American Educational Research Journal
| Ellen Goldring | Vanderbilt University, USA |
| Angela Calabrese Barton | University of Michigan, USA |
| Michael Cunningham | Tulane University, USA |
| Sean Kelly | University of Pittsburgh, USA |
| Madeline Mavrogordato | Michigan State University, USA |
| Peter Youngs | University of Virginia, USA |
| Celia Rousseau Anderson | University of Memphis, USA |
| Michael Bastedo | University of Michigan, USA |
| Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell | Harvard University, USA |
| Soo-yong Byun | Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Rebecca Callahan | University of Texas, Austin, USA |
| Huriya Jabbar | University of Texas, Austin, USA |
| Micere Keels | University of Chicago, USA |
| Doug Lauen | University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, USA |
| Lorena Llosa | New York University, USA |
| Mark Long | University of Washington, USA |
| Danny Martin | University of Illinois at Chicago, USA |
| Bic Ngo | University of Minnesota, USA |
| Sarah M. Ovink | Virginia Tech, USA |
| Karen Suyemoto | University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA |
| Russ Toomey | University of Arizona, USA |
| Tanya Wright | Michigan State University, USA |
| Liang Zhang | New York University, USA |
| Kristin Anderson | Vanderbilt University, USA |
The American Educational Research Journal (AERJ) is the flagship journal of the American Educational Research Association, featuring articles that advance the empirical, theoretical, and methodological understanding of education and learning. It publishes original peer-reviewed analyses that span the field of education research across all subfields and disciplines and all levels of analysis. It also encourages submissions across all levels of education throughout the life span and all forms of learning. AERJ welcomes submissions of the highest quality, reflecting a wide range of perspectives, topics, contexts, and methods, including interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work.
All issues of AERJ are available to browse online.
The American Educational Research Journal (AERJ) is the flagship journal of the American Educational Research Association, featuring articles that advance the empirical, theoretical, and methodological understanding of education and learning. It publishes original peer-reviewed analyses that span the field of education research across all subfields and disciplines and all levels of analysis. It also encourages submissions across all levels of education throughout the life span and all forms of learning. AERJ welcomes submissions of the highest quality, reflecting a wide range of perspectives, topics, contexts, and methods, including interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work.
| Ellen Goldring | Vanderbilt University, USA |
| Angela Calabrese Barton | University of Michigan, USA |
| Michael Cunningham | Tulane University, USA |
| Sean Kelly | University of Pittsburgh, USA |
| Madeline Mavrogordato | Michigan State University, USA |
| Peter Youngs | University of Virginia, USA |
| Celia Rousseau Anderson | University of Memphis, USA |
| Michael Bastedo | University of Michigan, USA |
| Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell | Harvard University, USA |
| Soo-yong Byun | Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Rebecca Callahan | University of Texas, Austin, USA |
| Huriya Jabbar | University of Texas, Austin, USA |
| Micere Keels | University of Chicago, USA |
| Doug Lauen | University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, USA |
| Lorena Llosa | New York University, USA |
| Mark Long | University of Washington, USA |
| Danny Martin | University of Illinois at Chicago, USA |
| Bic Ngo | University of Minnesota, USA |
| Sarah M. Ovink | Virginia Tech, USA |
| Karen Suyemoto | University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA |
| Russ Toomey | University of Arizona, USA |
| Tanya Wright | Michigan State University, USA |
| Liang Zhang | New York University, USA |
| Kristin Anderson | Vanderbilt University, USA |
| Dorinda Carter Andrews | Michigan State University, USA |
| Russell Bishop | University of Waikato, New Zealand |
| Melissa Braaten | University of Colorado Boulder, USA |
| Edward Brockenbrough | University of Pennsylvania, USA |
| Keffrelyn D. Brown | University of Texas, Austin, USA |
| Brian A. Burt | Iowa State University, USA |
| Nolan L. Cabrera | The University of Arizona, USA |
| Bill Carbonaro | University of Notre Dame, USA |
| David Carlson | Arizona State University, USA |
| Deven Carlson | University of Oklahoma, USA |
| Clark Chinn | Rutgers University, USA |
| Mary Carol Combs | University of Arizona, USA |
| Dylan P. Conger | George Washington University, USA |
| Sean Corcoran | Vanderbilt University, USA |
| Ulrike Cress | University of Tübingen, Germany |
| Miriam David | University College London, UK |
| Dennis S. Davis | NC State University, USA |
| Elizabeth (Betsy) Davis | University of Michigan, USA |
