Editorial overview: mentoring and the engagement of professional practice

Abstract

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 selfefficacy 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.