ABSTRACT

Little is known about why people decide to mentor in the context of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the motivations of undergraduate student mentors working in an afterschool STEM program for underrepresented elementary schoolboys. We used self-determination theory (SDT) to explain why the undergraduate students decided to become mentors and, for some of them, to persist as mentors. We interviewed a sample of 16 mentors about their backgrounds and experiences over three semesters. The participants experienced intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to become and persist as mentors. Each mentor articulated more than one reason, suggesting their motivations are multifaceted. Some motivations did not fit well with SDT, which points to the underlying complexity of why people mentor and how mentors’ backgrounds shape their motivations.

摘要

人们为何决定在科学、技术、工程和数学 (STEM) 学习的背景下进行指导，我们知之甚少。这项定性研究的目的是确定本科生导师在针对代表性不足的小学生的课后 STEM 项目中工作的动机。我们使用自决理论 (SDT) 来解释为什么本科生决定成为导师，并且对于其中一些人来说，为什么要坚持担任导师。我们采访了 16 位导师的样本，了解他们三个学期的背景和经历。参与者经历了成为并坚持担任导师的内在和外在动机。每位导师都阐述了不止一个原因，表明他们的动机是多方面的。一些动机不适合 SDT，