What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to investigate how the Adultspan Journal Fellowship Program aids in the professional development of doctoral students and early-career counselor educators.

February 22, 2026Open Access

The Adultspan Journal Fellowship Program: A Structured Mentorship Experience

Key Points

The study aims to investigate how the Adultspan Journal Fellowship Program aids in the professional development of doctoral students and early-career counselor educators.
Employed reflexive thematic analysis as the core method.
Conducted asynchronous email interviews with seven fellows.
Analyzed documents related to the fellowship program.
Utilized data from two cohorts spanning 2022–2024.
Identified four main themes highlighting the program's impact.
Fellows reported feeling less isolated and more connected through structured mentorship.
Participants expressed increased self-efficacy and readiness for faculty roles.
Notable improvements in peer review and publication workflows were observed.
Fellows suggested enhancements for onboarding and extended program duration.

Abstract

This qualitative study used reflexive thematic analysis (Braun (2) Building Confidence and Professional Identity, reflecting growth in scholarly voice, self-efficacy, and faculty readiness; (3) Developing Scholarly and Editorial Expertise, showing gains in peer review, editorial decision-making, and publication workflows that enhanced research and writing practices; and (4) Refining the Fellowship Experience, emphasizing fellows’ calls for clearer onboarding, extended duration, and expanded professional development. Findings suggest that structured, cohort-based mentorship can address gaps in doctoral training by blending authentic editorial tasks with identity-affirming support, offering a replicable model for counselor education programs and editorial boards seeking to build inclusive pipelines of emerging scholars.

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