| Laura Desimone | University of Delaware |
| Leslie Dietiker | Boston University, USA |
| Jamel Kevin Donnor | College of William and Mary, USA |
| Anne Douglass | University of Massachusetts Boston, USA |
| Will Doyle | Vanderbilt University, USA |
| Kathy Escamilla | University of Colorado Boulder, USA |
| Rachel Fish | New York University, Steinhardt School of Education, USA |
| Rachael Gabriel | University of Connecticut, USA |
| Adam Gamoran | University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA |
| Jeremy Garcia | University of Arizona, USA |
| James Gee | Arizona State University, USA |
| Krista Glazewski | Indiana University Bloomington, USA |
| Philip Gleason | Mathematica, USA |
| Rachel Gordon | University of Illinois, USA |
| Mileidis Gort | University of Colorado, Boulder, USA |
| Michael Gottfried | University of California, Santa Barbara, USA |
| Beth Graue | University of Wisconsin, USA |
| Stuart Greene | University of Notre Dame, USA |
| Peter Halpin | New York University, USA |
| Kevin Lawrence Henry | University of Arizona, USA |
| Leslie Herrenkohl | University of Michigan, USA |
| Nicholas Hillman | University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA |
| Cindy Hmelo-Silver | Indiana University, USA |
| Tyrone Howard | University of California, Los Angeles, USA |
| Ozan Jaquette | University of California, Los Angeles, USA |
| Rosa Jimenez | University of San Francisco, USA |
| Kavita Kapadia-Matsko | National Louis University, USA |
| Dennis Kwek Beng Kiat | National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore |
| Katherine Lewis | University of Washington, USA |
| Jennifer Lin Russell | The University of Pittsburgh, USA |
| Dan Losen | University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| Robert Lowe | Marquette University, USA |
| Rosemary Luckin | University of London, UK |
| Katherine Magnuson | University of Wisconsin, USA |
| Julie Marsh | Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, USA |
| Jamaal Matthews | Montclair State University, USA |
| Andrew McEachin | RAND Corporation, USA |
| Debra K. Meyer | Elmhurst College, USA |
| Elizabeth Meyer | University of Colorado Boulder, USA |
| Jamie Mikeska | Educational Testing Service, Princeton, USA |
| H. Richard Milner, IV | Vanderbilt University, USA |
| Elizabeth Covay Minor | National Louis University, USA |
| Terrell Morton | University of Missouri, USA |
| Mark Murphy | University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Marrielle Myers | Kennessaw State University, USA |
| Sharon Nichols | The University of Texas at San Antonio, USA |
| Deborah Palmer | University of Colorado, USA |
| Joseph Polman | University of Colorado Boulder, USA |
| Kevin Pugh | University of Northern Colorado,USA |
| Doug Ready | Teachers College, USA |
| Carly Roberts | University of Washington, USA |
| Lucrecia Santibañez | University of California, Los Angeles, USA |
| Barbara Schneider | Michigan State University, USA |
| Lauren Schudde | University of Texas, Austin, USA |
| Heidi Schweingruber | Science Education at the National Research Council (NRC) |
| Janelle Scott | University of California, Berkeley, USA |
| Iram Siraj | University of Oxford, UK |
| Nancy B. Songer | Drexel University, USA |
| Katherine Omenn Strunk | University of Southern California, USA |
| Gary Sykes | ETS, Princeton, NJ |
| Cathryn Teasley | Universidad de Coruna, Spain |
| Antonio Teodoro | Lusofona University, Portugal |
| Karen Thompson | Oregon State University, USA |
| Daniel Tröhler | University of Vienna, Austria |
| Ilana Umansky | University of Oregon, USA |
| Tim Urdan | Santa Clara University, USA |
| Ellen Usher | University of Kentucky, USA |
| Michael Walker | The College Board, USA |
| Tanner LaBaron Wallace | University of Pittsburgh, USA |
| Jennie Weiner | University of Connecticut, USA |
| Meca Williams-Johnson | Georgia Southern University, USA |
| Hsin-Kai Wu | National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan |
| Haeny Yoon | Teachers College, Columbia University, USA |
| Susan Yoon | University of Pennsylvania, USA |
| Bill Zumeta | University of Washington, USA |
All manuscripts for AERJ should be submitted electronically at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/aerj. Manuscript submissions by e-mail are not accepted.
Please carefully review the guidelines below. For specific questions or inquiries, please contact the editorial office at: AERJ@aera.net
Additional information can also be found at: SAGE Manuscript Submission Guidelines.
General Information
AERJ operates on a double-blind review policy; once your manuscript is received, it will first be read by the editors to determine whether it merits being sent out for review to a panel of blind reviewers.
AERJ does not accept manuscript submissions that are previously published, currently in-press, or under consideration for publication elsewhere. If there is a prior distribution of your manuscript, please check the SAGE prior publication guidelines for examples of acceptable submissions.
Manuscript Criteria
The fitness of a manuscript for publication in AERJ is carefully reviewed based on each of the following dimensions:
- Scope/relevance to the field of education
- Conceptual framework (connections to relevant constructs in literature)
- Methods
- Appropriateness to questions
- Adequate description of methods (including data collection, description of samples, and analysis)
- Rigor of methods
- Findings/conclusions are literature or data-based
- Overall contribution to the field
- Writing style/composition/clarity
Research Ethics and Publication Standards
Researchers submitting manuscripts should consult the Standards for Research Conduct in AERA publications and the AERA Code of Ethics.
Submission Preparation Checklist
As part of the submission process, please confirm your submission’s compliance with the requirements below. Submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to the author(s).
APA Style
All submissions should follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition
Title page file
Supply complete contact information for all authors on a separately uploaded title page file including: author name(s), affiliation, complete street address, e-mail address, and phone number.
Please clearly indicate the corresponding author who will be handling the communications with the editors, approving final proofs, and working with the association’s publications team should the manuscript be accepted for publication.
Length and Formatting
The main document of the submitted manuscript may not exceed 50 double-spaced pages including all tables, figures, notes, and references. Pages must be typed for 8½" x 11" paper with 1" margins on all sides and double-spaced using 12-point type, preferably Times New Roman. Word files and LaTeX files (submitted with the corresponding PDF) are acceptable.
Subheads should be used at reasonable intervals to break the monotony of text.
Pages should be numbered consecutively.
Abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out at first mention unless found as entries in their abbreviated form in Merriam-Webster’s Tenth Collegiate Dictionary (e.g., “IQ” needs no explanation).
Appendices
Appendices can be considered as part of the manuscript only if, with their inclusion, the submitted manuscript is still within the maximum page limit of 50 double-spaced pages.
Online Supplementary Materials and Appendices
If the inclusion of appendices or other materials exceeds the manuscript’s 50 page limit, these files will not be included as part of the print publication, but will be made available separately online.
You must uploaded these files as a separate document in the system as supplementary files. Please indicate "ONLINE SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS" at the top of the uploaded document as a courtesy note to the editors and reviewers. All online supplementary materials should also be clearly labeled with “online” in the file name.
Blinding / Author identification
AERJ uses a blind review process; therefore, submitted manuscripts must conceal or remove the authors’ identity, affiliations, and funding source(s), as well as any other clues that exist within the manuscript.
- Authors must ensure that submission materials outside of the title page file contain no identifying information. This includes any information within the text, citations, references, or footnotes. These may be reinserted in the final draft.
- Avoid writing in such a way that potentially reveals author identity even when the author’s name has been removed.
Examples of what is not acceptable:
- “This way of implementing education policy is consistent with the term I refer as ‘social justice enabling practice’ (Author, 2019).”
- “The data for this study come from the National Magnet School Survey (Author, 2018).”
Examples of what is acceptable:
- “This way of implementing education policy is consistent with what is referred to as ‘social justice enabling practice’ (Mavrogordato, 2019)*
- *You would then, in this particular instance, include the author’s unblinded reference in the references list
- Explanation: To reiterate our general rule that manuscripts should not provide clues as to author identity.
- “The data for this study come from a national survey of magnet schools.”
- Explanation: In the case of a large national survey where only the author and their colleagues have access to it, citing it would reveal their identity. However, if the author uses widely published data (MET, NCES, etc.), it is acceptable to disclose the specific database.
- Cite work published by the author or co-authors that are referenced in the text as "Author" and the year of citation (e.g., Author, 2018), and place in the first position of the parentheses when they are cited in the text.
- Example: “Students’ disengagement has increasingly been linked to the quality of their classroom settings (Authors, 2018; Anderson, 2015; Wentzel, 1998).”
- Work published by a submitting author and an outside author (not on the manuscript) can be cited as: Author & --, year
- The authors’ references should appear at the top of the reference list ahead of all other references and shown as “Author(s)” and year only. Do not show any additional information such as title, name of publication, etc.
Example:
Author, 2015a
Authors, 2017
Authors & --, 2018
Adnot, M., Dee, T., Katz, V., & Wyckoff, J. (2017). Teacher turnover, teacher quality, and student achievement in DCPS. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 39(1), 54-76.
Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74, 59–109.
- When submitting a revised version of a manuscript, please be sure to submit a blind version of your response letter detailing changes made to the manuscript, as this letter will be accessed by reviewers.
Abstract and keywords
All manuscripts should include an abstract of 100–120 words. Please also include a few keywords or terms that researchers will use to find your article in indexes and databases. Articles in AERA journals typically list 3 to 5 keywords.
Notes
Notes are for explanations or amplifications of textual material. They are distracting to readers and expensive to set and should be avoided whenever possible. They should be typed as normal text at the end of the text section of the manuscript rather than as part of the footnote or endnote feature of a computer program and should be numbered consecutively throughout the article.
References
All blinded references should appear at the top of the references list.
The reference list should contain only references that are cited in the manuscript. Its accuracy and completeness are the responsibility of the author(s).
References should include each publicly available identifier (DOI), a handle, or a uniform resource name (URN). If necessary, this last element may be replaced by a web address and an access date.
Personal communications (letters, memos, telephone conversations) are cited in the text after the name with as exact a date as possible.
All references should follow APA style.
Tables, figures, and illustrations
The purpose of tables and figures is to present data to the reader in a clear and unambiguous manner. Figures and tables should be keyed to the text. Tables should each be typed on a separate sheet and included at the end of the manuscript (after the references). Tables will be typeset and should be editable (i.e., submitted as Word or Excel files).
Figure captions should be typed on a separate sheet (and should not appear in full on the original figures). One high-quality electronic version of each figure must be submitted with the manuscript that is to be typeset (i.e., .jpeg, .png, PDF). Figures are converted to grayscale for the print edition; they appear in color online.
See also the section below regarding permission to reproduce copyrighted material.
Review Criteria
The Reviewer Guidelines summarize the criteria for the manuscript review.
How to Get Help with the Quality of English in Your Submission
Authors who would like to refine the use of English in their manuscripts might consider using the services of a professional English-language editing company. We highlight some of these companies at https://languageservices.sagepub.com/en/.
Please be aware that SAGE has no affiliation with these companies and makes no endorsement of them. An author's use of these services in no way guarantees that his or her submission will ultimately be accepted. Any arrangement an author enters into will be exclusively between the author and the particular company, and any costs incurred are the sole responsibility of the author.
Copyright Information
Accepted authors will be asked to assign copyright to AERA, in return for which AERA grants several rights to authors.
Permission to reproduce your own published material
No written or oral permission is necessary to reproduce a table, a figure, or an excerpt of fewer than 500 words from this journal, or to make photocopies for classroom use. Authors are granted permission, without fee, to photocopy their own material or make printouts from the final pdf of their article. Copies must include a full and accurate bibliographic citation and the following credit line: “Copyright [year] by the American Educational Research Association; reproduced with permission from the publisher.” Written permission must be obtained to reproduce or reprint material in circumstances other than those just described. Please review SAGE Publishing’s Journal Permissions for further information on policies and fees.
Permission to submit material for which you do not own copyright
Authors who wish to use material, such as figures or tables, for which they do not own the copyright must obtain written permission from the copyright holder (usually the publisher) and submit it along with their manuscript. However, no written or oral permission is necessary to reproduce a table, a figure, or an excerpt of fewer than 500 words from an AERA journal.
Copyright transfer agreements for accepted works with more than one author
This journal uses a transfer of copyright agreement that requires just one author (the corresponding author) to sign on behalf of all authors. Please identify the corresponding author for your work when submitting your manuscript for review. The corresponding author will be responsible for the following:
- Ensuring that all authors are identified on the copyright agreement, and notifying the editorial office of any changes in the authorship.
- Securing written permission (by letter or e-mail) from each co-author to sign the copyright agreement on the co-author’s behalf.
- Warranting and indemnifying the journal owner and publisher on behalf of all co-authors. Although such instances are very rare, you should be aware that in the event that a co-author has included content in his or her portion of the article that infringes the copyright of another or is otherwise in violation of any other warranty listed in the agreement, you will be the sole author indemnifying the publisher and the editor of the journal against such violation.
Please contact the publications office at AERA if you have questions or if you prefer to use a copyright agreement for all coauthors to sign.
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
Comments
The Publications Committee welcomes comments and suggestions from authors. Please send these to the Publications Committee in care of the AERA central office.
Right of Reply
The right-of-reply policy encourages comments on articles recently published in an AERA journal. Such comments are subject to editorial review and decision. If the comment is accepted for publication, the editor shall inform the author of the original article. If the author submits a reply to the comment, the reply is also subject to editorial review and decision. The editor may allot a specific amount of journal space for the comment (ordinarily about 1,500 words) and for the reply (ordinarily about 750 words). The reply may appear in the same issue as the comment or in a later one.
Grievances
Authors who believe that their manuscripts were not reviewed in a careful or timely manner and in accordance with AERA procedures should call the matter to the attention of the Association’s executive officer or president.
SAGE Choice and Open Access
If you or your funder wish your article to be freely available online to nonsubscribers immediately upon publication (gold open access), you can opt for it to be included in SAGE Choice, subject to payment of a publication fee. The manuscript submission and peer review procedure is unchanged. On acceptance of your article, you will be asked to let SAGE know directly if you are choosing SAGE Choice. To check journal eligibility and the publication fee, please visit SAGE Choice. For more information on open access options and compliance at SAGE, including self author archiving deposits (green open access) visit SAGE Publishing Policies on our Journal Author Gateway.