Mentoring

Mentoring is typically defined as a relationship between an older or more experienced nonparental figure and a younger or less experienced mentee or protégé to whom the older person provides guidance and support. Within the context of youth mentoring, relationships range from formal relationships in which a mentor and mentee are matched by an outside agency with specific requirements about frequency and duration of contact to informal relationships that develop organically between youth and the adults within their existing social networks. As such, mentoring relationships occur across out-of-school time contexts, including formal mentoring programs, positive youth development programs that include a mentoring component embedded within a broader mission, and informal mentoring relationships that develop naturally between youth and program staff. This entry describes various approaches ...