Mentoring and coaching are often found as part of a package of measures to address early learning from education and training.

An evaluation of a mentoring scheme which aims to retain young people in education and training should start by clarifying how and why mentoring is expected to provide a solution to the problem, or part of it.

Some of the reasons young people drop out are:

  • they do not believe the programme they are enrolled in gives them opportunities they find interesting and inspiring 
  • they believe they are not good enough and will not make it through the exams anyway
  • they do not  see the future benefits, they do not have positive aspirations  

Depending on the scheme, mentoring programmes can have different components. They can aim to:

  • change young people’s self-perception and their aspirations for the future
  • make young people empowered and feel positively about the choices they make
  • build their resilience as well as a number of ‘life skills’ which are important for the routine of getting through one’s education (what to prioritise, how to behave towards authority, etc.)

The schemes aim to achieve these changes by, for example:

  • building a trusted relationship between the mentor and the young person
  • mentors applying a specific methodology of questioning and working with the young person (depending on the programme)
  • young people developing action plans and following them

Based on such theory a set of indicators for evaluating a mentoring programme can be developed.

This is an example of an intervention logic for a measure offering coaching and mentoring to young people:

Indicative list:

  • number of mentors/coaches mobilised
  • number of hours mentors/coaches spend preparing and delivering activities
  • budget allocated, including calculations such as:
    • costs per mentor
    • costs per young person
    • costs per mentoring session
Example:
The evaluation of the Austrian Youth Coaching Scheme collects information on the total annual budget allocated to the initiative, the budget per State, and per project.

Indicative list:

  • availability of a common methodology for mentors/coaches
  • availability of shared tools
  • training for mentors/coaches (number of sessions delivered)
  • share of mentors/coaches who took part in the training
  • activities to inform the target group of the existence of the programme
Example:
The evaluation of the UK measure ‘The Youth Contract for 16-17 year olds not in education, employment or training evaluation’ analysed the delivery of the programme. For instance, it looked into aspects such as:
- the frequency and mode of meetings with young people;
- the local infrastructure for the programme delivery
- engagement with local authorities

Indicative list:

  • number of young people who contacted the programme
  • number of young people who took part in one session
  • number of young people who followed the whole programme
  • number of mentoring/coaching hours per young person taking part in the programme
  • number of support activities delivered per type of activity
Example:
The evaluation of the French association AFEV (Association de la fondation étudiante pour la ville) activities included the indicator:
- numbers of students beneficiaries reached by the activities

Quantitative indicators:

  • share of participants who defined their objectives during the programme
  • share of participants who reached at least one of the objectives during the programme
  • share of programme participants who state the programme contributed to:
    • increasing their self-confidence
    • improving their motivation to study
    • choosing their education/training programme
  • share of participants who:
    • have lower absenteeism
    • improved their education performance 

Qualitative indicators:

  • narratives from beneficiaries on what differences the coaching made to them. Stories about how the coaching helped them:
    • increase self-confidence and motivation
    • decide on their next steps
  • narratives from mentors or coaches on what differences the coaching made to the beneficiaries

Quantitative indicators:

  • share of participants who stay in education and training 3 months/6 months after the programme
  • share of participants who successfully complete their education/training programme
  • share of participants who move on to further education/training
  • share of participants who are in employment X years after taking part in the programme

Qualitative indicators:

  • narratives of beneficiaries about how the programme helped them stay in education and training or complete their programme
  • narratives of mentors or coaches of how the programme helped beneficiaries stay in education and training or complete their programme