Transformative Relationships and Empowerment

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Ford, Ebony Latasha
Area of Honors:
Psychology
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Marinda Kathryn Harrell Levy, Thesis Supervisor
Kimberly Blockett, Thesis Honors Advisor
Pauline Bernadette Guerin, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
mentor
empowerment
transformative relationships
self-efficacy
community activism
power
social justice
role model
Abstract:
Two studies, one quantitative and one qualitative, were conducted to determine the link between transformative mentoring experiences and positive development later in life. Qualitatively, eight interviews were conducted with former students of a required high school course focused on building self-efficacy. Participants reported positive development later in life as a result of both their time in the course and their relationships with the course’s teachers. Participants were heavily influenced by the supportive environment of the course which was facilitated by their teachers who acted as unconventional mentors. Quantitatively, 135 college students were surveyed to examine the relationship between experiences with role models and forms of empowerment. Three forms of empowerment were measured: self-efficacy, power, and community activism. Participants were considered empowered if they had experienced an increase in their self-efficacy, feelings of power, and efforts toward activism. The results of linear regression analyses revealed that there is a significant, positive relationship between perceptions of role models and levels of self-efficacy and community activism later in life, respectively. Significance was not found for the relationship between participants' perception of role models and feelings of power later in life.