Abstract

Many African American high-school students face challenges as they transition from childhood to adulthood. Research suggests that there is a link between mentoring programs and student success. The aim of this qualitative study was to gather data that may be used to design impactful mentoring programs, especially life-skills-focused mentoring programs serving African American students. This study investigated the motivating factors that influenced African American parents’ decisions to enroll their child in a mentoring program. Data were collected through individual interviews of parents of enrolled and non-enrolled students. Leaders of mentoring programs could utilize the findings from this study for recruitment purposes.