Adaptation of the Mentoring Fan across Cultures: Lessons from India

Background and Purpose:

Youth mentoring programs are active across the globe. Yet, most of the research on mentoring has been conducted in Western countries, thereby under recognizing the critical role of context and culture in relationship building. Within Western countries, evidence suggests benefits of mentoring programs for mentees, including decreased stress, fewer depression symptoms, and greater life satisfaction. Process-oriented research has also looked at how attunement skills of mentors and mentoring staff create, develop, and maintain the mentoring relationship with a young person. The present study focused on the Mentoring FAN for staff of India’s first and largest youth mentorship-focused non-profit organization. Mentoring FAN training focuses on developing attunement skills among mentoring staff. The study examined the impact of the training on staff skills, and explored the cultural adaptations required.

Methods:

All staff (n=15) from six program sites of the mentoring program completed a survey focused on mindfulness, staff attunement, and empathy prior to, and following, the training sequence. Level I FAN training was offered virtually through one, three-hour training. All participants engaged in a two-month Level II Reflective Practice phase where they submitted reflections prior to each session. Participants attended one of two focus groups on the experience of the training, challenges faced in using the Mentoring FAN, and observations about adaptation to the Indian context. In the Reflective Practice phase, 76 total reflections were submitted from 15 staff members. Combined with data from the two focus groups, thematic analysis of insights shared was engaged by the research team cross-culturally. Key themes were reviewed with program participants and discussed as a form of member-checking and to build rigor in the analysis.

Findings:

Statistically significant differences were found in staff empathy, suggesting that mentoring staff were more able to take the perspective of the other. Themes derived from the qualitative data largely centered on participants’ initial apprehensions, evolving understanding, and gradual application of the Mentoring FAN within their cultural context. The primary gain from FAN approach was the move from a traditional, directive relationship to a more collaborative relationship, guided in part by self-regulating practices: “Earlier discussions with my mentees were more power driven (where I ask and they answer), but now it is more relational and there is no power dynamics. I can say today that with power difference being strongly evident, mentees often are not open and honest, but when [the] relationship we have with them is strong, they share everything.”

Conclusions and Implications:

This study provides a nuanced example of lessons learned in one setting, in order to help us understand how the concept of attunement can be translated thoughtfully and systematically across cultures. While power sharing was not traditional and felt awkward in the beginning, the collaborative relationship that resulted was seen as more effective in mentor engagement. Mentoring programs are built around helping relationships; how helping relationships are defined is culturally determined. Yet, the concept of attunement—being seen and heard—may cross cultural boundaries as an element of mentoring practice applicable in different cultures.