Peer mentoring model in Sapienza University of Rome: first results

The transition from high school to university is a period characterized by a higher rate of drop-out, above all in Italy ([1], [2]). Students must face a complex inclusion in a different environment that requires adjustments in self-regulation of learning processes and acquisition of new organizational and self-assessment skills ([3], [4]). The university context often implements strategies to facilitate this critical transition, such as peer-mentoring that results in a successful practice. First-year students of the Pedagogy degree courses at the Sapienza University of Rome have to attend a research lab under the supervision and mediation of a professor and a mentor (a senior student) who offer guidance and support ([5]). During this experience, students can follow a research project in all its phases, acquiring new skills and linking theory to practice ([6]). In order to investigate this peer mentoring model, a group of researchers from the Department of Psychology of Development and Socialization Processes is conducting research involving mentors, through focus groups, and students, administering a questionnaire. The study explores their points of view about the organizational and relational dimensions that characterize the research lab. This paper aims to analyze the role of peer mentoring in students’ experiences, showing results from the questionnaire administered in December 2021. The focus is on the student voice to investigate the efficacy and the value of the laboratory experience, presenting a model of categories and sub-categories emerging from open questions. Categories regard the reasons behind the students’ choice of the research project; eventual movement between researches; students’ expectations and judgements; wishes to leave or change the research. Findings suggest criticalities in the organization; however, the research lab is evaluated positively on participants’ personal and educational levels. Creating a community of practice, whose core is the relationship, would seem to be the real strength of this experience.