New Editor-in-Chief appointed for the Transformation in Higher Education

We are proud to announce the appointment of Professor Shan Simmonds as the new Editor-in-Chief of the Transformation in Higher Education, an open access journal published by AOSIS.

Shan Simmonds is a Professor in Curriculum Studies and a member of the Edu-HRight Research Unit (Education and Human Rights in Diversity) at the North-West University, South Africa. The research sub-area “citizenship” also falls under her leadership within the Edu-HRight research unit. She is an NRF-rated researcher in curriculum studies, higher education and human rights education who publishes actively.

Prof Simmonds has successfully completed graduated 11 MEd and 2 PhD postgraduate studies and has been invited to be an external examiner of postgraduate studies from 8 different universities. She has presented papers at 24 national and 15 international academic conferences and published over 40 peer review publications (articles and book chapters). She is also co-editor of the book A scholarship of doctoral education: On becoming a researcher published by African Sun Media and has guested edited special issues in national and international journals (Alternations; British Journal of Religious Education; Education as Change; South African Journal of Higher Education). In 2019 she was the recipient of an American Educational Research Association (AERA) outstanding publication award for a co-authored chapter in the book titled: Global perspectives on the postdoctoral scholar experience.

Research leadership positions include being on the executive committee of the South African Education Research Association (SAERA) since 2019 and is currently the vice-president of this national research association. Internationally, Shan serves on the executive committee of the International Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies (IAACS) and represents the publications portfolio. In addition, Shan’s international standing is also evident through her appointment as the South African representative for the Women in Higher Education Management (WHEM) Network which is an international feminist research consortium.

Shan’s scholarship resembles her dedication as a scholar-activist to the ever-changing and continuously challenging intellectual work of higher education. Being appointed into the academe in 2011, she has always strived for social justice and more equitable education. In 2016 an opportunity to be part of a team of scholar activists arose as the journal Transformation in Higher Education was established. Being part of this accredited journal is more than just an editorship, it is a dedication to raise generative discussions that can advance discourses on higher education transformation. Shan has worked with the journal team members actively in growing this journal and seeing it attain accreditation in 2021. The journal is listed on indexes such as Scopus, ProQuest, ERIC, EBSCO Host, and DOAJ.

We are delighted to have an academic like Prof Simmonds as Editor-in-Chief and look forward to the expertise she brings to the journal.