Call for Submissions

We are currently accepting submissions for our open call and special issues. Submissions to Texas Education Review are managed via the Texas Digital Library. You can login or create your account by clicking here.

Open Call:

We are currently accepting submissions that address sociopolitical, economic, cultural, and organizational issues in education on a rolling basis. We invite practitioners, policy-makers, activists, and researchers, as well as emerging and faculty scholars to submit manuscripts and editorials via the Texas Digital Library (TDL).

Deadline for Submission: May 1, 2024

Fall 2024/ Winter 2025 Special Issue

Unveiling the Landscape of School Discipline in the United States: Opportunities, Innovative Strategies, and Prospects

Guest Editors: John A Williams, III and Kathryn E. Wiley

According to the 2020-2021 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights Database (OCRD) Snapshot, approximately 2% (786,000) students received a suspension or expulsion during this academic term. For decades, the overrepresentation of African American children in the U.S. K-12 school discipline system remained the norm due to policies, practices, and procedures that emphasized zero tolerance and harsher punishment for often normative social behavior. While reforms have gradually reduced rates of exclusion, these wins have neither been consistent or sustainable and persistent racial disparities remain.

These ongoing patterns are alarming, as countless studies have concluded that exclusionary discipline practices (i.e., suspensions, corporal punishment, and expulsions), do not promote pro-social behavior in children and adversely impact children and youth outcomes (Welsh & Little, 2018). Furthermore, education administrators disproportionately use exclusionary discipline with American and Latinx children, children receiving special education services, and students from under-resourced communities (Welsh & Little, 2018). Is the U.S. finally at the point where educators, scholars, policymakers, and community activists can overhaul school discipline so that it serves all students equitably?

As the U.S. continues becoming more multicultural and ethnically and linguistically diverse, it is imperative that schools and school districts determine best practices that do not disenfranchise students by way of exclusionary discipline. To extinguish the opportunity gaps created by exclusionary discipline, education practitioners, researchers, and policymakers must identify and sustain affirmative school discipline practices and policies so that students can enter learning spaces engaged and provided the best educational opportunities. Is the U.S. finally at a point where exclusionary discipline and disparities can be ended for good, or, given post-pandemic discipline discourses, are we on the precipice of a return to yet another zero-tolerance era?

During this critical time, we are pleased to announce a call for proposals for articles to be featured in a special issue Unveiling the Landscape of School Discipline in the U.S.: Opportunities, Innovative Strategies, and Prospects. The history of school discipline inequities, and advocacy to end those inequities, has generated important educational research and insight to advance understanding and change, spotlighting both the processes contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline, legislative paths forward, and powerful community organizing (Fabelo et al., 2011; IDRA, 2021; Warren, 2023). As we strive to advance the discourse surrounding educational practices and policies, we invite scholars, researchers, and practitioners to contribute their insights to this important dialogue.

Scope of the Special Issue: This special issue aims to explore various aspects of school discipline within the U.S. educational landscape. We welcome research articles (quant, qual, or mixed methods) that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  1. Innovative approaches and non-exclusionary alternatives to school discipline
  2. Impact of discipline policies on student outcomes
  3. Teacher perspectives on managing classroom behavior
  4. School administrator perspectives on leading school-wide change regarding discipline
  5. Disparities in disciplinary actions across student demographics
  6. Intersectionality of school discipline and socio-economic factors
  7. Analysis of school discipline policies and impacts of school discipline reform
  8. Efforts of community organizing groups and advocacy to end exclusionary discipline
  9. Pre and post pandemic analyses of discipline practices, policies, and trends

Submission Guidelines: Authors are invited to submit a 500-word abstract outlining their proposed contributions to the special issue. Abstracts should clearly state the research question, methodology, and expected contributions to the field. Please include a brief author bio highlighting relevant expertise. Please send your abstract to jwilliams3@tamu.edu and kathryn.wiley@howard.edu with the subject line: TEXReview Special Issue

Important Dates:

  • Abstract Submission Deadline: April 1st
  • Notification of Acceptance: April 20th
  • Full Manuscript Submission Deadline: June 1st
  • Revisions Provided Back to Authors: July 1st
  • Revised Manuscripts Submitted to Guest Editors: August 1st
  • Guest Editors Submission of Special Issue to Texas Educational Review: October 1
  • Expected Publication: January 2025

References

Fabelo, T., Thompson, M. D., Plotkin, M., Carmichael, D., Marchbanks, M. P., & Booth, E. A. (2011). Breaking schools’ rules: A statewide study of how school discipline relates to students’ success and juvenile justice involvement. New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center.

Intercultural Development Research Association (2021). Legislative Priorities. Retrieved from: https://www.idra.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Breaking-the-School-to-Prison-Pipeline-2021.pdf

Warren, M. (2023). Willful Defiance: The Movement to Dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline. New York: Oxford University Press

Welsh, R. O., & Little, S. (2018). Caste and control in schools: A systematic review of the pathways, rates and correlates of exclusion due to school discipline. Children and Youth Services Review, 94(June), 315–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.09.031

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights Database (OCRD). (2023). 2020-2021 Civil Rights Data Collection Snapshot.