Virtual Community Mentoring Models for Middle School Underachievers Psychosocial Development and Well-Being During COVID-19

Authors

  • Roseline Florence Gomes PhD Scholar at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India
  • Lijo Thomas Professor of Psychology at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56059/jl4d.v9i1.614

Keywords:

COVID-19, Virtual Community Models, Psychosocial Development

Abstract

Recent studies highlight the outcomes of COVID-19 on the psychosocial skills of early adolescents. It shows the unavailability of virtual community mentoring models for teenagers' individual and interpersonal growth in the virtual scenario. Hence, there emerges a need to explore and apply the available virtual communication resources by facilitators, families, and other community professionals for teenagers’ self-development. This article reports the application of virtual resources like WhatsApp, graphic design platforms (CANVA and Adobe), graphic interchange formats (GIPHY App), all-in-one visual content editing forums (InShot App), and memes (Meme Generator App) in engaging and supporting community mentoring capacities leading to psychosocial development and well-being for teenagers during COVID-19. Through this article, contemporary virtual models are explored and executed with community guidance to integrate the personal developmental skills of middle school underachievers. There is also a need to work with community interventions by using virtual mentoring skillsets for positive youth development.

Author Biographies

Roseline Florence Gomes, PhD Scholar at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India

Roseline Florence Gomes is a Ph.D. Scholar from the Department of Psychology at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India. She is doing her research in community and positive psychology interventions. Her research interests include experiential learning models, positive psychology programs, community-led models, life-skills wellness programs, well-being approaches for adolescents. 

Lijo Thomas, Professor of Psychology at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India

Dr. Lijo Thomas is a Professor of Psychology at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India. He pursued his Ph.D. from the University of Louisiana, Monroe, USA. His areas of interest include youth development, service-learning, university-community collaboration, educational interventions, organizational culture and development. He is also the Founder/Director of Let Us Dream: A community-university collaborative service-learning project established in the USA and India. The Let Us Dream is a non-profit organization with a local presence and a global presence. It was created with the goal of fostering globally evolved communities. He formulated the DREAMS Intervention Program, a three-year life-skills program for underserved middle school students, and brought out a three-year training manual and workbook for adolescents.

With more than 15 years of experience in middle and high schools and higher education administration, teaching and professional development programs in the USA and India he is committed to school-community-university collaborations and evidence-based interventions for holistic education. 

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Published

2022-03-15

How to Cite

Gomes, R. F., & Thomas, L. (2022). Virtual Community Mentoring Models for Middle School Underachievers Psychosocial Development and Well-Being During COVID-19. Journal of Learning for Development, 9(1), 137–144. https://doi.org/10.56059/jl4d.v9i1.614

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2022): ISSUE 1

Section

Reports from the Field

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