Call for Papers: ESSA and School Leadership in an Era of Inequality: Dilemmas and Possibilities, Manuscript Deadline: October 1, 2016

ESSA and School Leadership in an Era of Inequality: Dilemmas and Possibilities

Manuscript Deadline: October 1, 2016

Each year, the Journal of School Leadership (JSL) publishes at least one special issue focusing on a particular aspect or dimension of school leadership, broadly conceived.  For its 2017 special issue, JSL invites manuscripts focused on the authorization and impending implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) with a focus on how historic levels of social and economic inequality pose a unique challenge to school leaders charged with ensuring every student succeeds.  Signed into law December 10, 2015, ESSA represents a marked shift in the federal role in elementary and secondary education since the authorization of its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and the original passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.  This devolution of federal authority to states and school districts amid widening inequality, resegregation, and access to equitable educational opportunities, present a range of dilemmas and possibilities for school leaders as they prepare for this new approach to accountability and its implementation during the 2017-18 school year.  

As such, the proposed special issue will explore and examine the ways in which the field of educational leadership is conceptualizing ESSA as federal policy and preparing for its implementation at the school, district, and state levels.  It is particularly concerned with questions of institutional capacity at the state and district levels and what this policy shift means for leadership for equity and justice in an era of inequality.  Topics and areas of interest include:

• Role of school boards, central office administration, state departments of education, district and state superintendents; principals and assistant principals
• New accountability measures, models, and approaches (e.g., school inspections)
• Social, political, economic, demographic, and community forces and contexts (e.g., urban, suburban, and/or rural settings; resegregation; gentrification)
• Micro and macro politics of school leadership
• School finance and funding adequacy and equity
• Special populations (i.e., bilingual emergent, foster care, homeless, and military-connected children and youth)
• Career and technical education
• Preparation and professional development of school leaders
• Research-practice partnerships

All theoretical and methodological approaches are welcome (e.g., qualitative vs. quantitative; empirical vs. conceptual; discipline-based vs. interdisciplinary).  Each manuscript submission is subject to the JSL Submission Guidelines, with some procedural modifications for special issues as outlined below.

Guest Editors: Sonya Douglass Horsford, Gaëtane Jean-Marie, Natalie Tran, Bradley Carpenter, Curt Adams, and Kimberly Sanders will serve as guest editors for this special issue.

Submission Guidelines

1. Manuscripts submitted for special issue consideration should be sent electronically, via e-mail attachment in Word format to Gaëtane Jean-Marie, Editor, Journal of School Leadership at jsl@uni.edu. A masked copy of the manuscript with the title page and all other author identifying information removed (including citations and references pertaining to any of the contributing authors’ works) should be submitted, along with the Special Issue Manuscript Submission form (see below).  Authors will receive e-mail acknowledgment of receipt of their manuscript within two weeks of submission.  In submitting these materials, you agree that: (1) the manuscript has not been published and is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere, and (2) JSL has permission to publish the manuscript. 
2. All manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced, and follow the style outlined in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 
3. Literature references should be listed at the end of the manuscript, following the style in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 
4. Figures must be black and white only (no grayscale). Photographs will not be accepted. 
5. Tables must be formatted as Word documents and submitted on separate pages from text pages, include a heading, and be numbered consecutively using Arabic numbers. 
6. Headings should appear as outlined in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 
7. The length of manuscripts is limited to 40 pages total. This includes the abstract, manuscript text, references and any figures, tables, and appendices.

Special Issue Timeline

• October 1, 2016 – Manuscript submissions due to JSL Editor, Gaëtane Jean-Marie (jsl@uni.edu)
• October 10, 2016 – Manuscripts selected for external review; authors notified
• December 10, 2016 – Manuscripts accepted; authors notified
• March 5, 2017 – Final manuscripts due
• November 2017 – Special issue published