Editorial overview: mentoring as a partnership in learning

This issue of Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning Journal includes research from scholars representing diverse regions of the U.S.A. (10 states). Although the manuscripts represented in this issue represent a wide-ranging and diverse narrative on mentoring across academic disciplines, the authors have framed the empirical evidence with theoretical suppositions encapsulating mentoring as a construct for building capacity to learn through supportive structures, targeted growth, and reflexivity. It is through this paradigm shift the processes inherent to formal mentoring subsequently frame a mutually beneficial partnership with personal and professional advantages for both parties (Templeton, 2021).

One such advantage is the collaborative improvement in practice through defined value and purpose, perhaps better articulated as developmental frameworks (Templeton & Beaty, 2023). Specifically, the ability to learn new skills and understand new contexts through developmental frameworks shifts the focus of mentoring from a hierarchical nature to one of shared responsibility (Goodyear, 2006). I use this editorial to purposefully articulate the iterative nature of mentoring as one that posits mentoring as a partnership in learning, ‘one where mentee and mentor become interwoven or interconnected to empower individual abilities and influence organizational culture through peer relationships’ (Templeton & Beaty, 2023, p. 2).

Numerous studies support the value of interconnectedness within the mentoring paradigm. More specifically, findings from empirical research on mentoring inform the value of active empowerment in such a manner that responsibility for the mentor–mentee relationship is one of shared contribution. Often in the academy we think of shared contribution as shared power, and perhaps that is one such interpretation. To search deeper within the context, I propose a different interpretation – one of shared struggle through shared knowledge. Shared knowledge is often more tacit, transcending cultures and generations to create a new understanding, also termed new learning, based on shared spaces and shared challenges.

As you recapitulate the manuscripts in this second issue, my desire is for each of us to create environments of diversity of thought; one in which we pour into each other by creating spaces in which great ideas foster and professional knowledge is not only shared but cultivated. In so doing, we then advocate for a new normal; one where mentoring is not an afterthought or a side-bar conversation, but rather what we do because it is the best outcome for every person seeking to become lifelong learners (Templeton, Jeong, & Villarreal, 2022).

Let us agree to collectively learn together. Allow the immediacy of collective and diverse thought to permeate practice, thereby creating a culture where we engage in and expose each other to actions that likely become teachable moments. Although these teachable moments often resemble baby steps, with small strides of insecurity and imbalance that grow stronger and longer with the passage of time, the outcome is likely more closely related to the actions of the skilled potter who carefully molds and stretches clay into a beautiful masterpiece. In the simplest of analogies, learning together through mentoring is the cognitive stretching and molding of the person who develops over time to reach their full potential.

In the opening article of this issue, Social Justice Mentorship Amidst a Pandemic, Ramlackhan, et al. utilize a collaborative autoethnographic study to explore the mentorship of a grouping of doctoral students with faculty who engage in social justice research with a particular focus on how experiences with marginalization affect mentoring dynamics. Findings from this study highlight the relational characteristics of mentorship in the context of continued commitment to social justice research. More importantly, the concluding implications for practice may bring meaning to institutions of higher education who are forced to deal with unexpected challenges presented by sudden changes in instructional modality or platform.

The second article, STEM Postdoc Mentoring: A Social Exchange Theory-based Conceptual Framework, Rida, Noel, and Miles build on empirical research examining the mentoring experiences of minoritized post doctoral students (post docs) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Leveraging data from 34 STEM post docs at a research-intensive university in the southeastern United States, the authors introduce a conceptual framework that analyzes and expands on an understanding of mentoring as the developmental catalyst shaping the trajectory of early career STEM professionals. Findings support the value of inclusive, supportive, and mutually beneficial relationships inherent to formal mentoring structures.

In the third article, Finding the Keystone for Deaf Doctoral Students’ Success: Does Mentoring Matter?, Wolsey, Neild, and Clark discuss mentoring as an effective strategy for the personal, academic, and career success of deaf doctoral students and graduates. Due to the limited empirical research regarding the experiences and perspectives of this population, a grounded theory approach was best suited for this exploration. Data were collected and analyzed from focus groups using a comparative analysis. Emerging themes were synthesized into four categories (access, relationships, collaboration, and locus of control) with the overarching theme determined to be safe space, an integral determinant for program completion. Findings of the study have implications for practice across disciplines.

In the article, Developmental Mentoring: Tailoring a Mentoring Program to the Changing Needs of Scholar-Practitioner EdD Students, Geesa, McConnell, and Elam implemented an innovative mentoring pathways program for second-year Doctorate of Education (EdD) students consisting of monthly presentations and discussions led by mentors who were graduates of the program. A qualitative methodology, utilizing interviews and focus groups, explored themes centered on interconnected relationships and supporting the developmental needs of scholar-practitioner doctoral students. The findings of the study may be of benefit to other institutions seeking to better support (mentor) and retain those pursuing terminal degrees.

The fifth article, Recruiting, Retaining, and Supporting Graduates of Color in PWI Education and Human Services Programs, Tanner-Anderson and Walker examined the perceptions of alumni of color in two graduate programs at a predominantly white institution (PWI) in rural Virginia. Utilizing open-ended survey research, an inquiry of the attitudes, feelings, and dispositions of alumni from two programs at the university were conducted. Implications for practice are discussed, with future directions addressing the overarching needs of graduate students of color at the forefront of the narrative.

In the sixth and final article in this issue, Liam and Kim employed a qualitative case study to investigate The Role of College and Faculty Mentoring on Intellectual Engagement, Career, Interpersonal Relationships and Personal Development As Perceived by Private College versus Public University Alums. Using a sample (n = 24) of alumni who graduated from either a private liberal arts college or a public high research intensive (R1) university, findings from the study illuminate ways in which college experiences affect graduates’ lives many years after separation from the institutions. The authors present implications for current practice and discuss the need for further research on the phenomenon.

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.