The chess coach: what can we learn from mentoring as an educational process?

1. The chess coach: what can we learn from mentoring as an educational process? Kate Philip, The Rowan Group CISCCON International Conference University of Aberdeen 30th August – 1st September 2007

2. This presentation will Explore dimensions of youth mentoring Relate these to approaches to informal education Raise questions about how mentoring processes might interact with the role of the chess coach

3. Researching mentoring • Previous work - young people’s perspectives on ‘natural mentoring’ processes • Typology of informal mentoring • Study of organised mentoring (Sharing a Laugh)

4. Arguably based on ancient myths Waves of youth mentoring A response to fears about and for youth Perceived decline in intergenerational relationships and in neighbourhood Broad appeal to a range of interests Idea of community base and link with Puttnam’s notion of social capital Where has mentoring emerged from?

5. What is Youth mentoring? The mentor is someone with greater experience or wisdom than the mentee. Second the mentor offers guidance or instruction that is intended to facilitate the growth and development of the mentee. Third, there is an emotional bond between mentor and mentee, a hallmark of which is a sense of trust (Dubois and Karcher, 2005:3)

6. Themes • A ‘protective’ factor or a ‘steeling mechanism (resilience) • A consistent and continuing presence (attachment) • A guide, adviser, broker, supporter (social support) • Community based (ecological)

7. Informal Education • Emphasis on dialogue between teachers and learners and learners themselves • Experiential and grounded • A co-operative process • Aim of critical reflection

8. Mentoring – informal education • You do the stuff that you are meant to do but with (the mentor) it is different and you’re doing it because you wantto • A starting point for educational processes to begin • Negotiated agenda and boundaries • A bridge to new experiences and sometimes social worlds (for mentors and mentees) • A catalyst to build up new skills • A means of ensuring compliance or critical thinking?

9. Informal and Formal mentoring • Distinction between informal mentoring and formal mentoring • Both have educational aims although these are often implicit • Planned mentoring often explicitly based on a deficit model of young people

10. Informal Mentoring • Active participation • Resolving conflict, renegotiating relationships, trying out new identity • A ‘safe setting’ in which to take risks in learning – leaving the ‘baggage behind’ • Chess as a starting point?

12. Findings: formal mentoring • Many in the sample had poor educational experiences and were excluded from mainstream • Mentoring offered some young people a means of developing alternative forms of relationship • Successful mentors went beyond traditional professional boundaries

13. The importance of relationship • Reciprocity – sharing a laugh • A voluntary relationship • Negotiating boundaries and agendas • An alternative to sometimes difficult peer and family relationships • Qualities of trust, shared interests, challenge and respect

15. But caution needed • Moving on and moving out • Coercive mentoring and ‘unfriendly contexts’ • Unsuccessful mentoring can undermine confidence and capacity • A ‘risky’ process for all involved

16. Building a mentor rich environment • Assumption that young people have few opportunities to develop informal relationships with adults • Capitalising on shared interests and capacities • Offering a link between individual and group • Need for longitudinal insights

17. Mentoring and coaching What does youth mentoring have to offer in this field? • Mentoring as an educational intervention • The importance of relationships to learning • A community based approach • Links with coaching practices

18. Mentoring and chess • Does chess playing offer a means of engaging with young people who may wish a mentor? • To what extent should peer mentoring be developed within chess playing groups? • Could chess playing offer a setting in which mentoring relationships could be developed for excluded young people?