Editorial overview: mentoring and the engagement of professional practice

This issue of Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning Journal includes research from scholars representing diverse regions of the U.S.A. (seven states) and Japan. The authors represented herein present findings confirming mentoring as one method to engage the development and sustainability of professional practice. As Irby (2008) discussed, the deeper development of the individual is the vision for targeted growth and a catalyst for change through mentoring. Admittedly, the overarching consumption of individual change is often contextualized in understanding situational constraints or enablers that affect performance, or quite simply, a change in practice. Changing practice is often difficult without a change of mindset, a process inherent to formative introspective learning and a foundational structure of growth mindsets (Templeton, 2021). Moreover, the manner in which we interpret our own self-efficacy is not only a reflexive process, but more importantly, one requiring an awareness of personal positionality (Templeton, 2022).

Positionality, in the purest interpretation, is an essential understanding of power and power dynamics. Mentoring, as a core belief, is often defined as shared power. To share, or better articulated, to be purposeful in that sharing, is the process of building capacity through skillful questioning, modeling, and frequent interactions in shared spaces. Perhaps, it is the sharing of professional space that fosters opportunity, the biggest catalyst for change through the informal and formal cycles of mentoring. After all, mentoring is a circle of improvement, and one where both mentee and mentor advocate for each other the courage to do more and to be more (Templeton, 2022).

This opening issue of the new year is somewhat special to the construct of mentoring. Each of the authors have framed their articles in seminal literature in the field, and more importantly, take a holistic interpretation of methods to engage professional practice. Collectively, we must embrace the paradigm of creating a culture of mentoring. Whether for personal or career development, and even at our very best, we require more support systems in the quest to be lifelong learners. Let’s begin to articulate mentoring as a discursive exercise and one where we intentionally engage one another for the betterment of professional practice.

In the spotlight manuscript in this issue, Virtual Mentoring and Coaching Through Virtual Professional Leadership Learning Communities for School Leaders: A Mixed-Methods Study, Irby, et al., examined the effect of virtual mentoring and coaching (VMC) on school leaders’ professional growth. The ancillary purpose of the study was to gauge the perceptions of school leaders with regard to the effectiveness of VMC while engaging in virtual professional learning communities (VPLCs). The significance of the findings adds to the limited empirical research on virtual mentoring and coaching; specifically, those who simultaneously participate in virtual professional learning communities. Moreover, the findings demonstrated positive effects of virtual mentoring and coaching on the professional capacity building of school leaders, with less experienced practitioners benefitting more from virtual professional learning communities. The findings of the study also confirm the earlier works of Irby (2012, 2015) and Ermeling et al. (2015) who posit the need for more research supporting evidence of virtual coaching and professional development in supporting the instructional leadership capacity of school leaders.

The second article, Developing a Culture of Mentoring: Promoting, Experiencing, and Engaging in Mentoring Through a Transitional Undergraduate Research Program for Students of Color, Luedke, Collin, and Henderson conducted a critical qualitative study to examine how mentoring in a college bridge program (Project Scholar) for first-year marginalized students contributed to the development of a culture of mentoring. Utilizing Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Theory as the theoretical framework, the analysis of student experiences presented positive attributes in promoting a culture of mentoring. Findings from the study also present valuable implications for practice and the need for more research on the ‘why’ and ‘what’ of the phenomena.

In the third article, Building faculty-Student relationships in Higher Education, Dingel and Punti explored student perceptions of how relationships with faculty are fostered. Findings revealed the importance of both innovative institutional supports and faculty initiative in the process of building positive student-to-instructor relationships. Essential to promoting a culture of authentic interaction, the conceptual elements of the study concluded how initiatives, such as small classroom size and centralized, open locations for faculty to conduct office hours, encourage iterative cycles within which positive faculty-student relationships develop. The article culminates with essential understandings of encouragement as normative in the development of a culture of mutual respect.

Baumann and Issa, in the article, Peer Shadowing Graduate Assistantships: An Autoethnographic Study, discuss the use of shadowing experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors framed the study using Mentoring Enactment Theory (Kalbfleisch, 2002) and Social Exchange Theory (Homans, 1958) to determine the manner in which theory experiences aligned with the two aforementioned theories. Findings of the study may bring value to shadowing as an increased methodology to enhance the knowledge, skills, and attributes of first year graduate student experiences by providing increased access and exposure to experienced graduate instructors.

In the fifth article, Critical Traits of Graduate Student Mentors Affecting Students’ Science Identity Development in an NSF-Funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, Mabrouk and Remijan reported important findings for the development of the undergraduate experience. The authors framed the study through the lens of self-efficacy and science identity theory. Findings align with emergent research on positive mentor traits, including availability, promoting student independence, and demonstrating trust and respect. The article also discussed critical mentor traits necessary and perhaps useful in the design of effective graduate mentor training programs.

