Abstract
Despite the ongoing popularity and appeal of youth mentoring programs across myriad of contexts, the achievement of high quality relationships between adult volunteers and school-aged youth remains a vital challenge to the work of youth development professionals. This paper outlines the role of mentor attunement in the experience of relationships between volunteer adults and youth in schools. Through an in-depth, inductive analysis of qualitative data, including on-site observation of relationship development over time, attunement at varying levels is illustrated. Implications for future research and program development are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to acknowledge the invaluable collaboration of Thomas E. Keller, Ph.D., as well as the support of the Spencer Foundation in helping to make this work possible.
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Pryce, J. Mentor Attunement: An Approach to Successful School-based Mentoring Relationships. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 29, 285–305 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-012-0260-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-012-0260-6