Abstract
Mentoring relationships have emerged as a key factor in promoting the social inclusion and educational outcomes of marginalized youth. The keynote will provide an overview of current research on the effectiveness of youth mentoring programmes, current recent research, and evidence-based approaches to mentor-adolescents. It will also discuss the theoretical and empirical rationale for innovative new approaches to mentoring, including youth-initiated approaches and other approaches to connect adolescents with the caring adults in their extended families, schools, and communities.
Bio
Jean Rhodes is the Frank L. Boyden Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She has devoted her career to understanding and advancing the role of intergenerational relationships in the intellectual, social, educational, and career development of youth.
She has published three books, four edited volumes, and over 100 chapters and peer-reviewed articles on topics related to positive youth development, the transition to adulthood, and mentoring. Dr. Rhodes is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and the Society for Research and Community Action, and was a Distinguished Fellow of the William T. Grant Foundation. She has been awarded many campus-wide teaching awards for her advances in pedagogy and scholarship, including the Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Scholar Award, the Student Government Outstanding Teacher Award, and the Chancellor’s Outstanding Scholar award at UMB.