Mentoring

What is mentoring?

Mentorship is the guidance, influence, or direction of a person given by an experienced and trusted advisor. A mentor may teach, counsel, and advocate for their mentee in this relationship, thereby influencing their professional, mental, moral, spiritual and personal growth.

Our approach

Roadworks Media provides mentoring programmes which support :

  • Role Modelling,

  • Mentee support,

  • Access to resources,

  • Relationships and experiences,

  • Conversations about behaviour change.

Why is mentoring important?

Mentoring programs are advised to produce positive outcomes for individuals involved in educational settings (Hansford & Ehrich, 2005) It has also been shown to help create autonomy through the mentor influencing them in five ways (Davis & McQuillin, 2021):

1. Role-Modelling, whereby the mentor inspires the mentee to imitate their behaviour.

2. Encouraging, where the mentor gives the mentee support, confidence and hope for future success.

3. Providing access to resources, opening doors to different opportunities and assets they may not have otherwise.

4. Relationships and experiences, including other positive influences and experiences outside of what they know.

5. Conversations about behaviour change, opening an honest dialogue about the past, present and future.

Why this is crucial for our work

Mentoring programmes have become increasingly popular, to instil self-belief, confidence, and self-esteem. Research has shown that mentoring programs support and deter people who have had a history of offending. There is also evidence that mentoring may contribute to deterring offending behaviour and support the discontinuation of crime (Kirkwood, 2021).

References:

Davis, A. L., & McQuillin, S. D. (2021). Supporting Autonomy in Youth Mentoring Relationships. Journal of Community Psychology, 1-19.

Hansford, B., & Ehrich, L. C. (2005). The Principalship: How Significant is Mentoring. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(1), 36-52.

Kirkwood, S. (2021). ‘A Wee Kick Up The Arse’: Mentoring, Motivation, and Desistance From Crime. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 1-17.

“Working with roadworks I have leant that being committed and consistent is very important. If you miss one day you could miss a lot. I've learnt that being an actor means you learn new skills, not only how to become better at playing a character but also being able to work with new people and learn from them as well. Roadworks has let me make new friends and improve my acting and learn what's important.”

- Leila (Programme participant 2022)

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