Can Mentors Help Primary School Children with Behaviour Problems?

• NCJ Number: 192636
• Author(s): Ian St. James-Roberts; Clifford Samlal Singh
• Date Published: November 2001
• Length: 60 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Great Britain Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate
• Sale Source: Great Britain Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: Home Office Research Study 233; downloaded January 7, 2002. See NCJ-192635 for the summary.

Annotation

This report provides a summative evaluation of a mentoring program conducted in London, England for elementary school children with behavior problems and other risk factors.

Abstract

The CHANCE program began in 1996 in Islington, London, and is a community-based intervention program that provides trained mentors. The goal is to intervene early to support and redirect the children away from more serious and long-term problems. The evaluation covered the period from March 1997 to March 2000. Evaluation data came from participation in program management committee meetings; regular contacts with the project team; interviews with managers, mentors, teachers who had referred children, mentored children, and mothers; and document reviews. Results revealed that those involved considered the project to be well managed. In addition, the program was effective in that trusting relationships developed and the children, their parents, and the mentors all reported some improvements after the mentoring period, particularly in the children’s development of confidence, self-control, and social awareness and relationships. However, a comparison group of children achieved equivalent improvements, and serious problems continued in both groups. The analysis concluded that mentoring may not be able to achieve significant improvements in general behavior in children with behavior problems within a year and that further support may also be needed to further developments of the solution-focused stage of mentoring. Findings also suggested the need for multiple interventions; the CHANCE program successfully developed parent support and child/peer programs alongside the child/mentor program during its second and third years. Findings also suggested that alternative ways of funding and supporting development projects need to be tried in that efforts to seek continuation funding interfere with project implementation. The CHANCE program has continued to develop since the time covered by the evaluation and the findings of the evaluation contributed to its further development. Tables 31 references