What's in a story? Comparative analysis of role model and mentor narratives

Abstract

Role models, mentors, and coaches play a key part in the development and ultimate success of students in higher education. In particular, underrepresented minorities (URMs) in STEM may not see themselves in the faculty and support staff in their disciplines and may struggle to make strong professional connections with those who do not share their multiple identities and cultural values. In this study, we compare narratives shared by 36 potential role models and 29 mentors in STEM and how those narratives might differentially impact the viewer based on their identity-based and culturally-situated themes. Our results suggest that, despite the many contextual differences (e.g., age, point in professional career, race, ethnicity, etc.), role models and mentors share many of the same kinds of narratives around their values and aspirations. However, the apparent differences are often identity-relevant, and the role models' narratives generated deep emotional responses in the researchers as viewers. Future work will explore students as viewers based on these results.