Professional Identity Exploration and Commitment Development by STEM Undergraduates From Underrepresented Groups During Near-Peer Mentoring

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This study examines near-peer mentoring as a context for professional identity development by undergraduates from groups that are underrepresented in STEM higher education. Mentees were students in a computer science/mathematics‑focused scholarship program, with a two-tiered near-peer mentoring component that paired 1st-2nd‑year undergraduate mentees with 3rd-4th year mentors and 3rd-4th year mentees with early‑career professional mentors. We analyzed mentoring conversation summaries from three mentor–mentee pairs, spanning one academic year. Mentoring relationships provided safe spaces for students’ professional identity exploration and the development of commitments toward career paths and life goals. Across all cases, conversation summaries reflected the articulation and exploration of students’ beliefs, self-perceptions, goals, and action possibilities. Our findings highlight near-peer mentoring as a strategy for promoting student development and retention in STEM degree programs. Suggestions for further research include analyses of longer-term mentee identity development via mentoring relationships and analyses of identity development among mentors.