<p> While there is an abundant amount of research relative to coaching and mentoring programs, there is little understanding about the interaction between coaches/mentors and students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate student perceptions of their academic coaching and mentoring experiences at two Southern California community colleges. Alexander Astin's input-environment-output (I-E-O) model and theory of involvement was used alongside an interpretive model to help explain students' understanding of their experiences with coaches and mentors. One-on-one interviews and a focus group were conducted and provided data that led to the emergence of themes related to role models, empowerment, and motivation. In addition, the one-on-one interviews and the focus group also illustrated students' strong desires to pursue advance and professional degrees. In addition the findings highlighted the importance of race and ethnicity in the establishment of rapport and the need to validate individuals as college students with the abilities to peruse advance degrees in higher education. Lastly, the research identified role modeling, cultural connectedness, opportunities for mentoring, and the various institutional agents who may occupy the status of a mentor or coach as important factors in the mentoring and coaching experiences. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3580206 |
| Date | 20 May 2014 |
| Creators | Perez, Eduardo |
| Publisher | California State University, Fullerton |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
Page generated in 0.025 seconds