Abstract
Improvement in the proportion of underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities (URMs) in academic positions has been unsatisfactory. Although this is a complex problem, one key issue is that graduate students often rely on research mentors for career-related support, the effectiveness of which can be variable. We present results from a novel academic career “coaching” intervention, one aim of which was to provide supplementary social support for PhD students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds. Coaching was delivered both within small groups and on an individual basis, with a diverse group of coaches and students coming from many universities. Coaches were provided with additional diversity training. Ninety-six semistructured interviews with 33 URM students over 3 years were analyzed using a qualitative framework approach. For most of the URM PhD students, coaching provided social support in the form of emotional, informational, and appraisal support. Coaching groups provided a noncompetitive environment and “community of support” within which students were able to learn from one another’s experiences and discuss negative and stressful experiences related to their graduate school, lab, or career plans. This coached peer group model is capable of providing the social support that many URM students do not find at their home universities.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | ar64 |
| Journal | CBE life sciences education |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2017 |
Funding
This research is supported by an NIH Director’s Pathfinder Award to Promote Diversity in the Scientific Workforce, “Translating Theory to Practice to Diversify the Biomedical Research Community,” DP4 GM096807 (ARRA), and the following NIH grants: R01 GM085385, R01 GM085385-02S1 (ARRA), R01 NR011987, R01 GM107701, and 1R35GM118184-01. R.M. is the PI on all the above grants, and S.N.W. and B.K.T. have been funded through these grants. We thank our colleagues and other members of the Scientific Careers Research and Development Group for significant discussions throughout the course of this project: Jill Keller, PhD; Patricia Campbell, PhD; Lynn Gaz-ley, MPH PhD; Toni Gutierrez, PhD; Beth Morrissey, MA; Sandra LaBlance, PhD; Ebony O. McGee, PhD; Robin Remich, MAT MEd; Christine Wood, PhD; Bryan Breau, BA; Steven P. Lee, PhD; Jennifer Richardson, PhD; Michelle Naffziger-Hirsch, PhD; Remi Jones, MA; Anne Caliendo, MSEd. Special thanks are also due to Letitia Onyango, MS, and Veronica Womack, PhD, for their invaluable contributions to the Academy project during this study.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology