net.questscope@tawfiq, net.questscope@haitham , net.questscope@mihyar_haytham ,
Abstract
This study aimed to identify the effect of the mentoring program jointly undertaken by Questscope and the Ministry of Social Development in Jordan on personal competencies and social integration among disadvantaged children, 7-18 years old. Disadvantages included dropping out of school, underage employment, being in juvenile custody and experiences of violence and abuse. “Income poverty” was an underlying constraint in the lives of these children, which required identification of an effective holistic approach to reverse social alienation and support reintegration into mainstream social and economic opportunities.
The study sample consisted of 310 children who established individual mentoring relationships with a volunteer adult drawn from 968 males residing for various periods
of time in juvenile centers who participated in group activities during the period 2003-2005. Assessment scales had been adapted to Arab children to measure their responses in domains of social reintegration, problem solving skills, self-concept, and vocational maturity. Each child was assessed twice: a pre-test at the beginning and a post-test at the conclusion of the mentoring relationship. The relationship was initiated when a child chose his mentor, with weekly meetings for up to one year. A personal interview by a case supervisor and the pre-test result were used to prepare a monthly plan (4 weekly activities) for each mentor/child relationship. The study sample was divided into two groups; 149 children implementing 2 or fewer monthly plans and 161 children implementing 3 or more monthly plans.
Significant differences in all four domains were observed in pre- and post-test results between the two groups. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the effect of independent variables on the four domains. The results demonstrated that the number of monthly plans enacted by the child and mentor had the greatest impact in all the domains measured. The age of the child significantly affected problem solving skills and vocational maturity. Length of period of incarceration had a significant effect only on vocational maturity. Changes in scores on the self-concept scale were better for those children in care centers, were less good for those who were “detained” for sentencing and least good for those incarcerated and serving court-mandated sentences.
The study concluded that participation by children in a mentoring relationship, even for a short time, from 3 months to 9 months, is an holistic and effective means of affecting their lives positively towards reintegration into mainstream social and economic opportunities.
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