Assessing youth perceptions of the Pipeline Program at Emory University School of Medicine Pubblico

Hunte, Grace Victoria (2011)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/pn89d734d?locale=it
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Abstract


Background: In 2007-2008 the national average freshman graduation rate from a public
high school was 74.9%. Georgia ranks among the lowest states in high school graduation
rates at 65.4%. This is especially concerning given that the age-adjusted mortality rate of
high school drop outs aged 28-64 was more than two times the mortality rate of those
with some college in 1999. Mentoring programs have been implemented across the
country for decades in an effort to address the poor high school graduation rates. The
Pipeline Program is a three tiered mentoring program where students from a public high
school come to the university's School of Medicine for problem-based learning sessions
beginning in the sophomore year. They are paired with sophomore University
undergraduate students, and medical students lead the sessions on medical and public
health topics.


Objective: The study aims to assess high school students' perspectives and experiences
of the Pipeline Program, mentoring and academic performance.


Methods: Male and female sophomore high school students participated in two focus
group discussions at the beginning of the program year, and again at the end. The
qualitative data was analyzed using the grounded theory approach where the recorded
data was transcribed, de-identified and codes or themes were generated. These codes
were in turn used to analyze the data and provide a framework for theory building.


Results: Students identify their mentors as one of the strengths of the program, but they
wish they could spend more time with them outside of the sessions. They expect the
program to be a resume-builder and give them exposure to college and the medical field.
The girls and boys differed on some key opinions, but overall thought the program was
worthwhile, but that it demands a lot of hard work.


Discussion: Increasing understanding of what youth want to get out of a mentoring
program is critical. The mentor relationship is key to the success of the pipeline program
and efforts need to be made for ongoing training and support. Further research is needed
to characterize the relationship from the mentor's perspective, how best to meet their
needs and produce quality relationships with youth.

Table of Contents


1. Chapter 1: Introduction.....................................................................................Page 1
2. Chapter 2: Review of the Literature.....................................................................Page 5
3. Chapter 3: Methods...........................................................................................Page 23
4. Chapter 4: Results………………………………………………………........................................…….Page 30
5. Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations.......................................Page 45
6. References........................................................................................................Page 52


Tables and Figures
7. Table 1: Theory-based index of best practices for mentoring programs......................Page 7
8. Table 2: Characteristics/practices of effective and ineffective mentors.......................Page 11
9. Figure 1: Model of youth mentoring......................................................................Page 12
10. Figure 2: Quasi-experimental design for program assessment................................Page 26
11. Table 3: Recommendations for the Pipeline program.............................................Page 49


Appendices
12. Appendix A: Focus group discussion guide 1........................................................Page 54
13. Appendix B: Focus group discussion guide 2........................................................Page 56
14. Appendix C: Codebook.....................................................................................Page 58

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