Lindsay Mack, in the sixth article of this issue, From Proofreader to Mediator: The Roles Negotiated by NNES Tutors in EFL Writing Tutorials, discusses the role assumption of non-native English speakers (NNES) in English a Foreign Language (EFL) writing centers. The findings of the study have valuable implications for practice, as role negotiation proved to be somewhat fluid but intentionally shaped through each interaction with individual tutees. Through analysis of data, the emergence of themes reported multiple tutor roles: proofreader, translator, coach, teacher, and mediator.

The seventh article in this issue is Students Enrolled in a College Autism Support Program: Comparisons with Non-Enrollees and Use of Program-Sponsored Mentoring. The authors, Mapes and Cavell, conducted an ex-post facto study to compare students with autism spectrum disorder who did and did not enroll in an Autism Support Program (ASP) in a regional university in the southeastern United States. Statistical comparisons were made based on demographic characteristics, pre-college academic achievement, and self-rated functioning. Findings have significant implications for the of college ASPs.

The final article, Research Apprenticeship Training Promotes Faculty-Student Psychological Similarity and High-Quality Mentoring: A Longitudinal Study, advances mentoring theory by testing effects of research apprenticeship program involvement on perceptions of psychological similarity and the development of high-quality mentorship over time. The authors, Hernandez et al., surveyed undergraduate students in research apprenticeship program and matched control group students completing survey measures of mentoring experiences over two successive time periods (semesters) in an academic year. Findings support similarity through program involvement as well as strengthened relationships over time.

Publishing in mentoring and tutoring

Authors are reminded as they submit their work to the journal to ensure all manuscripts follow the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual (7th edition) format. We receive quite a number with APA formatting errors. In Volume 20, Issue 1, we outlined several common concerns with submissions. When writing your manuscript, please remember to check your headings, spacing, table formats, and references for correct 7th edition usage. Because the journal is very popular and competitive, and we are receiving on average three to five manuscripts every week. Please prepare works that are extremely attentive to detail (e.g. current and relevant citations, high-quality writing, careful proofreading, proper formatting style) and that are making specific contributions to the field of mentoring and tutoring. For further information, consult the Taylor & Francis posting of the M&T author guidelines for article manuscripts and book reviews: http://www.tandf.couk/journals/authors/cmetauth.asp) (ISSN 1361–1267).

We do not conduct pre-reviews; rather, we will be mentoring authors in the publication process within the FastTrack system review process. That said, the Editor reserves the right to conduct desk rejections at the outset if manuscripts to not follow the prescribed guidelines. Please go to the Manuscript FastTrack system to register as a user and then upload your manuscript and any additional information through the system. The FastTrack system helps with the ease of communication between authors, reviewers, and the editor and resolves issues of overloaded email inboxes.

The current requirements for M&T are that the paper, not including references and abstract, should be a maximum of 30 pages, including references, tables, and figures. Depending on the manuscript, we may consider manuscripts that are longer than 30 pages, and certainly we will accept manuscripts shorter than the prescribed 30 pages. If you have any questions about how to

submit your manuscript to M&T, please go to International Council of Professors of Educational Administration (ICPEL) Publications at http://www.icpel.org. Click on M&T from the Menu of Buttons on the top of that screen. The submission link appears there on the M&T home page. You may, of course, access the journal page from the Taylor & Francis Publisher page at http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13611267.asp.

Qualified individuals who serve on the Review Board, along with select Editorial Board members provide commentaries. We would also like for you to register in the same location as you submit to be considered to be a member of the M&T Journal Review Board. We will be acknowledging the Review Board at the end of the year and a top reviewer will be honored. The acceptance rate of the journal is currently 10%. Mentoring & Tutoring is abstracted in Academic Search; Australian Education Index (AEI); Australian Research Council (ARC) Ranked Journal List; Cabells; National Database for Research into International Education (NDRI); British Education Index; Contents Pages in Education; Educational Research Abstracts online (ERA); EBSCOhost EJS; Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI); Education Resources Information Center (ERIC); PsycINFO and SCOPUS®, and Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Educational Curriculum and Methods. Additionally,

Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning is now included in the Thomson Reuters Emerging Sources Citation Index.

Many authors have been turning to the M&T journal as the venue-of-choice for publishing high-quality works for over 20 years. M&T is the longest-running mentoring journal in the field. This refereed, peer-reviewed journal is known worldwide. Authors, readers, and subscribers are from different countries and various types of institutions and professional environments. The editorial team is committed to producing timely, thorough reviews, modeling conscientious guidance and support, and being open to a wide scope of topics and methods related to mentoring and tutoring, collaboration, and learning. Mentoring books to be reviewed must be about mentoring and tutoring. Visit this journal’s website, http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/13611267.html, for more information about M&T, as well as special rates and discounts.