Editors: Mark Dressman, Sarah McCarthey, and Paul Prior
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
THE CALL:
The purpose of this themed issue is to explore—through rigorous research from various theoretical orientations and methodologies—studies of writing practices that are being conducted outside of the United States. The editors are interested in receiving abstracts from international scholars in writing and literacy studies that investigate the literate lives and writing practices of children, youth, and adults in diverse contexts and that have clear educational relevance. Such contexts might include, but are not exclusive to: schools, after-school and community educational programs, family and community settings, workplaces, online environments, national or cross-national social organizations, and, of course, multi-context settings that mix two or more of the these. The call is for original research articles that address these issues: we will not be considering work that is primarily focused on reviewing the literature, presenting theoretical reflections, or describing (or advocating) particular pedagogical practices.
International research in the areas of writing studies and digital literacy has expanded strikingly over the past two decades. The goal of this special issue is to facilitate international communication of cutting-edge writing research.
We will first review short abstracts for articles for the special issue and then invite full submissions. In your research abstract (see below), we ask that you clearly describe a completed research project while being attentive to the larger issues behind your research, making clear how your research is theoretically and methodologically sophisticated, and indicating key implications it has for writing research, practice, theory, and/or policy.
TIMELINE:
• September 19, 2011: Potential contributors should submit a short but detailed abstract (approximately 3-4 typed, double-spaced pages) of a completed original research study in which they: describe the research problem, theoretical and empirical context, research methods, key findings, and implications for theory, research, practice, and/or policy. Be sure to attach a reference list to your abstract, provide full contact information, and indicate in your email that you are submitting the abstract for this special issue (see submission information below). Review of the abstracts should be completed by October 14, 2011. All who have presented an abstract will be notified whether or not they are being invited to submit a full manuscript in the next phase.
• January 23, 2012: Those contributors invited to do so after review of abstracts should submit a complete, strong manuscript (approximately 30 double-spaced pages, including references) by this date. The manuscripts will be submitted for external peer review and feedback and are likely to go through more than one round of review and revision. Please note that invitation to submit a full manuscript will not guarantee publication of the manuscript.
• January 2013: We anticipate final revisions of articles for the special issue will be submitted from all contributing authors by this time, so that the themed journal issue can appear in print in May 2013.
SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCESS:
All submissions should be in the form of an email with an attached electronic copy of your abstract (described above) and a cover letter addressed to the editors that indicates your interest in being considered for the special issue. The email should go to the following address for the journal: rte@education.illinois.edu.
Please note that acceptance of abstracts and invitations to submit a full manuscript do not guarantee publication of the manuscript. Invited manuscripts will be reviewed by the editors and will be assigned to external reviewers. You will receive more information about the peer review process if your abstract is accepted for consideration.
If you have questions, feel free to contact the journal at the email address listed above.
Thank you!