Critical Questions in Education (CQIE) accepts contributions from researchers, scholars, policymakers, practitioners, teachers, students, and informed observers in education and related fields. In addition to original reports of research and theory, CQIE welcomes articles that reflect on teaching and practice in educational settings in the United States and abroad. Each manuscript submitted will go through a double blind peer review process entailing no less than two reviews.

It is the policy of CQIE to consider for publication only manuscripts that are not simultaneously being considered elsewhere. Please include a statement indicating that the manuscript is only under consideration with CQIE when submitting manuscripts for review. Similarly, it is our policy not to publish manuscripts that are currently available online or in print. Exceptions to this policy are on the very rare occasions that we publish a reprint under special circumstances such as a theme issue. To this end, the journal requires that authors remove manuscripts from publicly available websites before submission.

The use of any GAI program to assist in authoring a manuscript or book for submission to any Academy for Educational Studies publications is strongly discouraged. Please include a statement indicating that GAI was not used in the manuscript’s authorship when submitting manuscripts for review. Given the current impossibility of verifying the use/non-use of GAI , should a manuscript rely on such technology in any way, authors must provide a statement explaining the extent of that use. In the vast majority of cases, manuscripts submitted indicating such assistance in authorship will be summarily rejected.

Please follow these guidelines in preparing a manuscript for submission:

TYPES OF ARTICLES

Research Articles
Manuscripts reporting original, empirical research using qualitative and/or mixed method findings related to education should include a literature review and/or theoretical/conceptual framework, methods, and analysis sections. The literature should be relevant to the research topic and findings. The methods need to be clearly outlined and should match the research question or stated purpose of the manuscript. Please include a brief description of any methodologies that are less familiar to educators and the educational research community. The analysis should be clear, and the arguments set forth should emerge from the findings presented in the manuscript. APA is an acceptable format for research articles.

Scholarly Essays
An academic essay should have a well-developed argument that answers a particular question or several related questions. It should begin with a review of previous work on the chosen topic and, subsequently, provide reasoning, evidence, and examples that support the author’s thesis on the question(s) addressed. Scholarly essays are nonfiction but often take on a subjective point of view; they are often expository, but they can also be narrative in style. Chicago Footnote/Bibliography Style is the acceptable format for scholarly essays.

Critical Book/Film/Media Reviews
Critical reviews of books, films, or other media should have an equally well-developed argument regarding the value of the publication under consideration. Though some summary of the publication under consideration is suggested, the focus of the review must be less summary, and more critical reflection.  Critical here does not necessarily mean negative; however, it does require a high level of critical analysis.
Chicago Footnote/Bibliography Style is the acceptable format for critical reviews.

CRITERIA

Significance and Impact
Manuscripts and critical reviews should focus on questions relevant to the field of education. These questions should be pointed and should also have implications for broader educational problems, nationally and/or globally. Manuscripts/critical reviews should contribute to the work of stakeholders seeking to address educational challenges and should explicitly state their contributions, whether theoretical or practical, in order to identify the populations that would most benefit from its publication, such as teachers, professors, policymakers, or students.

Advancement of the Field
The manuscript should push existing theory in a new direction, and/or extend, fill a gap in, or bring a new perspective to current literature. Books/films/media being reviewed should be substantial in their contributions to the study of educational problems.

Clarity and Style
Manuscripts must be well written in clear, concise language. As a foundationally oriented critical journal, CQIE publishes articles reflective of those themes found in social foundations of education. To that end, we ask potential authors to be mindful of the following understanding of social foundations work as stated by the Leaned Societies in Education (CLSE):

Foundations of Education refers to a broadly-conceived field of educational study that derives its character and methods from a number of academic disciplines, combinations of disciplines, and area studies, including: history, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, religion, political science, economics, psychology, cultural studies, gender studies, comparative and international education, educational studies, and educational policy studies. As distinct from Psychological Foundations of Education, which rely on the behavioral sciences, these Standards address the Social Foundations of Education, which rely heavily on the disciplines and methodologies of the humanities, particularly history and philosophy, and the social sciences, such as sociology and political science. The purpose of foundations study is to bring these disciplinary resources to bear in developing interpretive, normative, and critical perspectives on education, both inside and outside of schools.

The interpretive perspectives use concepts and theories developed within the humanities and the social sciences to assist students in examining, understanding, and explaining education within different contexts. Foundational studies promote analysis of the intent, meaning, and effects of educational institutions, including schools. Such studies attend particularly to the diverse contexts within which educational phenomena occur, and how interpretation can vary with different historical, philosophical, and cultural perspectives.

The normative perspectives assist students in examining and explaining education in light of value orientations. Foundational studies promote understanding of normative and ethical behavior in educational development and recognition of the inevitable presence of normative influences in educational thought and practice. Foundational studies probe the nature of assumptions about education and schooling. They examine the relation of policy analysis to values and the extent to which educational policymaking reflects values. Finally, they encourage students to develop their own value positions regarding education on the basis of critical study and their own reflections.

The critical perspectives employ normative interpretations to assist students to develop inquiry skills, to question educational assumptions and arrangements, and to identify contradictions and inconsistencies among social and educational values, policies, and practices. In particular, the critical perspectives engage students in employing democratic values to assess educational beliefs, policies, and practices in light of their origins, influences, and consequences.

Particular disciplinary studies in, e.g., the history, philosophy, or sociology of education shall be considered as study in the Foundations of Education provided the above perspectives are addressed and promoted. The objective of such study is to sharpen students’ abilities to examine, understand, and explain educational proposals, arrangements, and practices and to develop a disciplined sense of policy-oriented educational responsibility. Such study develops an awareness of education and schooling in light of their complex relations to the environing culture.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Formatting

• CQIE accepts manuscripts of up to 10,000 words, including abstract, list of keywords, appendices, footnotes and references, and reserves the right to return any manuscript that exceeds that length.
• All text must be double-spaced; type size must be 12 point with 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Authors should refer to The Chicago Manual of Style  (Footnote/Bibliography) for general questions of style, grammar, punctuation, and form, and for footnotes of theoretical, descriptive, or essay-like material.
• The journal defers to author preference in decisions about the naming and capitalization of racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. Manuscripts should be internally  consistent in this regard.
• Authors of empirical  research articles may use APA format. Please refer to Publication Manual of the  American Psychological Association for reference and citation styles.     

Special Theme Issues
Critical Questions in Education no longer publishes special theme issues–issues focused on a single topic or area of interest. Should an author(s) have an idea for a theme issue, please contact the Academy Editor. Though CQIE will no longer publish theme issues, CQIE‘s sister Academy journal, Thresholds in Education, is a theme issue only publication and the editorial staff of the Academy will accept theme issue proposals for the Thresholds journal. Proposal guidelines can be found here.

Submission Procedure
Critical Questions in Education uses an electronic submission process.  Authors interested in submitting original manuscripts to (CQIE) for double-blind review, should send said manuscript as a Microsoft Word file attachment to the Academy Editor with CQIE submission as the subject line.