This study examined whether a 5-month, adult mentoring intervention delivered by school personnel improved the school engagement of ninth grade urban minority adolescents.
Compared to 20 at-risk students who did not receive an intervention, 20 at-risk students who were randomly assigned to mentoring exhibited significantly less decline during the first year of high school in perceived teacher support and decisionmaking and were less likely to enter the discipline system. The effects were stronger and included a sense of school belonging for participants who were "mentored as intended." Moreover, mentee and mentor reports of relationship quality were associated with changes in mentored participants' school-related cognitions and behaviors. The findings indicate that adult mentoring may help to prevent normative declines in urban minority youths' school engagement. (publisher abstract modified)