Policies
Information For Authors
Information About and For Reviewers
- Review Policy
- Review Guidelines
- Peer Review Form Guidance (PDF)
- Copyright Notice and Open Access Policy
- Archival Policy
SSW Activities and Conferences
- Watch this space for information!
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS
The International Journal of School Social Work (IJSSW) has no article processing or submission charges.
Formatting Requirements
Manuscripts Need to Include the Following:
Format: All manuscripts are to be submitted with one inch margins, 12 point font, double spaced with all references cited and included in a reference listing at the end of the manuscript. All tables, figures, and pictures need to be included in the appendices section in consecutive order. American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition is required.
- Cover Letter: (required). As part of the submission process, include a cover letter that provides the following information: title, author(s), complete mailing address, telephone number, WhatsApp (if applicable), e-mail address, a short biography including credentials (60 words or less). Do not include any identifying information on the article.
- Abstract Page: A short abstract of 250 words or less. Include 5-8 keywords.
- Length: Suggested manuscript length of 10,000-12,500 words (approximately 20-25 pages) inclusive of references and all appendices, though longer manuscripts will be considered. The manuscript MUST be de-identified. Manuscripts that contain author names will not be sent out for review and the submission will be rejected.
- References: Where available, DOIs (digital object identifiers) for the references have been provided and are hotlinked in the Word document. As a member of CrossRef, our publisher, New Prairie Press, is required to include DOIs. Use the free DOI lookup on CrossRef's website to check your citations.
- Research: In the event human subjects were used in original research, a copy of the approval statement of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other governing ethics/human rights review body must accompany the manuscript to be considered for review and/or publication.
The International Journal of School Social Work editorial staff reserves the right to reject any manuscript submission. This includes manuscripts with text, tables, figures or art copied from other sources in whole or part without written permission from the original author. It is the responsibility of the author to obtain all written permissions for materials used in the manuscript. Manuscripts that have been previously published may not be submitted.
INFORMATION ABOUT AND FOR REVIEWERS
Review Policy of International Journal of School Social Work
Manuscripts will be reviewed by up to 2 peer reviewers. Manuscripts that are submitted and accepted for review may take up to 90 days to be returned to the author with peer review comments. Returned manuscripts will fall under one of four categories which includes:
- Accept submission
- Accept submission, with minor revisions
- Major revisions required for acceptance
- Reject submission
The International Journal of School Social Work editorial staff reserves the right to reject any manuscript submission. This includes manuscripts with text, tables, figures or art copied from other sources in whole or part without written permission from the original author. Manuscripts that have been previously published may not be submitted.
Review Guidelines
IJSSW accepts and reviews electronic manuscript submissions in English for ongoing publication. Manuscripts submitted could include original research (qualitative and quantitative), systematic literature reviews, and analyses of country specific descriptions of school social work practices. The IJSSW will have an international focus in six feature sections as a part of each issue:
- International Social Work Practice (these pieces would highlight the development of school social work, or studies that highlight either local, indigenous practices, or conversely, universal aspects of school social work that the author believes can apply across cultural contexts).
- Empirical articles of school based research or research relevant to education and social work (original research-case studies, secondary data analysis, qualitative studies, and quantitative work),
- Evidence or Research Informed Practices (critical reviews of established interventions in schools e.g. systematic reviews of researched practices, intervention research that provides results of implementing either an already established evidence based practice, or one that does not yet have an evidence base, but does have a research base. In other words a research based intervention is based on existing theoretical approaches and knowledge, but has not yet been tested to the degree that it can be considered “evidence-based”),
- Practice Wisdom (narrative articles written by school social workers about what they are doing that works in their setting)
- Student Perspectives (articles submitted by social work students describing their experiences as school social workers in both international and U.S. school contexts or students in the K-12 system conducting their own action research or providing narratives of their own lived experience).
- Book Review (review of new books related to school social work practice or global social work practice).
The review process is estimated to take three months but may occasionally take longer.
Once accepted, articles will be published in English. For authors whose first language is not English, we do have English speaking researchers and professors who are willing to partner as co-authors to support making sure the work is of publishable quality and that the important global work is disseminated. Please reach out to the Editor in Chief for more information. The Journal structure includes advisory board members and peer reviewed editors that are international peers in academics and school social work that will review all submissions, and approve, recommend revisions or reject manuscripts for publication. The goal is to achieve published papers that:
- relate to the field of School Social Work,
- represent a variety of work in international contexts,
- represent previously unpublished work,
- add to the knowledge base of the School Social Work profession,
- comply to a high standard of international academic scholarship,
- contain appropriate supporting documentation,
- include logical formatting and organization,
- and, follow American Psychological Association (APA) format.
Research Submission: In the event human subjects were used in original research, a copy of the approval statement from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or another governing ethics/human rights review body must accompany the manuscript to be considered for review and or publication.
Manuscripts will be double-blind (double-anonymous) reviewed by up to 2 consulting editors. Manuscripts that are submitted and accepted for review will take up to 90 days to be returned to the author with peer review comments. Returned manuscripts will fall under one of four categories which includes:
- Accept submission
- Accept submission, with minor revisions
- Major revisions required for acceptance
- Reject submission
The International Journal of School Social Work editorial staff reserves the right to reject any manuscript submission. This includes manuscripts with text, tables, figures or art copied from other sources in whole or part without written permission from the original author. Manuscripts that have been previously published may not be submitted.
Copyright Policy
The International International Journal of School Social Work (IJSSW) requires authors to agree to a Creative Commons license as part of publishing with the journal. Authors who publish with (IJSSW) agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the privilege of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons license that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors have a variety of Creative Commons licenses from which to choose.
Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Because authors retain copyright of their work, all manuscript versions (submitted, accepted, and published) may be added to an institutional repository.
Open Access Policy
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her/their institution. Users, while abiding by the terms of the content’s license, are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
Archival Policy
Contents of the Journal are archived for perpetual access through New Prairie Press' participation in CLOCKSS (Controlled Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) and Portico and managed through the Digital Commons Publishing platform. New Prairie Press also participates in LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe). Once published, the contents are never changed.
SSW ACTIVITIES AND CONFERENCES
Watch this space for information!
