Type of Activity:
x Mentoring
❑ Peer Mentoring
❑ Workshop
Relevant pillar: Community Participation & Relationships
Relevant competence(s): Transversal Elements, Social & Civic, Learning to Learn, Communication, Cultural Awareness & Expression.
Duration: minimum 4 hours (it is recommended to implement this activity at least, at two different moments in time)
Materials and Resources: laptop with internet access, printer, A4 paper, notebook, markers, pens.
One-to-one activity mentoring.
As the previous one, this activity is organized in two components: (i) Building trust (essential to all mentoring initiatives – transversal component of the activity) and (ii) to help the mentee identify opportunities, interests, willingness to pursue a personal constructive path regarding his/her community participation.
Recommendations: If session 1 was implemented, this topic is not of mandatory reading. Please go to the next section, Objectives.
Please take in consideration that this is a mentoring session – not a training or educational activity, or even a workshop! The Leaving Care Professional (LCP) is not a teacher/trainer/facilitator, he/she is a caring, more experienced individual(s) that will establish a relationship with a less experienced person resulting in the provision of support, friendship and constructive role modelling consistently over a period of time. The role of the LCP is to provide the young person with support, guidance, and assistance. The Leaving Care Professional acting as a mentor should be able to listen and ask questions that will challenge the mentee to identify the course of action they need to take in regard to their own development.
Flexibility is an asset! – This mentoring session can combine different activities, starting from getting-to-know each other and reflecting on the self, then building the relationship, until the stage of discussing the specific topic of community participation.
- To pursue the development of the process of building a positive, constructive and secure/trustful relationship.
- To identify opportunities, interests, willingness to pursue a personal constructive path regarding mentee’s Community participation.
Outcomes
- To deepen the process of getting to know each other and share different (e.g., personal and cultural) aspects of themselves, their life paths, or other subjects considered relevant.
- Enhancement of mentee’s sense of trust, security and constructiveness in the relationship with the LCP.
- Increase of the mentees’ ability to organize her/his sense of self and to positively express feelings about her/his self, life events, and significant people, specifically focused on the challenges of community participation.
- Develop the mentee’s awareness of her/his choices in creating the future regarding to Community participation.
Global considerations (cf. Session 1) – If session 1 was implemented, this topic is not of mandatory reading. Please go to Challenges.
The mentoring process can be useful for a large diversity of situations and in different stages of the life trajectory. Because it is a flexible, people centred, and constructive process, where “an experienced and trusted advisor” (in this case an adult) share his/her experience and knowledge in a facilitative manner to support the development of the mentee it is particularly relevant for children integrate in state care system. It can be a very interesting opportunity for the mentee to know a positive and constructive influence in his/her life, and to develop a relationship based on trust, sharing, respect and caring.
To do that, the LCP will have a challenging role, in which he/she will be asked to:
- Actively listen to the mentee
- Provide different perspectives (not only those of the LCP’s)
- Encourage self-analysis and self-reflexion
- Give constructive critics and accept that are other ways of seeing, feeling and being in the world
- Provide evidence-based feedback
- Ask questions to help understanding better situations or problems
- Both – the LCP and mentee need to have open minded, positive approaches. Therefore, the LCP should avoid leading questions and always have in mind that decisions are made by the mentee.
- Provide information and knowledge, inform and share (in)formal networks
- Provide advice on educational and/or career development, and/or other topics considered relevant by the mentee
- Focus on relationship in positive and constructive approaches – provide support and encouragement
Regarding key mentoring skills, the following are commonly expressed in the literature):
- Self-Awareness –implies a good understanding of his/her own strengths and development needs
- Credibility – on personal and professional level
- Accessibility –willingness and commitment in terms of time and availability for support and guidance
- Communication – great communication skills and be able to understand the ideas and feelings of others is a must!
- Ability to empower – the LCP should be able to create a learning/sharing environment where it is safe for mentees to disclose or try out different things,
- Creativity and Inventiveness – be open to new ways of doing things and different ways of learning/working
- Empathy – Ability to empathise with the mentees
- Understanding – ability to understand different perspectives, approaches and possibly backgrounds of different mentees.
-Self-confidence and self-concept might be low, especially in relation to self-development and community participation. Those can be demanding emotional moments for a mentee with difficulties in establishing long lasting (in)formal relationships.
-Some concepts may be too abstract/difficult and seam irrelevant for the mentee.
-To establish a positive, constructive and trustful relationship with the mentee (taking in consideration that children need time, opportunities to connect and develop activities together, and moments of confidence and sharing which require flexibility and support from the LCP).
– The LCP will be prepared to adequately address emotional distress and self-confidence/self-concept doubts/difficulties, especially in relation to Community participation, the ability to connect and relate to significant others.
-The LCP will use common language (if technical concepts are needed, they will be explained through practical examples, analogies and/or personal experiences) to ensure the mentee properly understands what is being said. Please focus on the aspects/dimensions of community participation that are perceived as relevant and as a priority for the mentee.
