Faculty Profiles
Renée Spencer
Associate Professor
Human Behavior in the Social Environment
Phone: 617-353-4611
rspenc@bu.edu
Education
B.A. (psychology), Austin College
M.S.S.W. (direct practice), University of Texas at Austin
Ed.D. (human development and psychology), Harvard Graduate School of Education
Courses Taught
HB720 Human Behavior in the Social Environment
CP801 Clinical Practice with Adolescents in Social Context
SR906 Qualitative Research Methods
Scholarly and Practice Interests
Youth mentoring; adolescent development; gender.
Selected Publications
Spencer, R., Collins, M. E., Ward, R., & Smashnaya, S. (In press). Mentoring for youth leaving foster care: Promise and potential pitfalls. Social Work.
Rhodes, J. E., Liang, B., & Spencer, R. (In press). “First, do no harm”: A call for ethical guidelines in youth mentoring. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.
Deutsch, N., & Spencer, R. (2009). Capturing the magic: Assessing the quality of youth mentoring relationships. New Directions in Youth Development: Theory, Practice and Research, 121, 47-70.
Spencer, R., & Liang, B. (2009). “She gives me a break from the world”: Formal youth mentoring relationships between adolescent girls and adult women.Journal of Primary Prevention, 30, 109-130.
Spencer, R. (2007). "I just feel safe with him": Close and enduring male youth mentoring relationships. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 8(3), 185-198.
Spencer, R. (2007). "It's not what I expected": A qualitative study of youth mentoring relationship failures. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22(4), 331-354.
Spencer, R. (2007). Naturally occurring mentoring relationships involving youth. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), Handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 99-117). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Spencer, R. (2006). Understanding the mentoring process between adolescents and adults. Youth & Society, 37(3), 287-315.
Spencer, R., & Rhodes, J. E. (2005). A counseling and psychotherapy perspective on mentoring relationships. In D. L. DuBois & M. J. Karcher (Eds.), Handbook of youth mentoring. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.
Gilligan, C., Spencer, R., Weinberg, M. K., & Bertsch, T. (2003). On the Listening Guide: A voice-centered relational method. In P. M. Camic, J. E. Rhodes & L. Yardley (Eds.), Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design (pp. 157-172). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
Spencer, R. (2000). A comparison of relational psychologies. Project Report, No. 5. Wellesley, MA: Stone Center Working Paper Series.
Selected Presentations
Lederer, J., Basualdo-Delmonico, A., & Spencer, R. Barriers, bumps and bridges: How cultural differences shape the youth mentoring process over time. Paper to be presented at the 137th American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA (November, 2009).
Spencer, R. (2009, June). “It’s not what I expected”: Understanding and Preventing Early Relationship Endings. Workshop presented at the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada National Convention, Toronto, Canada.
Spencer, R., Lewis, T. O., Basualdo-Delmonico, A. (2009, January). Mentoring across differences:
How race and class shape the youth mentoring process. Paper presented at the Society for Social Work Research Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Spencer, R., Lewis, T. O., Basualdo-Delmonico, A., & Frederiksen, B. (2008, March). Parents' perspectives on youth mentoring relationships. Poster presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting, Chicago, IL.
Spencer, R. (2007, September). Promoting high-quality youth mentoring relationships: Current research and best practices in the United States. Keynote address presented at the National Congress of the Netherlands Big Brothers Big Sisters Association, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Spencer, R. (2007, July). Promoting and sustaining high quality mentoring relationships and understanding and preventing mentoring relationship failures. Presented at the Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring, Portland State University, Portland, OR.
Spencer, R. (2007, January). Characteristics of high-quality mentoring relationships. Keynote address presented at Mentoring: Art or Science?: The 8th Annual Mentoring Conference, sponsored by Friends for Youth, Redwood City, CA.
Spencer, R. (2006, September). Promoting high-quality mentoring relationships. Plenary presentation at Aspire, Achieve, Empower: First National Conference on Mentoring for Youth with Disabilities, Boston, MA.
Selected Grant Activity
Principal Investigator, Understanding the mentoring process: A longitudinal study of mentoring relationships between adolescents and adults, William T. Grant Foundation Scholar Award program, 2005-2010. http://www.bu.edu/ssw/research/mentoring/index.shtml
Principal Investigator, Getting to the Heart of the Mentoring Process: An In-Depth Interview Study of Successful and Unsuccessful Mentor Relationships Between Adolescents and Adults, Robert S. and Grace W. Stone Primary Prevention Initiatives Grant Program: Empowering Children for Life, Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College, 2003-2005.
Consulting and Professional Activities
Member, Mass Mentoring Partnership Quality Based Membership Self-Assessment Review Advisory Group. 2009-present
Member, Mass Mentoring Partnership Quality Based Membership Initiative Advisory Committee. 2007-2009
Member, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Research Advisory Council. 2009-present
Member, MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership Research and Policy Council, 2006-present.
Editorial Board Member, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2006-present
Member, MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership Research Advisory Council, 2005.
Book Review Editor, Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 2004-present.
Awards and Honors
Irene Stiver Dissertation Award, Jean Baker Miller Training Institute, Wellesley College, 2004.
Adolescent and Youth Dissertation Award, Henry A. Murray Research Center of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, 2001.
Spencer Foundation Apprenticeship Grant, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 1998-1999.
Licensing and Certification
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW): Board of Social Workers, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
