Fostering transition to adulthood for young Australian males : a multiple case study of Men's Sheds intergenerational mentoring programs

Introduction: Men's Sheds are known for their 'shoulder to shoulder' approach to men talking with each other while participating in meaningful hands-on activities. Many sheds have implemented intergenerational mentoring programs where this orientation to activity makes the programs useful for supporting transition to adulthood and engaging disengaged or marginalised young people in meaningful occupations. Objectives: Mentoring programs may be conducted without a 'best practice' framework. We aimed to inform the future design and practice of these programs by: providing insight into the purpose, design and perceived outcomes; and comparing the characteristics of the different programs that are perceived as beneficial for young males. Methods: We used multiple case study design and purposively selected four sheds in Sydney to reach our study aim. We interviewed shed coordinators, mentors and mentees to explore perceptions of their respective programs. We used thematic analysis to assert and cross-case analysis to merge our findings. Practice implications: This was the first examination of the different characteristics of Men's Sheds intergenerational mentoring programs. Mentor attitude, freedom to make choices and the project expectancy value were the most significant characteristics of these programs. Based on our findings and consultation with mentoring experts, we developed a translational resource to help guide future programs. Conclusion: Men's Sheds intergenerational mentoring programs can adopt different strategies to foster transition to adulthood for young males. While our findings largely support previous findings on mentoring programs, we found that 'expert skills' were not as important as mentor attitude to working with the mentees.