A new study found that mentors of a similar background can help usher young people into STEM. The study, “Individual differences in preferences for matched-ethnic mentors among high-achieving ethnically diverse adolescents in STEM” was published in the journal “Child Development” recently.
The study found that, for minority youth, having a mentor of a similar background could really make a difference:
Over the four weeks of the program, their perceptions of contact with mentors of similar background increased and were also associated with an increased sense of identity and belonging as a science student.
This is all going on against the background of the fact that minorities and women are underrepresented in both STEM fields and in STEM classes. Check out a fuller article on this study here.
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Sara Inés Calderón is a journalist and writer who lives between Texas and California. Follow her on Twitter @SaraChicaD.
