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Cited by 267Mentoring and Academic DevelopmentYouth Development and Social SupportSchool Choice and Performance

Informal Mentors and Education: Complementary or Compensatory Resources?

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Erickson, Lance D., McDonald, Steve, Elder, Glen H.·2009·Sociology of Education
DOI 10.1177/003804070908200403PMC PMC3170563
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Abstract

Few studies have examined the impact of mentoring (developing a special relationship with a nonparental adult) on educational achievement and attainment in the general population. In addition, prior research has yet to clarify the extent to which mentoring relationships reduce inequality by enabling disadvantaged youths to compensate for the lack of social resources or to promote inequality by serving as a complementary resource for advantaged youths. The results of a nationally representative sample of youths show (1) a powerful net influence of mentors on the educational success of youths and (2) how social background and parental, peer, and personal resources condition the formation and effectiveness of mentoring relationships. The findings uncover an interesting paradox—that informal mentors may simultaneously represent compensatory and complementary resources. Youths with many resources are more likely than are other young people to have mentors, but those with few resources are likely to benefit more from having a mentor—particularly a teacher mentor—in their lives.

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  • Natural mentors may serve as compensatory resources for youth from backgrounds of risk or for whom parents may not be fully engaged in their lives.

    “On the other hand, natural mentors may serve as compensatory resources for youth from backgrounds of risk or for whom parents may not be fully engaged in their lives (Britner, Balcazar, Blechman, Blinn‐Pike, & Larose, 2006; DuBois et al., 2002; Erickson et al., 2009).”

    From Does Natural Mentoring Matter? A Multilevel Meta‐analysis on the Association Between Natural Mentoring and Youth Outcomes (2018) · cites this paper as Erickson et al., 2009

    The Results report that teacher mentors have a compensatory impact on educational attainment for disadvantaged youth, supporting the at-risk portion of the claim. The Methodology measures parent–child relationship quality and parental resources, but the cited Results illustrate compensation through parents’ education, not through parents being less engaged in their children’s lives. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Authors
Erickson, L. D., McDonald, S., & Elder, G. H.
Affiliations
  • Brigham Young University (US)
  • North Carolina State University (US)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
ORCID
Venue
Sociology of Education
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2009-10
Volume
82
Issue
4
Pages
344-367
ISSN
  • 0038-0407 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-8573
DOI
10.1177/003804070908200403
PMC
PMC3170563
OpenAlex
W2007743474
Cited by
267
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 17
FWCI
12.18
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Sociology of Education (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • ScholarsArchive (Brigham Young University) (submittedVersion)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
  • UNC Libraries
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (0126167, P01-HD31921)
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Aging (P01HD31921, T32AG000155)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01-HD31921, REC-0126167)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01- HD31921, P01HD031921, R01HD040428)
  • Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (P01HD31921)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mentoring and Academic Development
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Youth Development and Social Support
  • Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
Keywords
informal mentoring, educational attainment, academic performance, compensatory resources, complementary resources, social inequality, disadvantaged youth, cooperating teachers, social background, parental resources, youth development

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