Date of Award

3-16-2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

School of Education

First Advisor

Patrick Allen, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Terry Huffman, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Gary Sehorn, Ed.D.

Abstract

More than ever before, students are being raised in families without both sets of parents and are coming to school without the skills needed to be successful. This has led to a high failure rate, and missing a number of school days is causing other students to enter high school underprepared. This phenomenological study will focus on answering the question: “After completing the Ambassadors of Compassion mentoring program, how did mentees describe their experiences?” This phenomenological study looked closely at 5 eighth-grade boys who were involved in a mentoring program. The mentor program, Ambassadors of Compassion, was led by a trained mentor (“Ambassadors of Compassion,” 2017). Reports were drafted from interviews with the group in the program and detailed field notes through two observations conducted toward the end of the program.

Four themes emerged from the research: Taking initiative in their own lives, students care deeply about their grades, Ambassadors of Compassion was a venue where trust was established, and skills learned could translate to all different backgrounds. These themes were consistent with the norms expected of both the mentee and the mentor, the purpose behind the mentoring of students, and mentor program successes. As a result of conducting this study, a number of suggestions were formulated to make the Ambassador of Compassion program more successful. If these are followed, the relationship between the mentor and the mentee may well be strengthened, with the mentee gaining optimum guidance while taking part in the program.

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