IAP BOOK SERIES

Current Issues in Out-of-School Time

About the Book Series
The OST field has grown significantly over the past twenty years. The emergence of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding, an annual federal investment of over $1 billion, has created access to before- and after-school and summer learning programs for millions of children. Research and an intense field-wide focus on continuous improvement and capacity building have led to the development and implementation of quality standards and practices during OST. In addition, systemic, coordinated local and state efforts have created ongoing investments and incentives for intentional linkages across diverse institutions in support of OST learning. Today, the OST field has visibility, legitimacy, and relevance in the public sphere as a central partner in young people’s development and learning across contexts.

The Current Issues in Out-of-School Time book series bridges research and practice by stimulating discussion of: research-informed practice and practice-informed research; emerging, innovative strategies in the field; groundbreaking research that is deepening our understanding of the what, why, and how of OST; and areas left unexplored or issues that demand our urgent attention in order to improve the access, quality, and diverse outcomes for all children and youth.

The first book in the series, The Growing Out-of-School Time Field: Past, Present, and Future (2018) lays the foundation on which the series will rest. Forthcoming books in 2018 and 19 are: 1) Social and Emotional Learning in Out-Of-School-Time: Foundations and Futures (due out in October, 2018); 2) Changemakers! Practitioners Advance Equity and Access in Out-of-School Time Programs (due out in spring 2019); and 3) Partnering with Youth in Out-of-School Time Settings: The Promises, Practices, and Perplexities of Intergenerational Learning.

The audience for the book series. The audience for this new book series is wide-ranging, including: teachers and youth-serving professionals, education and youth development leaders at all levels, college students, evaluators and researchers, funders, and other decision-makers. We are looking for book volumes that will offer diverse perspectives on cross-cutting issues in OST field.

About the Call for Book Volume Ideas

The call for edited book volumes will be open from October 1 to December 15, 2018. The series welcomes ideas for book topics that bring a multi-disciplinary approach, illuminate relevant issues in the field, and would be of an appeal to a broad range of audiences both within the OST field and beyond. We are looking for individuals and/or editorial teams who bring diverse perspectives. Book editors should have expertise in the subject matter proposed in their book. Prior book production experience not required, but is preferred.

The call for book topics is open ended, and we welcome fresh, innovative ideas from scholars and practitioners alike. Below is a sample list of broad topics that is designed to stimulate ideas and is in no way intended to be exhaustive or limiting (ideas that are covered by previous published or forthcoming books in the series will not be considered, out of promotion of diverse aspects of OST field):

1. How OST research, policy, and practice influence one another;

2. Investigations of OST programs’ impact across diverse outcomes (e.g., school performance, education attainment, youth development);

3. How OST contributes to equity and social justice and/or issues of culture, ethnicity, and language in OST

4. Analysis of content-based learning in OST programs (e.g., early grade readings, STEM, arts, college and career preparation, civics education);

5. Research on factors influencing anytime, anywhere learning (e.g., the role of technology in rural contexts);

6. Field professionalization (e.g., competencies, capacity building and career pathways for youth-serving professionals and youth workers), including innovative professional development models;

7. School, family, and community partnerships in the OST field;

8. Systems integration to support OST learning and deepen alignment across institutions (e.g., growth of local and state networks; role of intermediaries);

9. Leveraging public/private/philanthropic dollars to support OST programs and systems;

10. Policies, strategies, and models related to improving the quality of OST programming.

Submission requirements

To submit your book idea, please provide the following:
1. Tentative title

2. Overview/summary of the proposed book volume (250-word max)

3. Rationale (1 double spaced page)
a. Purposes and objectives
b. Theoretical framework/guiding literature
c. Significance – how does the book expand current knowledge in the OST field?

4. An exploratory, annotated table of contents (2-4 double spaced pages)
a. A list of proposed chapters (the number of chapters will vary by volume, and it is at the discretion of individual book editor(s); most books will be between 200-275 print pages)
b. Under each proposed chapter, a bulleted list/narrative description of the scope/aim of each chapter (including the types of authors that might be invited; list of potential contributors is encouraged) (up to 100 words per chapter description)

5. 250-word biographies of book proposal editors emphasizing subject matter expertise and experience working on collaborative projects. Prior publishing experience is not required, but is preferred.

6. Please tell us how you heard about this call for proposals

Please adhere to the page limits. Please use 1’’ margins, 12-point Times New Roman font. All proposals will undergo a peer review process. Feedback on the proposals will be available by early February 2019. Please see our proposal review criteria for guidance on how your proposal will be judged in our peer review process.

Deadline for submission is December 15, 2018. Please email your submission as 1 Word Document attachment (file name structure: IAP_OST_Book_Idea_) to Elizabeth Devaney, Chair of the Editorial Review Board, edevaney@childrensinstitute.net.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Are there topics of particular interest or topics that are not likely to be selected? The list of topics included in the call is meant to stimulate your thinking but is not exhaustive. Our emphasis is on pressing topics for the OST field broadly. Please consider the timeliness of your topic, relevance and applicability across the OST field, and whether it is likely to remain timely given the length of the publication process (12-18 months). Proposals that duplicate topics for the three volumes in production will likely not be considered (see details earlier in this call).

• What are the primary review criteria for proposals? Books proposals will be reviewed on their overall fit and quality; whether the proposal articulates a theoretical framework or approach(es); how well they outline the goals and objectives of the volume; if the proposed volume is applicable to both researchers and practitioners; and the timeliness and relevance of the topic to the OST field. (sample peer review form is attached)

• What credentials do authors need? How do I know if I am qualified to propose a volume? There are no right or wrong authors or editors for these volumes. The goal is to represent a wide cross-section of research and practice for the OST field. Our hope is that authors will represent both those who study OST and those who work in the field. The Editorial Review Board for the book series is available to help editors identify individual chapter authors and to help authors shape their chapters and hone their writing once a volume is in development. At this stage, the most important consideration is a core idea that is timely and relevant to the field, an idea that is evidence/practice based.

• If my proposal is not selected for publication, are there other avenues to publish my work/ideas? There are a variety of options for practitioners and researchers to publish. The Journals Afterschool Matters, the Journal of Youth Development, the Journal of Expanded Learning Opportunities, and School Community Journal are peer-reviewed journals accepting articles at least once a year. The National Afterschool Association, the Afterschool Association, and the Forum for Youth Investment, for instance, also have regular newsletters and occasionally seeks contributors. There may also be opportunities to contribute a chapter for another book in the series.

• What kind of editorial support is available to editors and authors? Selected book ideas will be supported by a team of scholars and practitioners from our Editorial Review Board, who will work with the book editors to provide assistance as needed on: author identification and outreach, exploration of themes within the book, writing and editing support. The publisher offers typesetting services; however, editors and authors are responsible for editing, copyright clearances, and indexing. For more information from IAP about developing a manuscript, see their general manuscript guidelines at: http://www.infoagepub.com/authors.html

• How often will calls be released for book proposals? A call for proposals will be released annually in the fall, with a submission window starting Oct. 1st and concluding Dec. 15th.

• What is the general timeline for publishing a book? The books in the series will be spaced out 6-8 months apart. The process from final manuscript submission to the publisher to book release takes approximately 6 months. The development process depends on editors and authors, but typically takes 8-12 months. The series is currently looking to identify books that could be released in the Spring of 2020.

• How/where will the book be sold and marketed? The books are sold through Information Age Publishing and their digital distribution partners. Learn more at http://www.infoagepub.com/series/Current-Issues-in-Out-of-School-Time. The Publisher offers broad domestic and international marketing and promotional services through its website. It markets and promotes materials to librarians, professors, and professionals throughout the world. The Publisher also has prominent presence at major professional conferences in the field. The book series’ Advisory and Editorial Review Boards will promote individual books via diverse channels. Potential book launch opportunities could include: Twitter chats, webinars, exposure at professional conferences and via e-newsletters of major membership organizations in the out-of-school time field.

Questions/More Information

For questions about this call, please contact Elizabeth Devaney, Chair of the Editorial Review Board, at edevaney@childrensinstitute.net. Devaney is Director of the Social and Emotional Learning Center at Children’s Institute in Rochester, NY.

For questions about this book series, please contact Dr. Helen Janc Malone, Editor-in-Chief at Helen_Malone@mail.harvard.edu. Dr. Malone is Director of Education Policy & Institutional Advancement, National Education Policy Fellowship Program Director, Institute for Educational Leadership, and Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, American University.

ADVISORY BOARD: Dr. Helen Janc Malone (Editor-in-Chief), Director of Education Policy & Institutional Advancement, Institute for Educational Leadership. Dr. Dale Blyth (Chair) Extension Professor Emeritus, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. Dr. Kimberly Boyer, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Expanded Learning Opportunities. Dr. Nickki Dawes, Assistant Professor of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, University of Massachusetts, Boston. Ayeola Fortune, Director, Education Team, United Way Worldwide. Ellen Gannett, Senior Strategist, National Institute on Out-of-School Time. Dr. Sara Hill, Editor, Youth Today Out-of-School Time Hub. Dr. Reed Larson, Professor, Family Ecology, Department of Human and Community Development, University of Illinois. Priscilla Little, Evaluation and Strategy Consultant. Dr. Milbrey McLaughlin, Emeritus Professor, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University. Dr. Deborah Moroney, Managing Director, American Institutes for Research. Dr. Gil Noam, Founder and Director of the Program in Education, Afterschool & Resiliency (PEAR), Harvard University; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital. Karen Pittman, President & CEO, The Forum for Youth Investment. Dr. Mavis Sanders, Professor of Education, Department of Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. Deborah Vandell, Professor, School of Education, University of California, Irvine. Gina Warner, CEO, The National AfterSchool Association. Dr. Roger Weissberg, Chief Knowledge Officer, CASEL; NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning, Professor of Psychology and Education, University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Founding Advisory Board also included: Dr. Karl Alexander, Executive Director, Thurgood Marshall Alliance & John Dewey Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Professor of Education, Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Jacquelynne Eccles, Professor, School of Education, University of California, Irvine. Dr. Robert Halpern, Chair of the Research Council, Erikson Institute. We thank them for their service.

EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD: Dr. Helen Janc Malone (Editor-in-Chief), Director of Education Policy & Institutional Advancement, Institute for Educational Leadership. Elizabeth Devaney (Chair) Director, Social and Emotional Learning Center, Children’s Institute, Rochester, NY. Dr. Jennifer P. Agans, Assistant Professor, Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Thomas Akiva Assistant Professor, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Ken Anthony Director of Professional Development, Connecticut After School Network. Dr. Corey Bower Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education, University at Buffalo. Dr. Katie Brohawn Senior Director of Research, ExpandEd Schools. Jessica Donner Director, Every Hour Counts. Dr. Nia Imani Fields 4-H Specialist for Curricular Systems and Program Development, University of Maryland Extension. Dr. Aisha Griffith Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Sabrina Mitsuko Kataoka Managing Editor, School of Education, University of California, Irvine. Brenda McLaughlin Chief Strategy Officer, BELL. Dr. Kolbrún Þ. Pálsdóttir Dean, School of Education, University of Iceland. Sarah Pitcock Writer and Consultant for Social Causes, Sarah Pitcock, LLC. Chris Smith Executive Director, Boston After School & Beyond. Dr. Femi Vance Researcher, American Institutes for Research. Deepa Vasudevan Doctoral Candidate, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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