The inside out of journal editing and peer review: a collective reflection on the Review of Education's mentoring scheme for early career researchers

Academic journals have an ethical obligation to equip and support the next generation of researchers to be active members of academia, including in journal peer review. Although the peer review system is regarded by some as ‘broken’, peer review remains a crucial mechanism for gatekeeping and researcher development. As a group of established and emerging educational researchers, we have benefited from constructive feedback and criticisms from journal editors and peer reviewers. At the same time, we acknowledge that peer review has been one of the sources of frustration for many researchers due to delays, unfavourable outcomes and unhelpful feedback. In this piece, we reflect collectively on our recent experience leading and participating in a mentoring scheme on journal editing and peer review for early career researchers. Our reflections shed light on some hidden aspects of journal editing and peer review, including constraints and challenges faced by editors and peer reviewers. In addition to emphasising the need to empower early career researchers to participate fully in journal peer review through intentional, hands-on and sustained support, we advocate for a compassion-based approach to journal editing and peer review that values empathy, mutual respect and a focus on researchers' emotional well-being.