Open AccessMentors’ motivation to address race/ethnicity in research mentoring relationships.
Author(s) -
Amanda R. Butz,
Kimberly Spencer,
Nancy Thayer-Hart,
Ivan E. Cabrera,
Angela ByarsWinston
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of diversity in higher education
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1938-8926
pISSN - 1938-8934
DOI - 10.1037/dhe0000096
Subject(s) - ethnic group , amotivation , race (biology) , psychology , self determination theory , workforce , qualitative research , intrinsic motivation , social psychology , sociology , gender studies , political science , social science , autonomy , anthropology , law
The purpose of this study was to investigate the motivation of research mentors to address race/ethnicity in their research mentoring relationships, using self-determination theory as a conceptual framework. Mentors from STEM fields primarily in the biological sciences ( N = 115) were asked to report their level of motivation and the reasons behind their motivation to address the role of race and ethnicity in their mentoring relationships. Mentors' responses were coded using a qualitative approach, and results were examined by mentors' degree of motivation, previous experience with mentoring trainees from different racial/ethnic groups, and mentor race/ethnicity. Extrinsic motivation and amotivation were the most frequently assigned codes to mentors' responses. Implications of these findings for mentor practices, higher education initiatives, and for diversifying the STEM workforce are discussed.