Why not write something for the RaPAL Journal?
This is an invitation to anyone involved in the field of adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL education to write and share their ideas, practice and evidence with RAPAL readers. The RAPAL network includes approximately two hundred managers, practitioner researchers, researchers, tutors, students and librarians in adult, further and higher education in the UK. It also has overseas members in Canada, USA, New Zealand, Australia, South America, Europe and Africa.
The RaPAL network produces a journal three times a year for contributions linking research and practice. RaPAL welcomes articles, reviews, reports, commentaries, letters and cartoons which reflect the range of activities and interests of those involved in this field. By writing for this network you will have the opportunity to refine your ideas and disseminate to the field.
For RaPAL, research involves asking questions, trying to answer them, asking other people, recording what they say, developing ideas, changing them, and writing and sharing ideas in many different ways. We think that these processes should be open to students and tutors as well as to paid researchers. They often underpin the day-to-day reflective and evaluative work of practitioners but are not usually recognised as research activity.
Journal Structure
We have decided to retain the three section structure introduced in 2002-3, as a means of addressing the emerging needs in this field:
- Ideas for teaching
Descriptive and reflective pieces on teaching and learning to meet the needs of current teachers in this field. The contributions must demonstrate democratic practice.
- Developing Research and Practice
An open-ended category for a varied range of contributions. We want to include articles which show people trying out ideas, pushing back boundaries alongside analysis and critique
- Research and Practice: Multi-disciplinary perspectives
A section for more sustained pieces of analysis about research, policy and practice which will have refereed journal status
We welcome contributions for each of these sections and are happy to discuss your ideas and proposals with you. We want the RAPAL Journal to continue its vibrant tradition of publishing views from all parts of the field.
Guidelines for Contributors
General
- Writing for RAPAL must be in a readable, accessible style aimed at a diverse and international readership.
- If you are writing about individuals or groups you must follow the usual ethical guidelines, seeking permission whenever possible and in all cases representing people fairly.
- We are always looking for articles which link research and practice in some way. There are many possibilities and we do not set hard and fast rules about how this should be done.
- RAPAL articles should encourage readers to question dominant or taken for granted views of literacy, numeracy and ESOL. We would, for example, challenge views which fail to acknowledge the abilities of learners to be actively involved in developing and evaluating practice.
Specific Pointers
- When you submit your work, please indicate the intended section for publication.
- Articles should have a title with clear headings and subheadings; and must contain a clear introduction, indicating the scope of the piece.
- If you write for section 3, the article should:
relate to the practice of learning or teaching adult literacy (in any language)
relate to research either by itself being a report of a research study and/or showing links to related research work;
provide ‘ critical’ analysis of the topic, involving theoretical underpinnings; and
be coherent with a clear structure, explanation of any terminology, use of examples and the usual referencing conventions ( Use the Harvard referencing system and make sure that all references are in alphabetical order and complete).
- Length - Articles should be 1,000- 2500 words for sections 1 and 2 and not more than 4000 words for section 3. These limits do not include any accompanying references and bibliographies. Reviews and reports should be 50-800 words.
- Illustrations and graphic material are much appreciated. Please consult the editor about preferred formats.
- Your article must be submitted both in hard copy and in electronic form. Please send it word processed, double-spaced, on A4 paper and with numbered pages. The electronic versions must be sent as Word files attached to emails. If we do not receive both versions, we cannot consider the paper for publication.
- Please provide a title page with your name, title, and contact details (postal address, e-mail address and phone number). It is very important that you also provide a short 2-3 line biography to accompany the article. We like to encourage correspondence between readers and writers and if you would like readers to get in touch with you, please provide contact details at the end of the article.
Editorial Procedures
- All contributions are peer reviewed by researchers and practitioners in the Editorial Group. The reviewing for section three is done by an experienced researcher and two additional researcher practitioners and focuses on the criteria noted above.
- Feedback is provided by the editor within eight – ten weeks of receiving your text and constructive comment (and notes to be of use in its development) are made if appropriate.
- If the article is accepted, once the amendments have been made, the editor will work on a final edit. We may make minor alterations ourselves and the final version will be sent to you for checking before it goes to print.
Contributions should be sent to:
The journal co-ordinators:
Sarah Freeman azdak@btopenworld.com
Julie Meredith meredith_julie@yahoo.co.uk
Copyright
Authors usually give the copyright to RAPAL on the understanding that the journal can be freely copied by readers for educational purposes.
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