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Findings
Through the process of coding and analysis, four themes emerged:
• Availability: The availability of the mentor to support the mentee impacts the
effectiveness of the pairing.
• Understanding: The ability of the mentor to understand the challenges faced
by the mentee impacts the effectiveness of the pairing.
• Relationships: The mentor-mentee relationship and participants’ personalities
can have an impact on the effectiveness of the pairing.
• Mindset: The mindset of both the mentee and the mentor can have an impact
on the effectiveness of the pairing.
Each of these four themes (Figure) is introduced in this section. For purposes
of brevity, the themes are referred to by one-word descriptions—availability,
understanding, relationships, and mindset—through the remainder of this section.

Figure
Prevalence of Each Theme by Subgroup
Themes by Subgroup (percentage)

Availability
The theme of availability emerged from both mentees and mentors as key to
the effectiveness of the pairing. Both mentees and mentors expressed that, when
their program partner was not only on site but also readily available to meet both
formally and informally, the relationship was perceived as more positive and the
mentee felt more supported. Dallas, a second-year mentee, said simply, “I appreciate
the face-to-face stuff” and added that being on the same site as his mentor was an
advantage because she “kind of knows where to find things. Go to the stage, on the
left-hand corner, on the bottom shelf, and you’re going to find what you’re looking
for.” Kelly, a middle school mentor who also was formerly a mentee in the program,

14 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators