South African Journal of Childhood Education: 2022 Special Collection

Theme: Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Research and Practice

Submission due date: June 2022

The South African Journal of Childhood Education (SAJCE) invites contributions on Early Childhood Development (ECD) to be published in a special curated collection. The special collection will include scholarly research in this field, as well as the narrativization of the experiences of those on the frontline. ECD in South Africa is an under-researched field, within the academy, in the corridors of policymaking, and in practice. The importance of ECD for children’s cognitive, psychosocial, and physiological development is uncontested, and there is incredibly important work being done by stakeholders across this sector. This special curated collection will bring together articles and essays that incorporate the diverse perspectives of scholars, ECD practitioners, policymakers, and activists to develop a broader and more integrated understanding of ECD in South Africa – and beyond.

The SAJCE will publish relevant articles and essays on an ongoing basis and will consider articles for inclusion in the special collection until June 2022. Researchers and other stakeholders in the ECD sector are invited to submit articles or essays for consideration under one of the following two categories:

• Original research: Scholarly articles of between 5000 and 8000 words will undergo double-blind peer review and should conform to the requirements set out in the Submission Guidelines that appear on the journal website.
• Essays: This special collection also invites narratives from the field. ECD practitioners and other stakeholders are invited to submit essays of up to 2000 words that describe their experiences of working in this sector, which might include specific challenges, as well as practical and pedagogical innovations. These will be reviewed by the journal editor for possible inclusion in the journal.

This special collection is conceptualised broadly to encompass all aspects of ECD research and practice, including but not limited to, the following:

• ECD in context
• training, skills development, and human resourcing
• policymaking and implementation
• pedagogies and practices
• families and communities
• professional identities
• curriculum planning and implementation
• 21st-century competencies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution
• leadership and management
• stakeholder engagement and partnerships
• decolonial perspectives on ECD
• ECD and social justice
• ECD and COVID-19

The articles will need to be aligned with the above context and will follow the normal peer-review process and page fees.

All submissions will undergo anonymous review to guarantee high scientific quality and relevance to the subject.

The Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Research and Practice collection will be published by means of rolling publication in 2021/2022/2023, which means that articles will be published on an ongoing basis; we will need to receive your article for consideration no later than June 2022. To submit your article to the special collection, go to https://bit.ly/3koBsxU. When you submit the article, select the ‘Early Childhood Development in Theory and Practice’ as the article type. The submission portal will be accessible on https://bit.ly/2Il3ygJ. For more details on the editorial procedures, go to https://bit.ly/2K06uQe.

Of course, we will be happy to provide you with any assistance during the submission and application process. Kindly enquire at special-issues@aosis.co.za.