Wincierz, Mary Mulenga
Research Interests:
Youth Development, Youth Mentoring, Education, Social Exclusion and the Youth, Marginalisation and the Youth, “at-risk Youth”, Youth Inclusion, Socio-economic Development, Non-profit Organisations, Youth Policy, Social Policy, Poverty
Geographical Area:
Zambia
Current Project:
Towards Theory Building: An Exploration of Experiences and Perceptions Associated with Youth Mentoring Practice in Southern Africa. A Grounded Theory Study in Zambia
The majority of disadvantaged young people the world over lack positive role models, and meaningful relationships with supportive adults within their immediate families and communities, which promote young people’s wellbeing. Youth mentoring is one of the most renowned social interventions, especially in the Anglo-Saxon countries, where it continues to grow. There is also evidence of its presence in other parts of the world, including Africa. However, there seems to be limited literature to support youth mentoring practice in Africa, particularly Zambia. Defining youth mentoring is also a challenge to researchers due to its flexible nature and, thus, its use in diverse contexts for a variety of reasons. Thus, this study will be based in Zambia, a context where youth mentoring activities seem evident but may not have been scientifically explored.
Considering these challenges and, consequently, the research question: what experiences and perceptions do mentors and mentees associate with youth mentoring practice in Zambia? A qualitative constructivist grounded theory approach seems to be most suitable, as there seems to be no existing theory available to explain the processes of youth mentoring in Zambia. Being an emerging method, this approach will allow the research process to begin with the empirical world and develop inductively in trying to understand mentors and mentees’ experiences, meanings, and actions within their contexts, as information will continue to develop gradually, and knowledge continue to advance. Through its interpretive methods, this approach will aim at gaining detailed, in-depth and situated knowledge about the phenomenon of youth mentoring in Zambia.
Therefore, using the constructivist grounded theory methodology, the researcher will explore the daily experiences and perceptions that mentors and mentees associate with the phenomenon, youth mentoring, in the Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces of Zambia. Being a constructivist grounded theory study, the following research objectives will guide and direct the research process:
- To explain youth mentoring from a Zambian perspective and contribute to existing global debate;
- to construct theory/concepts that may contribute to a better understanding of youth mentoring in Zambia and its potential as an intervention to reduce discrimination for disadvantaged youth, especially among policymakers and youth development practitioners;
- to present findings that may contribute to the developing and strengthening of the existing practice of youth mentoring in Zambia.