Session Information
18 SES 04, Mentoring Practice in Sport and Physical Education
Symposium
Contribution
The concept of youth mentoring has become increasingly fashionable in recent years, particularly within the field of education (Colley, 2003; Du Bois & Karcher, 2005). Moreover, tackling the perceived growing problem of youth disaffection and social exclusion has become a key target for many mentoring initiatives within the UK, Europe and beyond (Shiner et al., 2004; Sandford et al., 2010). This paper highlights findings from a corporate-sponsored programme within the UK, which used residential, outdoor physical activity experiences a vehicle for enhancing the personal and social development of disaffected and disengaged young people aged 13/14 years. Qualitative data from over 30 individuals involved in the project, generated via interviews, focus groups, reflective journals and open-ended surveys, are drawn upon to examine the role and impact of adult mentors within such programmes. The findings suggest that there is potential for mentors to have a positive influence on disaffected youth, but that the nature of impact is often highly individualised. In particular, they point to the need for adult mentors in such initiatives to: be carefully selected; be committed a long-term process; have a clear sense of their role; and be equipped with the necessary skills to foster learning and development.
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