Evidence-based Practices in Mentoring Students with Disabilities: Four Case Studies

Individuals with disabilities are attending postsecondary institutions at higher rates than ever before, although many struggle to adjust in college environments. On one hand, higher education positively correlates with better employment outcomes, while on the other, higher edu-cation represents more stringent academic requirements and more diffused disability supports. One intervention used to check the ‘trauma’ of transition from high school to postsecondary education is mentoring. This article describes four successful mentorship programs, in various stages of maturity, which are currently funded by the National Science Foundation. The case studies describe the structure of each program, recruitment strategies, the students involved, and outcomes achieved to date. Implications or ‘lessons learned’ are also discussed to provide other important information and impetus for those anticipating such programs. INTRODUCTION Approximately 3 million individuals aged 5 to 15 years old and 24 million individuals aged 16 to 64 years old are experiencing disability in the United States, according the newest American Community Survey (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2007). Of individuals with disabilities aged 16 to 64, 37.2% were employed and 30.7% lived below the pover-ty line (U.S. Bureau of the Census). These statistics are similar to those reported in 2005, when 38.1 percent of working age adults with disabilities reported working, with only 22.6 percent working full-time for the full year (StatsRRTC, 2005). Jones (1997) and Smith (2007) noted that people with disabilities continue to experience not-ably lower rates of employment than indi-viduals without disabilities and that targeted interventions are needed to impact these dis-crepancies. Mentoring is one example of an intervention that has been promoted for enhancing facili-tators and reducing barriers for successful educational and vocational opportunities for people with disabilities (Burgstahler, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008; Campbell-Whatley, 2001; Campbell-Whatley, Algozzine, & Obiakor, 1997; Jones, 1997; Kram & Isabella, 1985; Stumbo, Lindahl-Lewis, & Blegen, 2008). Mentoring for individuals with disabilities has been widely advocated, although not well-researched or documented (Coombs-Richardson, 2002; Powers, Sowers, & Ste-vens, 1995; Snowden, 2003; Stumbo et al.; Sword & Hill, 2003; Whelley, Radtke, Burgstahler, & Christ, 2003; Wilson, 2003). DuBois and Rhodes (2006), in establishing a national research agenda for youth mentor-ing, called for “best practice” program de-scriptions that produce positive outcomes. This article describes four related, but inde-pendent, mentoring programs for secondary and postsecondary students with disabilities. Descriptions on the overall structure, re-cruitment strategies, types of students in-volved, outcomes, and implications are pro-vided for these programs that promote the success of students with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and ma-thematics (STEM) education and careers. Each of these four programs provides men