CIRUGÍA CARDIACA MAYOR (CCM).

Introduction

This chapter summarizes and interprets how the findings presented in the previous chapter relate to the literature presented in chapter two. The summary of the findings provides a rationale for suggestions about practice and policy and is discussed in the context of how such findings support future research. This chapter concludes with a brief review of the most essential implications of the study and a summary of this researcher's leadership journey.

This chapter is organized as follows:

1. Summary of Findings. In this section, the major findings are summarized in relation to the research questions.

2. Discussion of the Findings. This section discusses the findings in relation to the relevant scholarly literature. Although the literature used to support this study focuses on mentoring and school culture, the significance of these connections is discussed, by analogy.

3. Limitations of the Study. In this section, the limitations of the study are reviewed in order to provide objectivity.

4. Implications for Practice and Policy. In this section, the findings are interpreted as they relate to their possible impact on practice. Suggestions in this section are designed to initiate reflection and ultimately, to recommend change regarding the potential uses of mentoring programs in high schools.

5. Implications for Further Research. The potential for expanded thought and research are presented in this section.

6. Reflections on the Researcher's Leadership Role. This section provides the researcher's reflections on the role that leadership played in designing and conducting this research and also discusses important insights gained by the researcher.

7. Conclusion. In this section, the researcher reflects upon the significance of this study and invites readers to consider the potential benefits that can result when high school teachers utilize student feedback to shed light upon their practices.

Summary of Findings The major research questions investigated:

5) Pertaining to the mentors, what specific programmatic features of the mentoring program for at-risk Latino students did they perceive as helpful to their role?

6) What mentor qualities were most effective in building positive relationships with the mentee?

7) What are the challenges facing a mentoring program?

8) From the perspective of the mentored Latino students, what would improve their high school experience?

The research questions examined how programmatic features supported the roles of mentors, which mentor qualities were effective in building positive relationships with the mentee, what challenges face a mentoring program and how the mentored Latino students believed their high school experience could have been improved. Embedded within the research questions were the researcher's assumptions that certain programmatic features would be perceived by the mentors as helpful to their role, that certain mentor qualities would help build

positive mentoring relationships with the mentee, that several challenges face a mentoring program and that the mentored Latino students would provide critical feedback as to what would improve their high school experience.

The major findings from the previous chapter can be summarized as follows: • The programmatic features of orientation, training, monitoring and Mentor

Mingles were perceived by mentors as being extremely supportive of their mentoring role.

• Mentors did not mention program features, such as fundraising, screening, matching and evaluation, as being supportive of their role as mentors. • Mentor qualities that fell into the Trust Theme, Personal Concern Theme,

Approachable Theme were considered to be very effective in building positive relationships with the mentee.

• The Sharing Similar Interests Theme evidenced data that indicated it was only slightly effective in building positive relationships with the mentee.

• The four challenges facing the mentoring program in this study that stood out were time, financial resources, recruiting mentors and the building and maintenance of effective mentor/mentee relationships.

• A review of the data revealed that the mentees had a number of

recommendations, which they felt would improve the high school experience of Latinos at Norton High. The most significant recommendations in the School Theme included higher expectations for the Latino students, eliminate the stereotyping of Latino students, and recruit more Spanish-speaking employees.

• The most significant recommendations in the Classroom Theme included getting to know students better, cutting down on material presented per lesson, increasing teacher patience, connecting the lessons to real world experiences, having higher expectations for Latino students, and eliminating the stereotypes of Latino students.

• The recommendation of getting better paying jobs to improve a family's socioeconomic status was the most significant recommendation made in the Community Theme.

Limitations of the Study

It is important to note that this study has limitations that may affect the generalization of this study. For example, a significant limitation was the highly contextualized nature of the project in regard to time, setting and population being studied (Rossman, 1998; Rallis, 1998). "Generalizability refers to the extent to which the research findings can be credibly applied to a wider setting than the research setting" (Bickman & Rog, 1998, p.34).

The researcher in this case study was the Headmaster of the school and the creator of the mentoring program. Due to the researcher's role, observer effects may have possibly impacted any change and "any opinions, biases or expectations that the researcher has may be reflected in the results" (McMillan, 2000, pp.273-274). Bickman and Rog (1998) warned "your relationships with the people in your study can be complex and changeable, and these relationships will necessarily affect you as the research instrument, as well as have implication for other

components of your research design" (p.86). All researchers have a bias. It was the researcher's intention to make this mentoring program as successful as possible and that could have interfered