This study sought to examine how social class bias may be enacted by mentors and mentoring progra... more This study sought to examine how social class bias may be enacted by mentors and mentoring program staff within community‐based youth mentoring relationships and how these biases may influence the mentoring relationship. A narrative thematic analysis was conducted with interviews from mentors, mentees’ parents/caregivers, and mentoring program staff representing 36 matches participating in a larger, prospective, mixed‐methods study examining factors associated with early match closures. Findings indicate that although some mentors were able to partner with the youth and family to effectively navigate challenges related to the family's economic circumstances, other mentors and some mentoring program staff held deficit views of the youth and their family that appeared to be at least partially rooted in negative social class‐based assumptions about attitudes and behaviors. Specifically, we observed tendencies on the part of some mentors and program staff toward (a) deficit‐based vi...
Scant empirical attention has been devoted to understanding endings in youth mentoring relationsh... more Scant empirical attention has been devoted to understanding endings in youth mentoring relationships, despite the frequency with which they occur. This study examined data from a mixed‐methods study of mentoring relationship endings in which youth mentees, the youth's parents or guardians, mentors, and program staff were surveyed about the closure process, and a subsample of program staff, mentors, and parents or guardians also participated in in‐depth qualitative interviews. Findings from a descriptive analysis detailing the perceptions of multiple stakeholders in the closure process as reported in surveys are presented along with case studies derived from a case‐based analysis of in‐depth qualitative interview data. Most relationship endings were initiated by the mentors, and although some matches engaged in an intentional and direct closure process, more often the endings were unclear or even confusing to program participants. Implications for practice are discussed, includin...
Maureen Flaherty’s exceptionally detailed book of narrative research with Ukraine women reads not... more Maureen Flaherty’s exceptionally detailed book of narrative research with Ukraine women reads not unlike a beautiful memoir, clearly shaped by her 30 years as a social worker in trauma recovery and intimate partner abuse. The reader is quickly introduced to the events that became the foundation of Flaherty’s love for Ukraine. As she travels there for the first time in 2000, she writes, ‘‘The train ride from Lviv to Simferopol is one thousand kilometers each direction—twenty-four hours to tell stories, eat home-cooked food, raise a glass of cognac for good health and friendship . . . ’’ (p. xi). Like a good memoir, the reader begins to journey along with Flaherty. Unlike a memoir, Flaherty sets her dedication to a rigorous and conscious piece of scholarly research. Flaherty shares her understanding and application of ‘‘narrative,’’ both at the micro and macro levels across cultures. Using the narrative method, she gathered stories of the hopes and dreams of 18 Ukrainian women, using both individual interviews and larger group visioning sessions with women from Lviv and Seimferopol. Personal storytelling and group visioning are methods through which a foundation for peacebuilding can occur across diverse communities. Flaherty wanted to maximize their impact in this war-torn, struggling country that suffered centuries of oppression. Flaherty makes her qualitative research methods easily approachable to community and scholarly readers by first, providing the background of Ukrainian history, demography, religion, economics, and second, through a method designed to facilitate previously unvoiced women of Ukraine. A section is dedicated to gender, empowerment, and social change. She established her standpoint through the presentation and analysis of her own life story, contextualized by her growing up years. Flaherty’s experience in researching intimate partner abuse (see Flaherty, 2010) lends to her deep interest in helping women speak the truth of their experiences in daily life. Flaherty’s feminist perspective is charged: ‘‘If we accept that patriarchy is the standard mode of operation worldwide . . . then we must consider that, in varying degrees, women are living a life similar to that of the colonized . . . ’’ She explores feminism and empowerment, providing an excellent primer on issues pertaining to women and peace across global contexts, including indigenous women, Middle Eastern women, and Eastern European women. Flaherty’s text embodies her narrative research project from beginning to end, with lessons and techniques that are applicable to other marginalized groups of interest. The Appendix includes a consent form, confidentiality agreement, interview guide, and more. The bibliography is a goldmine for the narrative methodology. Flaherty’s book is recommended for qualitative researcher as well as the graduate student as an excellent learning piece on research transparency and feminist methodology. Peacebuilding With Women in Ukraine would also be a valuable textbook in a doctoral qualitative methods and data analysis course. Flaherty’s writing is detailed, heartfelt, and reflexive in her demonstration of rigorous narrative research. The reader has met a colleague in Flaherty, and undoubtedly cannot wait for her next publication.
