The Future of Education

Mentoring is a well-established social support strategy that can facilitate student learning and developmental outcomes. In higher education, exposure to mentored research activities has been cited as a powerful means to enhance students' academic and professional identity development. In particular, having a mentor can influence students' feelings of belonging in and identification with academic environments. Existing research and theories on mentoring students in higher education suggest the need to study culturally diverse students who collaborate with mentors in research, including the effects on their persistence. There is also a need to broaden our understanding of the knowledge, experiences, and histories that students bring to their learning process. A culture-based and asset-minded paradigm shift in mentoring college students is needed due to the limited accounts of culture and the context in student learning and development. This paper is a part of my dissertation proposal. My dissertation project will explore the academic and professional identity development of Native Hawaiian undergraduates who engage in mentored research activities. Building on Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory, Paris's concept of culturally sustaining pedagogies, and the Rhodes' theory for mentoring at-risk students, this paper addresses the role that the sociocultural background plays in mentoring underrepresented and underserved students. I will discuss culturally sustaining pedagogies and guided discovery learning as promising approaches and strategies for mentoring culturally diverse students in research. Theoretical and practical concepts for re-addressing the culture of mentoring practices for students' learning and identity development will also be discussed. Implications for facilitating the collective social responsibility, inclusion, and equity in education through mentoring will be presented.

Keywords: Mentoring, Sociocultural Background, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies, Guided Discovery Learning, Culturally Diverse Students;