Faculty Profiles
Renée Spencer
Assistant Professor
Human Behavior in the Social Environment
Phone: 617-353-4611
rspenc@bu.edu
Education
B.A. (psychology), Austin College, 1987.
M.S.S.W. (direct practice), University of Texas at Austin, 1991.
Ed.D. (human development and psychology), Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2002.
Courses Taught
HB720 Human Behavior in the Social Environment I
HB721 Human Behavior in the Social Environment II
CP801 Clinical Practice with Adolescents in Social Context
SR906 Qualitative Research Methods
Scholarly and Practice Interests
Youth mentoring; adolescent development; gender.
Selected Publications
Liang, B., Spencer, R., Brogan, D., & Corral, M. (2008). Youth mentoring relationships across three developmental periods: A qualitative analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72(2), 168-182.
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.
Rhodes, J. E., & Spencer, R. (2005). Someone to watch over me: Mentoring programs in the after-school lives of children and adolescents. In J. L. Mahoney, J. Eccles & R. Larson (Eds.), Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after-school and community programs (pp. 419-435). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Spencer, R., Jordan, J. V., & Sazama, J. (2004). Growth-promoting relationships between youth and adults: A focus group study. Families in Society, 85(3), 354-362.
Tolman, D. L., Spencer, R., Rosen-Reynoso, M., Harmon, T., & Striepe, M. (2004). Getting close, staying cool: Early adolescent boys' experiences with romantic relationships. In N. Way & J. Chu (Eds.), Adolescent boys: Exploring diverse cultures of boyhood (pp. 235-255). New York: New York University Press.
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
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., Lewis, T. O., & Basualdo-Delmonico, A. (2007, October). Mentoring in a multicultural society: A complex relationship. In L. Fortuna, Chair, Mentoring, Teaching, and Treating Urban Minority Youth across Community and Individual Differences. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture Diversity Challenge conference, Boston College, Boston, MA.
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, March). Discussant for the symposium, Development and Evaluation of Mentoring Programs for Girls: What's Gender Got to Do With It? D. L. DuBois (Chair). Presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Boston, MA.
Spencer, R. (2007, January). Understanding relationship failures in youth mentoring programs. Paper presented at the Society for Social Work Research Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA.
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, 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
