SIXTH INTERNATIONAL METROPOLIS CONFERENCE

WORKSHOP 39: Mentoring, a successful instrument in education and retention

Wednesday, November 28, 2001
14:00 - 17:30


ORGANIZERS

Name: K.W.Brouwer-Vogel
Affiliation/Name of Institution: Ministery BZK; DCIM
Mailing address: Postbus 20011 2500 EA Den Haag
Courier address: Schedeldoekshaven 200
Telephone number 070 4267124
Fax number: 070 4267638
E-mail address:lia.brouwer@minbzk.nl

Name: M. de Bie & M.Tupan-Wenno
Affiliation/Name of Institution: ECHO
Mailing address: Postbus 638 3500 AP Utrecht
Courier address: Pieterskerkhof 16-17 3512 JR Utrecht
Telephone number 030 2394959
Fax number: 030 2364546
E-mail address: marloesdebie@echo-net.nl
marytupan@echo-net.nl

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Goal of the workshop:
Presentation of Mentoring as an instrument to use the knowledge/experience of older pupils or students to coach younger pupils. At the moment a range of mentoring and tutoring-projects started in schools and colleges in the Netherlands. In other countries, for example the USA, UK and Israel, mentoring is a well-known instrument to help students to overcome class-, social-, academic- and cultural barriers to higher education. Because of that, it will be interesting to hear successful experiences from scientists, policy-makers and professionals from several countries with mentoring. Besides that, it will be very useful to discuss the barriers that have been taken to lift mentoring up to a more national level.

Policy relevance and topics for discussion:
Mentoring is part of the Program Kansen Krijgen Kansen Pakken (Getting chances, Using chances) from the Dutch government for Urban Policies and Integration of Ethnic Minorities. Mentoring is also a part of the Program Onderwijskansen (Chances in Education) developed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture for the children from minorities. Because of the success of small mentoring-projects, the central question is how to make this instrument suitable for a wider application. Next to education, mentoring can, as a universal model, contribute to the integration program of ethnic minorities and newcomers.

Topics for discussion:
- The key of success in international programs (overview in research) - Barriers in organisation of mentoringprograms
- Co-ordination of mentoringprojects on a national level
- Acquisition of students to become a mentor
- Acquisition of pupils/students to become a mentee
- How to facilitate and coach the mentor.
- Criteria for evaluating a mentoringprogram

Policy-makers and researchers play a roll in the organisation of the workshop-sessions. Researchers and NGO's give their point of view about the subject, and a presentation of experiences and results of actual mentoring-projects. Policy-makers are also involved to co-ordinate and if possible generate the results of good practice and research in educational-policy.

Invited are:
Prof. V. Tinto New York (USA)
Prof. V. Tinto New York is currently Distinguished University professor at Syracuse University (New York) and chair of the higher education program. He has carried out research and has written extensively on higher education, particularly on student retention and the impact of learning communities on student growth and attainment. His expertise is in the field of retention-policy, in which his focus is on an effective learning environment. Within an effective learning environment, mentoring and tutoring play an important role.

Dr A. Mitchem (USA)
Dr A. Mitchem is president of the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) in Boston (USA). COE is a non-profit organisation, established in 1981, dedicated to furthering the expansion of educational opportunities throughout the United States, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands. COE works in conjunction with colleges, universities and agencies that host TRIO Programs to specifically help low-income Americans enter college and graduate schools.

Mr. Amos Carmeli (Israël)
Mr. Amos Carmeli, National Director of the Perach Tutoring Project form The Weizmann Institute of Science. Perach is the largest Mentoring and Tutoring project in the world. In this project every year 45.000 pupils are coached by a mentor. Mr Carmeli will focus his presentation more to the practical side of operation a large scale scheme.

Mr Alan Evans (United Kingdom)
Mr Evans is co-ordinator of the UK National Mentoring Pilot Project that is supported by the government's Department for Education and Skills. He has a good overview of the UK scheme as well as being responsible for the largest single scheme in the UK.

Dr. Maurice Crul (The Netherlands)
Dr. Maurice Crul received his MA degree in political science from the university of Amsterdam and a PhD in social science from the same university. He is currently working for both at the Interuniversity Centre For Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS) of the University of Groningen and the Institute of Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES) of the University of Amsterdam. He is engaged in a research project on ethnic minorities of the second generation in Europe based on a Hugo de Groot grant awarded by the University of Amsterdam, Utrecht and Groningen. He is also co-ordinating a research program on retention of migrant students for the IMES. He is currently involved in developing a plan for the Co-ordinating Ministry for Integration on mentoring.

ECHO (The Netherlands)
ECHO is a non-profit organisation that designed a wide range of projects to stimulate students from ethnic minorities in college and university. ECHO is facilitated by the ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Echo participates in an international network.

Good practice and experience from other countries with more experience in mentoring and tutoring, will be presented and related to the Dutch situation.

DURATION: 2 sessions

PARTICIPANTS
- Adolfo Bermeo, VS
- Nate Easley, VS
- dr. M. Crul IMES /UVA The Netherlands
- prof V. Tinto Syracuse University USA
- dr. A. Carmeli The Weizmann Institute of Science Israël

- Mary Tupan-Wenno, ECHO, The Netherlands
- Irene Kenneging, ECHO, the Netherlands

Discussion:
mrs. K.W. Brouwer-Vogel Institutional Affiliation: BZK, The Netherlands
Mr Evans DCIM, Department for Education and Skills, United Kingdom

Panel chairperson: Professor Dr. Nathan Deen, Emeritus Hoogleraar Leerlingbegeleiding (Professor in coaching pupils and students), The Netherlands