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Introduction
This special issue aims to advance empirical, conceptual, and practice-based knowledge of sustainable mentoring within education and related contexts, including higher education, research training, and professional development. Mentoring is widely recognised as an effective approach to supporting learning, career progression, wellbeing, and retention (Eby et al., 2008, 2013; Hobson & Maxwell, 2020; Mullen & Klimaitis, 2021), and, when embedded effectively, as a means of fostering equitable and resilient professional learning systems (Riforgiate et al., 2025). However, most studies focus on short-term outcomes, with limited attention to how mentoring impacts are sustained over time (Rodriguez-Planas, 2012; Weinberg & Lankau, 2011).
This special issue addresses that gap by positioning sustainability as a central analytical lens for mentoring research and practice—an area that has received limited systematic attention. It seeks to explore how mentoring can generate enduring outcomes for individuals, organisations, and professional communities, while bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives, including longitudinal and comparative studies. We welcome empirical, theoretical, conceptual, and practitioner contributions, as well as insights from fields such as healthcare and business where these can inform educational contexts and strengthen the research–practice nexus (Hieker & Rushby, 2020).
The special issue is further distinguished by its cross-sector and interdisciplinary scope, maintaining a strong anchor in education while drawing transferable insights from mentoring in other professional settings. By bridging theory, empirical evidence, and practice, it aims to generate new conceptual frameworks and actionable knowledge for designing and sustaining impactful mentoring practices (Hieker & Rushby, 2020; Hobson & Maxwell, 2020).
The proposed special issue is particularly timely in light of global challenges related to workforce sustainability, professional burnout, and organisational resilience. In education and related public service sectors, concerns about workforce shortages, wellbeing, and retention continue to grow (OECD, 2023, 2025; WHO, 2024; Henderson, 2025). Although mentoring is widely promoted as a key mechanism for addressing these challenges, evidence suggests that its impacts are often uneven and insufficiently sustained over time (Eby et al., 2013; Hobson & Maxwell, 2020; Rodriguez-Planas, 2012; Weinberg & Lankau, 2011). At the same time, broader developments, including digitalisation, hybrid work, and increasing attention to equity and inclusion are reshaping mentoring practices (Haddock-Millar et al., 2023).
Against this backdrop, the field still lacks a coherent evidence base on what enables sustainable mentoring. By focusing explicitly on long-term impact and sustainability, this special issue seeks to address that gap and contribute to current debates on sustainable work, lifelong learning, and the future of the professions.
List of Topic Areas
We welcome any empirical, conceptual and theoretical contributions relating to sustainable mentoring in education. This could include but is not restricted to papers on:
- Inclusive and equitable mentoring practices
- Professionalization of mentoring practice
- Long-term and transformative mentoring outcomes
- Mentoring systems, ecologies, and organisational contexts
- Translating research into sustainable mentoring design and policy
Submissions Information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijmce
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/ijmce
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Key Deadlines
Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 01/09/2026
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 05/01/2027
Guest Editors
Kinga Kaplar-Kodacsy, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary, kaplar-kodacsy.kinga@ppk.elte.hu
Andrew J. Hobson, University of Brighton, UK, a.hobson@brighton.ac.uk
Julie Haddock-Millar, Middlesex University, UK, j.haddock-millar@mdx.ac.uk
Laura G. Lunsford, Campbell University, USA, llunsford@campbell.edu
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