Inequitable Interactions: A Critical Quantitative Analysis of Mentorship and Psychosocial Development Within Computing Graduate School Pathways

Abstract

Mentorship is vital to increasing graduate school access in computing; however, mentorship must be structured in power-conscious, developmental ways to ensure equitable access to and support within computing graduate pathways. I engage a critical quantitative lens to examine mentoring support among undergraduates with reported graduate aspirations, taking a nuanced look at departmental mentorship to investigate how organizational power in computing may maintain inequitable mentoring outcomes. Descriptive and regression analyses draw from a longitudinal sample of 442 graduate aspirants in computing who completed an introductory course survey (between 2015–2017) and a follow-up survey (fall 2019). Results document significant variation in forms of mentoring support and disciplinary psychosocial beliefs (i.e., computing identity and self-efficacy), with key patterns across graduate aspirants’ social identities and mentors’ organizational power (via their departmental roles). I conclude by discussing structural and social inequities in mentorship, which may underscore disparities in students’ realization of their computing graduate aspirations.