Learning in a Time of Division

School-University-Community Research in Education

Edited by:
R. Martin Reardon, East Carolina University
Jack Leonard, University of Massachusetts Boston (retired)

A volume in the series: Current Perspectives on School/University/Community Research. Editor(s): R. Martin Reardon, East Carolina University. Jack Leonard, University of Massachusetts Boston (retired).

Call for Chapter Proposals

If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it.
~ Abraham Lincoln—Illinois Republican State Convention, Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Dr. Miguel Cardona, the U.S. Secretary of Education, highlighted the current “Raise the Bar: Lead the World” (https://www.ed.gov/raisethebar/) call to action of the U.S. Education Department of Education in a December 14, 2023, interview hosted by The Atlantic. Cardona took part in a convening of “activists, policy makers, industry leaders, and pioneers” (para. 1) who are working to close multiple equity gaps across multiple indicators. While Cardona’s focus was on the situation in the United States, we suggest that the list of goals on the above call-to-action webpage will resonate in international contexts in which dedicated educators are also keen to raise the bar and lead the world by (a) promoting academic excellence so that (i) student attainment exceeds pre-pandemic levels and closes underlying achievement and opportunity gaps, and (ii) ensuring that all students are offered comprehensive and rigorous educational opportunities from highly qualified educators who encourage them to be active, engaged, and lifelong learners, (b) boldly improving learning conditions by (i) eliminating the educator shortage, and (ii) investing in student mental health and well-being, and (c) creating pathways for global engagement by (i) ensuring that every student has a pathway to postsecondary education and training, and (ii) providing every student with a pathway to multilingualism.

Such an ambitious call to action would be challenging during a time of consensus but we suggest that our contemporary educational context both nationally and internationally is characterized by divisions of perspectives regarding the causes of and remedies for student achievement and discipline disparity, and a raft of mental health and well-being issues. Further, there are unresolved concerns over who can teach what and to whom in the wake legislative initiatives (e.g., “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” Grandos, 2023). One could be excused for suggesting that, in the contemporary field of education, we are uncertain about where we are, and where we are going, but there is a plethora of edicts about how to do it.

TOPICS OF INTEREST:
We invite submissions from national and international researchers who are themselves learning in the context of school-university-community collaboration regarding the educational issues highlighted above. We are particularly interested in submissions that focus on how educators are working to bridge or at least cope with the divisions they encounter.

CHAPTER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Please submit chapter proposals of no more than 500 words (in Microsoft Word, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt.) by Monday, March 11, 2024 (see the projected deadlines). Please cite at least 10 sources and include a reference page. The chapter proposal cover page must contain full contact information of the corresponding author and any coauthors. [Reference list for this call for chapters available on request.]

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR PUBLICATION:
Chapter Proposals: Monday, March 11, 2024
Invitation to Contribute a Chapter: Monday, March 25, 2024
Submit Draft Chapters for Blind Review: Monday, June 3, 2024
Return of Reviewed Chapters to Eds.: Monday, June 24, 2024
Submission of Revised Chapters to Eds.: Monday, August 26, 2024
Editors Submit Final Chapters to IAP: Monday, October 21, 2024
Anticipated Publication: Spring 2025

Please email chapter proposals as Microsoft Word attachments to both Martin Reardon (reardonr@ecu.edu) and Jack Leonard (jack.leonard@umb.edu). Prior inquiries are welcome.

CONTENTS