University-Based Service Learning: Relating Mentoring Experiences to Issues of Poverty

We investigated whether participation in a university-based, service learning mentoring program could affect college students' learning about social inequities and the effects of poverty. The program we examined combined four critical components: (a) Mentor training, (b) mentoring youth on-site in their high-poverty environments, (c) mentors' ongoing reflecting, and (d) class discussion of issues related to poverty and social inequities. By analyzing students' ongoing reflective journals in relation to Kolb's learning cycle, we sought to determine (a) experiences students reported to engage in while mentoring and (b) the relation between students' experiences and learning about poverty. Mentees' input was obtained via interviews to corroborate mentors' perspectives. Based on findings, recommendations for the field are proposed.