Asking Urban Youth: Understanding High School Students’ Perceptions of a University High School Mentoring Partnership

A university-high school partnership was established between seniors at a northeastern high school and education students of a local university to focus on a district-mandated senior project. College mentors met with the high school students once a week to work on the research paper component of the project for the duration of a school year. This study seeks to understand the high school seniors’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of working with a mentor on their senior project. Findings showed the participants valued the help they received with the editing and organization of their research paper, as well as the support and guidance the mentors provided. Participants found additional benefits in working with mentors who were similar age to themselves who could provide insight into college life. Identified challenges were mostly logistical but also included issues of communication and initially not wanting a mentor. Students’ voices provide insight into how to best implement high quality service-learning.