From the inside out: Exemplary music education association mentoring programs

Effective mentor-mentee pairings tend to increase mentees' efficacy and motivation, bolster commitment, enhance instructional quality, and positively enhance student achievement. In response to situations in which school-provided mentoring is not possible or where music mentees receive a school-assigned, non-music mentor, an increasing number of state music education associations (MEAs) have designed and implemented supplemental, music-specific mentoring programs. The purpose of this article is to examine several existing MEA programs through interviews with program coordinators, mentors, and mentees. By understanding the nature of what reportedly works combined with extant research and practitioner's literature, we discuss specific policy and practice recommendations for local, state, and national music groups currently with and without such programs. These findings, along with a description of each program, provide the foundation for a discussion about how policy may be able to lend support to existing programs as well as lay the groundwork for new ones.