Mentoring Hispanic Students: A Literature Review

Abstract

The notion of mentoring can be understood as a one-to-one relationship between a mentor and a protégé. A more contemporary perspective of the term argued it as a collaborative environment where the mentor and the mentee can learn from each other. This document presents faculty attitudes and reactions on the role of mentoring. In the reviewed articles, scholars coincided on the idea that mentoring is an effective academic tool which impacts students’ adjustment, retention, and achievement, and argued the development of peer mentoring programs as a resource for support during students’ academic path in postsecondary education. We include cases of effective peer mentoring programs in higher education institutions, and highlight the fact of pairing students with similar interests is beneficial for both participants due to the establishment of an exchange of learning and knowledge. The authors also annotated the fact that some traditional mentoring models in education have typically excluded Hispanics and individuals of other underrepresented minorities (URM), as there is lack of availability of faculty with similar backgrounds. This article includes perspectives that Hispanic higher education students shared in regard to their expectations of a mentor. This review also shows successful cases of peer mentoring programs with Hispanic students, which considered the cultural capital of this specific minority, and its connection with mentees’ expectations on outcomes from mentorship.