELM uses a train-the-trainer framework across three distinct tracks: (1) scholar mentors provide peer-led academic support in challenging STEM courses, fostering collaborative study groups and independent learning; (2) general learning strategies (GLS 180) offers metacognition training, study skills development and personalized one-on-one coaching (GLS 182) to build academic resilience; (3) leadership development workshops and mentoring at individual and cohort levels empower students with empathetic communication, self-awareness and problem-solving skills, enabling them to spread these skills within the campus community organically. Findings: ELM demonstrates significant positive impacts, including increased student retention, notable improvements in GPA, particularly in "bottleneck" STEM courses, and the development of a more supportive campus environment. Increased professional placement rates of participating scholarship groups reflect program effectiveness. Practical implications: This scalable, cost-effective model offers a replicable approach to enhance student success and leadership development across diverse student populations, especially in STEM fields. Originality/value: ELM's unique integration of social-emotional learning, metacognition training and peer mentorship, grounded in five core principles, provides a replicable framework for scalable peer-led interventions in higher education, addressing the need for accessible and effective student support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Leadership Education is the property of Journal of Leadership Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: The Empowerment Leadership and Mentorship (ELM) program: enhancing academic performance and retention through social-emotional learning and peer mentorship.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Orgel%2C+Joseph%22">Orgel, Joseph</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> orgel@iit.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Madhurapantula%2C+Rama+Sashank%22">Madhurapantula, Rama Sashank</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> rmadhura@iit.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jagannathan%2C+Nisha%22">Jagannathan, Nisha</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> Nisha.Jagannathan@bcm.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Moller%2C+Arlen%22">Moller, Arlen</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> amoller@iit.edu</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Leadership+Education%22">Journal of Leadership Education</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 25 Issue 2, p215-223. 9p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+emotional+learning%22">Social emotional learning</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Metacognition%22">Metacognition</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22STEM+education%22">STEM education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+achievement%22">Academic achievement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mentoring%22">Mentoring</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Perseverance+%28Ethics%29%22">Perseverance (Ethics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self-efficacy%22">Self-efficacy</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: ELM aims to boost student success by integrating social-emotional intelligence, metacognition (learning about learning) and peer support, fostering academic resilience and personal growth in a university setting. Design/methodology/approach: Built on five core principles that encourage the practical dissemination of skills, ELM uses a train-the-trainer framework across three distinct tracks: (1) scholar mentors provide peer-led academic support in challenging STEM courses, fostering collaborative study groups and independent learning; (2) general learning strategies (GLS 180) offers metacognition training, study skills development and personalized one-on-one coaching (GLS 182) to build academic resilience; (3) leadership development workshops and mentoring at individual and cohort levels empower students with empathetic communication, self-awareness and problem-solving skills, enabling them to spread these skills within the campus community organically. Findings: ELM demonstrates significant positive impacts, including increased student retention, notable improvements in GPA, particularly in "bottleneck" STEM courses, and the development of a more supportive campus environment. Increased professional placement rates of participating scholarship groups reflect program effectiveness. Practical implications: This scalable, cost-effective model offers a replicable approach to enhance student success and leadership development across diverse student populations, especially in STEM fields. Originality/value: ELM's unique integration of social-emotional learning, metacognition training and peer mentorship, grounded in five core principles, provides a replicable framework for scalable peer-led interventions in higher education, addressing the need for accessible and effective student support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Leadership Education is the property of Journal of Leadership Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: STEM education
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      – SubjectFull: Academic achievement
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      – SubjectFull: Mentoring
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      – SubjectFull: Perseverance (Ethics)
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      – SubjectFull: Self-efficacy
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      – TitleFull: The Empowerment Leadership and Mentorship (ELM) program: enhancing academic performance and retention through social-emotional learning and peer mentorship.
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              Text: 2026
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