Call for Papers: New Scholars in Review 3
Curriculum Inquiry Special Issue
Scheduled to be published in September 2025 (Volume 55, Issue 4)
The editors of Curriculum Inquiry are seeking manuscripts for a special review issue scheduled to be published in September 2025. This issue will feature essay reviews written by new scholars of curriculum studies. “New scholars” include students actively enrolled in a graduate program in curriculum studies or related fields at the time of submission as well as individuals who completed a graduate degree after January 2021.
This review issue of the journal aims to recognize the insights of new scholars as commentators on recent as well as “classic” books in curriculum studies. By showcasing their work in this special issue, the editors of Curriculum Inquiry would like to encourage and honour their valuable contributions to the field.
For this special issue, editors are interested in receiving essay reviews based on two or more books that can be recent books (published in or after 2020), “classic” books (published before 2000 and considered to have had a substantial impact on the field), or a combination of the two. The reviews should identify and critically examine key themes or issues raised by the books, in relation to other relevant sources and/or contemporary perspectives and debates in the field. In the case of “classic” books, editors are interested in reviews that highlight the historical significance of the book(s) and their relevance to contemporary issues and perspectives in the field. Editors are particularly interested in essay reviews that juxtapose or bring into dialogue a “classic” book with a recent book, and thus take a comparative approach to reviewing both of them.
All manuscripts submitted to Curriculum Inquiry are subjected to a preliminary internal review by the editorial team, and those deemed appropriate for publication in the journal will be sent anonymously to external reviewers.
Submission deadline: January 31, 2025
Essay reviews for this special issue are expected to be between 5000 and 8000 words. You can find examples of essay reviews in Volume 46, Issue 1 (2016) and Volume 41, Issue 1 (2011) of Curriculum Inquiry. Click here to access Curriculum Inquiry’s guidelines for authors. Questions can be addressed to Curriculum Inquiry’s Editorial Assistant, AV Verhaeghe, at curriculum.inquiry.oise@utoronto.ca
Click here to download a PDF of the CFP.
We look forward to receiving your submissions!
Thank you,
Editors of Curriculum Inquiry
Call for Proposals for Special Issues
The Editors of Curriculum Inquiry (CI) invite proposal submissions for special issues. CI is a leading international journal in the field of curriculum studies. It is dedicated to studies of educational experience in schools, communities, families, and other local or transnational settings, using a range of theoretical and disciplinary approaches. CI brings together the work of both established and emerging scholars from a variety of academic fields and disciplines who theorize and examine curriculum and pedagogy, broadly defined, and whose work promotes conceptual debate and pushes beyond current understandings of educational research, theory, and practice.
The journal invites proposals for special issues that explore and critique contemporary ideas, issues, trends, and problems in education, particularly those relating to curriculum, teaching and learning, teacher education, cultural practice, and educational research and policy. We are interested in special issues that invite authors to tackle cutting edge issues or that bring new insight into some of the perennial questions and issues related to curriculum inquiry broadly defined.
Prospective guest editors are encouraged – but not required – to contact the Editor-In-Chief with a description of their special issue ideas and request feedback before submitting a full proposal (see contact information below).
The full proposal should include the following:
1. A brief prospectus for the special issue, of roughly 800-1000 words, outlining the purpose, relevance, and importance of the topic for Curriculum Inquiry readers. You may wish to refer to the aims and scope statement of the journal as a guide for what you might address. CI is interested in special issues that address "big questions" and that bring together articles that challenge common understandings of key ideas and issues and that present divergent and even competing perspectives. The prospectus should lay out the rationale for the special issue, outlining the topic, why the topic is important and represents a significant and "cutting edge" area of work in contemporary curriculum theory. You should also describe some of the subtopics that you hope the special issue will address, and perhaps discuss some of the questions that are driving current research, theorizing, and other kinds of work in the field. You may also consider naming some of the diverging perspectives that you hope will be represented in the special issue in some way. Prospective editors are encouraged to set parameters and criteria around particular frameworks or issues, rather than attempting to be all encompassing around a topic.
2. The proposal should indicate whether the prospective guest editor(s) already have a list of authors who will submit articles for the special issue, or whether a "Call for Proposals (or) Papers" will be issued to invite authors (including authors who the guest editors would like to invite specifically) to submit article proposals or articles for consideration in the special issue. If you choose the first, please include a list of authors and abstracts (about 250 words) for each of the articles you would like to consider for the special issue, along with a short bio (about 100 words) for each author. If you choose the second, you should also submit a draft of your call for papers/proposals as well as a list of potential authors who may be encouraged or invited to submit papers/proposals.
3. The proposal should include a brief summary of the prospective guest editors’ previous editorial experience with both academic journals as well as edited book projects and any other publication projects involving substantive editorial work. Submitters should also send a copy of their CVs along with the proposal. CI encourages collaboration between established scholars with ample editorial experience and emerging scholars.
4. The proposal should include a list of 10-12 scholars with expertise related to the topic of the special issue, which may include prospective authors.
The editorial team will conduct a preliminary review of all proposals. If selected, two members of the editorial advisory board and/or the international editorial board will review the proposal. Prospective guest editors will receive notification within three months of submission regarding the proposal.
If approved, the editorial team will work closely with the guest editors in all stages of the publication process, including peer review and revision of articles. The editorial team reserves the right to make final decisions regarding the publication of any given article. The final decision for publication rests with the editor-in-chief.
Prospective guest editors are encouraged to contact the journal with questions about the proposal review process, or to submit ideas for special issues. Please view our website or email the editorial office at curriculum.inquiry.oise@utoronto.ca for additional information.
Rubén A. Gaztambide-Fernández (r.gaztambide.fernandez@utoronto.ca)
Editor-In-Chief, Curriculum Inquiry