Investigates how mentoring influences STEM learning outcomes in girls, indicating the importance of educational and motivational prerequisites.
Our study examined how mentoring success in promoting girls in STEM depends on mentees’ environmental and motivational prerequisites. Following a systemic approach, we analyzed how participation in a one-year online mentoring program in STEM was associated with growth in endogenous STEM learning resources (learning capital) among 330 talented girls (Mage = 13.48), and what role (a) initial resources for STEM learning in their personal environment (educational capital), and (b) their motivation to engage with STEM played in this growth. On average, participants’ learning capital slightly improved during mentoring. We found a compensatory effect of mentoring: girls who began mentoring with low educational capital demonstrated larger increases in learning capital. This effect was particularly pronounced among participants with a comparatively low motivation to engage with STEM, suggesting that mentoring can compensate for both resource constraints and low motivation. Girls who started mentoring with high educational capital and high motivation also tended to improve more, indicating a positive Matthew effect. However, among well-resourced participants with lower motivation, online mentoring was detrimental to development. These findings underscore the importance of considering mentees’ prerequisites in explaining mentoring success and offer practical implications for talent mentoring for girls in STEM and beyond.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Bayer et al. (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: