School-University-Community Research in a (Post)COVID-19 World

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

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.

Call for Chapters

Berman and Darling-Hammond (2021) encapsulated reality towards the end of 2021 by asserting that “the past 18 to 20 months have presented educators with challenges they never expected” (para. 1). By the same token, since its onset early in 2020, COVID-19 has presented educational researchers with challenges they never expected. Some educational researchers paused projects, while others initiated or continued projects to research the multiple facets of the impact of the pandemic on teachers, students, parents, and/or communities. Zamarro et al. (2021) found that 30% of the teachers who responded to their survey reported that they would probably leave teaching within the next 5 years (a 6% increase from the previous year). France (2021) appealed for sustainability to be the touchstone of pedagogical practice (as did Rosenberg & Anderson, 2021), drawing a distinction between collective efficacy and toxic positivity, defined as “the pervasive mindset that, no matter the circumstances, one should always see the positive” (para 5).

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (2021), as of October 2021, postsecondary enrollment was 2.6% below 2020 and 5.8% below 2019—the largest 2-year decline in the last 50 years. At the high school level, Kuhfeld et al. (2020) predicted major impacts on student learning together with greater variability from the “COVID slide” (p. 560). Santiban ez and Guarino (2021) suggested that COVID-19-related disruptions to attendance would negatively impact both the academic and social-emotional development of students, with that impact being experienced differently across students’ demographic categories (see also Office of Civil Rights, 2021). Indeed, Duckworth et al. (2021) found statistically significant negative impacts on social, emotional, and academic well-being across gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Leeb et al. (2020) reported a nationwide increase from January 1 through October 17, 2020 in mental-health-related emergency department visits for children aged 5- to 11-years and adolescents aged 12- to 17-years of 24% and 31% respectively.

Adams et al. (2021) found that the majority of parents in their study reported it was difficult during COVID-19 to continue parenting as they had been accustomed. The most common sources of stress including disruptions to children’s routines, concern about COVID-19, and issues related to conducting at-home schooling. They found that, from May through September 2020, general levels of stress decreased but parenting-specific stress increased. Reardon (in press) instanced the impact of parenting-specific stress associated with COVID-19 on parents and communities by citing Wolf (2021) who lamented that “we no longer have in-person school board meetings without a police officer present. . . . Across the state [school board members] are fearful for or receive threats to their safety” (para. 7).

PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS:
As we invite submissions for this volume at the beginning of the final month of 2021, we await scientific evaluations of the potency and transmissibility of the omicron variant (Doucleff, 2021)—even as the delta variant is still wreaking havoc, for example, in New York (Martí nez & King, 2021, 3:40 ff.). We invite submissions from educational researchers who are engaging in research related to or modulated by COVID-19 at the intersection of school, university, and community that is focused on outcomes for students, families, and/or communities (e.g., student engagement/academic outcomes, access to and use of community-based resources, social-emotional learning, school choice, career and college readiness) and/or educators (e.g., support systems, instructional tools/approaches, health and well-being, retention, preparation). We welcome chapter proposals of no more than 500 words (in Microsoft Word, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt.). Please cite at least 10 sources and include a reference page. The 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 Proposal Deadline: Monday, March 7, 2022
Invitation to Contribute a Chapter: Monday, March 28, 2022
Draft Chapters for Blind Peer Review: Monday, June 6, 2022
Return of Blind Peer Reviewed Chapters: Monday, June 27, 2022
Submission of Revised Chapters: Monday, August 29, 2022
Submission of Final Chapters to IAP: Monday, October 17, 2022
Anticipated publication in Spring 2023

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

Prior inquiries are welcome