New Study Highlights What Sustains Mentoring Over Time
Templeton, N. R., Abdelrahman, N., Kannan, S., Muhayimana, T., Phillips, R., & Elfarargy, H. (2026). Editorial overview: Mentoring as a cursory measure to extend support, motivation, and relational being. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 34(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2026.2618399
In a new editorial, Templeton and colleagues (2026) frame mentoring as something far more than a structured program or a professional add-on. The editors position it as a sustained relational process — one shaped by trust, cultural context, and genuine investment in another person’s growth. The central argument is that the field needs to keep asking not just whether mentoring works, but for whom, how, and under what conditions.
The authors synthesize themes across the articles in the issue, drawing on contributions spanning teacher education, higher education, professional preparation, and organizational contexts. The issue draws on qualitative, mixed-methods, and practitioner-informed research.
Three interconnected themes emerged: support, motivation, and relationship. Mentoring works best when it is intentional rather than incidental, relational rather than transactional, and equitable rather than exclusive. Motivation is built through high expectations, honest challenge, and shared accountability. And importantly, motivation flows both ways; mentors grow through the process too.
The authors are direct about what they see as a persistent problem in the field: mentoring too often gets treated as a mechanism for efficiency rather than a humanizing practice. Several articles in the issue push back against deficit-oriented models, centering community knowledge and lived experience — particularly for people from historically underserved groups.
For mentoring programs, the authors suggest moving beyond matching and toward genuine relationship cultivation. Training should address power, positionality, and cultural context — not just logistics.
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