Routledge Mentoring Students and Young People: A Handbook of Effective Practice

Mentoring is used in a wide range of situations in education: to assist learning; to help weaker students or those with specific learning needs or difficulties; to develop community or business links; to aid the inclusion of pupils otherwise at risk of exclusion; to develop ethnic links; to enable students to benefit from the support of their peers, to name but a few. The development and proliferation of mentoring and mentoring schemes in education over the last few years has been dramatic, and presents teachers, school managers and leaders, as well as mentors themselves with a challenge. This book presents all mentors plus anyone working with young people with an invaluable guide to approaches to mentoring today. It looks at mentoring as a concept, at what mentoring is, how it is done well and how it can be made more effective. Written by a leading expert on mentoring, this practical and relevant handbook is backed up throughout by inspiring and relevant case studies and examples from schools and schemes internationally. Review "Known in the United Kingdom for his expertise on the subject, Miller presents a current and comprehensive reference on mentoring with attention to well-managed programs and mentoring cultures. Organized into four sections, the book serves as a resource for those who choose not to read cover to cover. The concept of mentoring is presented through the well-known Odyssey definition and through a contextual perspective addressing the influence of national governments. An overview of many types of mentoring programs is provided through real case studies. The author presents practical advice on program structures, mentors, mentoring processes, and program evaluation, and he addresses the future through a case study. This "handbook" includes a glossary of terms and an international guide of web references. Embedded in research from English-speaking countries, primarily the United Kingdom and the United States, the book is well organized and consistently provides a link between research and practice. Among the book's greatest strengths is its attention to cultural contexts, although at times with too much brevity, and its emphasis on the future. By including an ethical code of practice for mentoring and a model for quality standards, the author demonstrates his own attention to excellence...higher education practitioners, researchers, and graduate students in psychology, sociology, social work, and education may find this to be a very worthwhile resource. When studied, this book provides sound advice that can easily be transferred from one setting to another. Its unique perspective comes from references that differ from the more well-known mentoring authors in the United States."--Cythia WolfJohnson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, AAHE Bulletin About the Author Andrew Miller is Head of Education and Social Inclusion at the Learning and Skills Council, the UK Governent Agency responsible for all post-16 education and training. He is also an Education Advisor to the Department for Education and Skills.