-The LCP will focus on establishing a positive, constructing and trustful relationship with the mentee. To do so, he/she will have an open minded, flexible approach, and will ensure the mentoring process occurs accordingly to the mentee’s needs, interests, capacities and expectations. This might implicate adjustments in the objectives, contents, methodologies and/or activities of each session- in order to enhance efficiency and efficacy of the mentorship. This does not mean, however, that this guideline is to be discarded – it will always guide the mentoring path, even though each path will, evidently, be unique.
Each mentoring path is singular, and this is part of its richness. Therefore, no structured mandatory activities will be suggested for the 9 sessions of mentoring. Instead we propose to give suggestions for mentor and mentee to consider and to implement, with the flexibility and adaptation that are needed. The mentoring journey as will be personalised will have different priorities of development for each child.
For this meeting, the suggestion is for the LCP to focus on discussing:
Part A
- Review of the first session experience – major positive elements, what needs change/improvement, emotional state of mind during and after the session,
- Help develop a doable action plan and support its implementation: give support on identification of objectives, signalization of initiatives/actions, definition of major steps to accomplish objectives, definition of monitoring strategies.
- Provide constructive feedback
- Identify strengths and achievements and explore options
- Coach on specific areas of difficulty/needs if need
- Create opportunities for mentees to gain experience
Part B
- Communication Participation
a. Discussion history of community participation and (in)formal networks of the mentee
b. Major achievements, assets and positive dimensions in relation to Community participation
i. In the life path
ii. Focusing on present
c. Major perceived difficulties and barriers to community participation
i. In the life path
ii. Focusing on present
d. Goals, wishes, fears and expectations regarding Community participation
i. In the life path
ii. Focusing on present and future decisions
e. Relationships in my life – characteristics, positive components, dimensions/aspects that need improvement
i. During childhood
ii. During adolescence
iii. Nowadays
f. Goals, wishes, fears and expectations regarding my interpersonal relationships
i. In the life path
ii. Focusing on present and future decisions
A. Building trust
a. Getting to Know Each Other
i. Ensure empathy and positive interaction
ii. Be predictable and consistent
iii. Ensure confidentiality
iv. Anticipate mistrust and suspicion
v. Recognize any signs frustration related to refusal to talk, resistance to change, mistrust
vi. Be open minded!
b. Develop a constructive relationship
i. Give time to know each other
1. Establish Boundaries
a. Physical
b. Emotional and psychological
c. Social
d. Other (e.g., spiritual)
2. Be flexible!
3. Be curious and interested – but not intrusive!
ii. Be trustful and honest
1. Be assertive
2. Ensure transparency in your perspective and actions
iii. Spend time together – have fun!
1. Plan activities together
2. Do activities together
3. Monitor and assess activities together
B. Community participation and interpersonal relationships
The Leaving Care Professional can choose to implement activity 1 or 2 to introduce the child in care to this subject.
- “My life if I was a cartoon”: A brief visual story of my significant (in)formal networks and relevant people throughout my childhood and teenage years.
Justification: The possibility of building a “cartoon story” (by drawing the cartoon, by using digital programmes, by collage technique, by cutting and gluing some cartoons from existent journals, or by other mean chosen by the mentee) can be a creative and fun way of signalizing the most relevant events, people, achievements and difficulties in the area of community participation during childhood and adolescence. Instead of the traditional, “sometimes perceived as boring” biographical interview, this technique is a dynamic way of access relevant life path contents. Because an output is produced (The cartoon), this activity can also be revised during other sessions, to reinforce the skills and achievements the mentee is getting from his/her mentoring process.
- “Let’s make a visual representation of (in)formal networks”
Justification: It is not infrequent that ageing out children have difficulty systematizing information regarding their past and current significant (in)formal relationships and networks. To make a visual representation will help him/her structure information, plan and organize how to present it, and reflect on the most relevant features and characteristics of this relations and networks. It will also be an important asset to plan and develop an action plan to state community participation. One common way of doing this is to draw a “pizza” with different slices for each relevant (in)formal network. However, other shapes and/or other visual representations can be made – let’s be creative!
- “Relationships, relationships…”: Key rules to improve trust, confidence and connection
Justification: The establishment of long-lasting trustful relationships is one of the most commonly mentioned difficulties for children with long term paths in state care system. This activity is devoted to support the identification of difficulties and the recognition of strengths, helping the mentee to develop strategies to overcome mistrust, barriers to connect, miscommunication and/or other difficulties felt. To make it more interesting we suggest doing it as a Blogger interview – each one has 3 minutes to ask relevant questions that have to be answered by the respondent as if he/she was a very influential blogger that was giving tips for young adults (e.g., Q: Why do you think trusting is difficult”? Answer: “well… as a blogger connected to so many people… I can say that it is difficult because… people lie to you! But my fellow supporters – not trusting stays in you, not in the liar! Humans need to trust each other to be able to live together…”).
4.“If I was a Community participation agent for a child in care”
Justification: To systematize the responsibilities and major goals of someone who is responsible for enhancing community participation of children ageing out is an interesting opportunity for the LCP to actively listen to the perspective of the mentee regarding the role of those who might help children in this area, and also to demystify/deconstruct/clarify some myths, wrong ideas or misbeliefs about it. The discussion is an open moment for brainstorming, debate, creative analysis and reflexion – the LCP should avoid imposing personal opinion and/or to lead the discussion.