The Experience of the Mentoring Process and the Sense of Self-Efficacy, Difficulty, and Satisfaction of Mentors Working With Immigrant Youths in the Shadow of the Coronavirus

Abstract

Because of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in the mentoring process of immigrant youths were needed to maintain contact and educational continuity and prevent learning loss. The research question was: How do mentors working with immigrant youths in a time of crisis, in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, describe their experiences with the mentoring process, feelings of empowerment, difficulty, and satisfaction? And how do they perceive the mentor's role and support for the youths in various areas? This was a quantitative study involving 119 mentors. The study was conducted in Israel in 2021. The results show that mentors who reported high self-efficacy felt that they helped the youths to a great extent, both personally and professionally, and that they managed difficulties when they arose. For mentors who expressed low self-efficacy had trouble, the means of all parameters checked were significantly lower. The mentors’ sense of self-efficacy influenced the type of support they offered their students.