Date
4-2019
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)
Chair
James L. Zabloski
Keywords
At-risk Students, School-based Mentoring, Transformation, Transformative Learning Theory
Disciplines
Education | Secondary Education | Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Recommended Citation
Choby, Michael David, "The Voice of School-Based Volunteer Mentors: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 2068.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2068
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experience of mentoring at-risk high school students for school-based mentors in Oakridge County, Pennsylvania. The theory guiding this study is Jack Mezirow’s transformative learning theory as it provided context to understand the internal developments of the mentors. The study answered the following research questions: (a) How do SAP core team members who volunteer to mentor at-risk students in a public high school in Oakridge County, Pennsylvania, describe their experiences? (b) To what extent, if at all, do SAP core team members who volunteer to mentor at-risk students in a public high school in Oakridge County, Pennsylvania, experience transformation? (c) What do SAP core team members who volunteer to mentor at-risk students in a public high school in Oakridge County, Pennsylvania, identify as contributing factors and/or obstacles to experiencing transformation? Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and a writing activity producing the individual and collective voices of the school-based mentors. The analyzation of collected qualitative data revealed the themes of depth, breath, enhancement, challenge, and future growth describing the essence of mentoring at-risk high school students. Implications for educational practice and recommendations for areas of future research are included.
