AERA Open Special Topic Call for Papers

Education in the Time of Pandemic

Special Topic Editors: Jacquelynne Eccles and John Yun

Local and global crises, whether the results of natural disasters, war, or mass recessions, have a huge impact on educational systems. This has rarely been more evident than during the current global pandemic, which is shutting down schools, throwing people out of work, and bringing death and disease to millions around the world. What’s more, in the United States and around the world, the harshest impact has been on the poor and marginalized, thus exacerbating educational and social injustice and inequity.

In response to this crisis, AERA Open is launching a special topic, “Education in the Time of Pandemic.” The purpose of the special topic will be to learn and share as many lessons as possible, so that we are better prepared for systemic shocks in the future. We welcome papers on a wide range of issues related to this topic, such as the rapid transition to remote learning, the effect of psychological and medical trauma on educational processes and outcomes, and the sociology of educational responses to the pandemic. We welcome theoretical and empirical (qualitative and quantitative) work across a range of disciplines, and considering issues from preschool to higher/adult education, in the United States, in other countries, or internationally. We also encourage multi-disciplinary perspectives that encompass learning and teaching, administration, public health and medicine, sociology, and economics. And we strongly encourage submissions that address issues of equity and diversity.

Interested authors should submit an abstract (no more than 500 words) describing their proposed manuscript. Editors will review and invite selected authors to submit full manuscripts for possible inclusion in the special topic. All manuscript submissions will go through peer review and must meet the publication standards of AERA Open. An invitation to submit a full manuscript is not a guarantee of acceptance.

Publication Timeline:

Abstracts and manuscripts will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they are submitted. Abstracts can be submitted any time between May 15, 2020 and September 1, 2020 to AERAOpenEditors@aera.net. Special Topic Editors will review abstracts and provide feedback to authors. Manuscripts may then be submitted anytime by April 1, 2021. Articles will be published on a rolling basis following review.