This study sought to examine how social class bias may be enacted by mentors and mentoring progra... more This study sought to examine how social class bias may be enacted by mentors and mentoring program staff within community‐based youth mentoring relationships and how these biases may influence the mentoring relationship. A narrative thematic analysis was conducted with interviews from mentors, mentees’ parents/caregivers, and mentoring program staff representing 36 matches participating in a larger, prospective, mixed‐methods study examining factors associated with early match closures. Findings indicate that although some mentors were able to partner with the youth and family to effectively navigate challenges related to the family's economic circumstances, other mentors and some mentoring program staff held deficit views of the youth and their family that appeared to be at least partially rooted in negative social class‐based assumptions about attitudes and behaviors. Specifically, we observed tendencies on the part of some mentors and program staff toward (a) deficit‐based vi...
Scant empirical attention has been devoted to understanding endings in youth mentoring relationsh... more Scant empirical attention has been devoted to understanding endings in youth mentoring relationships, despite the frequency with which they occur. This study examined data from a mixed‐methods study of mentoring relationship endings in which youth mentees, the youth's parents or guardians, mentors, and program staff were surveyed about the closure process, and a subsample of program staff, mentors, and parents or guardians also participated in in‐depth qualitative interviews. Findings from a descriptive analysis detailing the perceptions of multiple stakeholders in the closure process as reported in surveys are presented along with case studies derived from a case‐based analysis of in‐depth qualitative interview data. Most relationship endings were initiated by the mentors, and although some matches engaged in an intentional and direct closure process, more often the endings were unclear or even confusing to program participants. Implications for practice are discussed, includin...
Maureen Flaherty’s exceptionally detailed book of narrative research with Ukraine women reads not... more Maureen Flaherty’s exceptionally detailed book of narrative research with Ukraine women reads not unlike a beautiful memoir, clearly shaped by her 30 years as a social worker in trauma recovery and intimate partner abuse. The reader is quickly introduced to the events that became the foundation of Flaherty’s love for Ukraine. As she travels there for the first time in 2000, she writes, ‘‘The train ride from Lviv to Simferopol is one thousand kilometers each direction—twenty-four hours to tell stories, eat home-cooked food, raise a glass of cognac for good health and friendship . . . ’’ (p. xi). Like a good memoir, the reader begins to journey along with Flaherty. Unlike a memoir, Flaherty sets her dedication to a rigorous and conscious piece of scholarly research. Flaherty shares her understanding and application of ‘‘narrative,’’ both at the micro and macro levels across cultures. Using the narrative method, she gathered stories of the hopes and dreams of 18 Ukrainian women, using both individual interviews and larger group visioning sessions with women from Lviv and Seimferopol. Personal storytelling and group visioning are methods through which a foundation for peacebuilding can occur across diverse communities. Flaherty wanted to maximize their impact in this war-torn, struggling country that suffered centuries of oppression. Flaherty makes her qualitative research methods easily approachable to community and scholarly readers by first, providing the background of Ukrainian history, demography, religion, economics, and second, through a method designed to facilitate previously unvoiced women of Ukraine. A section is dedicated to gender, empowerment, and social change. She established her standpoint through the presentation and analysis of her own life story, contextualized by her growing up years. Flaherty’s experience in researching intimate partner abuse (see Flaherty, 2010) lends to her deep interest in helping women speak the truth of their experiences in daily life. Flaherty’s feminist perspective is charged: ‘‘If we accept that patriarchy is the standard mode of operation worldwide . . . then we must consider that, in varying degrees, women are living a life similar to that of the colonized . . . ’’ She explores feminism and empowerment, providing an excellent primer on issues pertaining to women and peace across global contexts, including indigenous women, Middle Eastern women, and Eastern European women. Flaherty’s text embodies her narrative research project from beginning to end, with lessons and techniques that are applicable to other marginalized groups of interest. The Appendix includes a consent form, confidentiality agreement, interview guide, and more. The bibliography is a goldmine for the narrative methodology. Flaherty’s book is recommended for qualitative researcher as well as the graduate student as an excellent learning piece on research transparency and feminist methodology. Peacebuilding With Women in Ukraine would also be a valuable textbook in a doctoral qualitative methods and data analysis course. Flaherty’s writing is detailed, heartfelt, and reflexive in her demonstration of rigorous narrative research. The reader has met a colleague in Flaherty, and undoubtedly cannot wait for her next publication.
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Papers by Martha Jean McCormack