Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership

JCEL Submission Guidelines

All manuscripts for JCEL should be submitted electronically at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcel

Resources to Assist Authors

1. "The Elements of a Good Case" by R. Fossey & G. M. Crow (2011)
2. "Writing the Undisguised Case" by R. Fossey & S. Glover (2006).
3. “Using JCEL Case Studies to Meet ELCC Standards” by L. Bass, G. Garn, & L. Monroe (2011).
4. “When Police Intervene: Race, Gender, and Discipline of Black Male Students at an Urban High School” by Dorothy Hines (2016, Paula Silver Award Winning Case).
5. "Balancing Communities, Cultures, and Conflict: Lessons Learned From the East Ramapo School District Legal" by Patrick Ober and Janet Decker (2016).

English Language Services

Authors who want to refine the use of English in their manuscripts might consider utilizing the services of SAGE Language Services, which provides editing services to authors. SAGE Language Services specializes in editing and correcting English-language manuscripts written by authors with a primary language other than English. For more information, please visit http://languageservices.sagepub.com/en/

General Instructions

Submitted manuscripts will undergo internal and external review. Manuscripts will be subject to initial editor screening to determine if the manuscript format (see below) is appropriate and content is promising. Once a manuscript successfully passes internal review, cases will then be subject to double blind peer review. As is customary in most scholarly publications, authors should be prepared to work with the editorial staff in revising manuscripts in accordance with editorial policy.

Cases are reviewed in consideration of the following elements: ambiguity, complexity, relevance, and richness. In practice these elements can be made evident when authors of a case:

· Focuses on pertinent and timely issues of educational leadership.

· Indicates its relevance to graduate students preparing for educational leadership roles and for educational professionals currently in these roles.

· Is useful in graduate teaching environments.

· Presents a practical and realistic problem that requires the integration of knowledge within and/or across disciplines.

· Stimulates self-directed learning by encouraging students to generate questions and access new knowledge.

· Provides the description of a problem that can sustain student discussion of alternative solutions.

· Describes the context in a rich fashion, including the individuals in the case.

· Encourages the clarification of personal and professional values and beliefs.

· Authenticates the connection of theory to practice.

· Includes teaching notes that facilitate the use of the case for leadership development.

· Is clearly written with specific objectives.

Preparation of Manuscripts

All case submissions should be divided into two documents.

MAIN DOCUMENT: The main document should have all identifying information removed (no author or biographical information), but the following information should be included:

· Title: Include a descriptive title.

· Abstract: Include a short 100 word abstract describing the topic(s) of the case and a brief synopsis of the case.

. The recommended length of the combined cases, teaching notes, and references is between 15-20 double-spaced pages or 3500-5000 words.

· Text Sections: All sections should be typed in Times Roman font (12 pt) with page numbers centered at the bottom of the page.

· Teaching Notes: All cases should include one (1) page of "Teaching Notes" that outlines how the material might be used in professional preparation programs for educational leaders. Within the "Teaching Notes," authors should repeat the abstract that describes the topic(s) of the case and provides a brief synopsis of it.

· References: References should follow the style in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

· ERIC Descriptors: Three (3) ERIC descriptors suitable for searching should be identified.

SECOND DOCUMENT: The second document should include identifying information, namely:

· Author Information Author's name and institutional affiliation.

· Biographical Statement Authors should provide a brief (2-3 sentence) biographical statement.

· Author Information Author's name and institutional affiliation

Figures
Use and submission of figures should be as follows:

· Tables Tables should be used only when they can present information more effectively than in running text. Care should be taken to insure that tables can be effectively presented in html, since articles will be in both html and adobe acrobat (pdf).

· Illustrations Figures should be numbered in series. Symbols (open or closed circles, triangles, squares) and lettering must be clear when rendered in GIF or JPEG format. Please review all figures after converting to GIF or JPEG format to insure that they are readable.

· Line drawings and graphs Original line drawings and graphs should be submitted as GIF or JPEG files.

· Photographs Photographs should be submitted as GIF or JPEG files.

Author's Warranty

Authors must assign UCEA copyright of their cases to be published in JCEL and acknowledge that the case is an original work that has not been published elsewhere. UCEA grants its authors the right to republish their own cases wherever they wish, in any format, provided that they cite JCEL as the original source.

Page Layout

The page layout for the main document should follow the example below.
**Note: Because excessive formatting can significantly delay conversion of a manuscript to the html and pdf formats in which the cases are electronically published, use of additional enhancements (headers, footers, automatic outlines, underlines, etc.) is discouraged unless these features are necessary to the content of the document. Authors with questions about formatting may contact David Fisher, drfishe2@usf.edu.

Page Layout Example

Title

Abstract

This case was developed for use in a course on learning-centered leadership with a focus on supervision. Varied data are presented about the school, the district, the students, and the community. Students must analyze the data, identify inconsistencies . . .

Case Narrative

At a district meeting for principals and assistant principals this week, the Superintendent shared the current testing report. Highlights for RRMS are summarized below.

Writing test results - grades 6 and 8
State writing tests are scored on a scale of 1 to 4, with 1 indicating no proficiency, and 4 indicating strong proficiency. A score of 2.5 indicates acceptable performance. At RRMS, 41.8% of sixth graders and 59.0% of eighth graders scored equal to or better than...

Teaching Notes

This case was developed for use in a course on learning-centered leadership with a focus on supervision. Varied data are presented about the school, the district, the students, and the community. Students must analyze the data, identify inconsistencies, formulate additional questions and strategies for gaining additional information, and begin to develop a plan for working in a new leadership role to improve instruction and student performance. In their responses to the case, students are able to demonstrate their ability to: . . .

References

Bass, L., Garn, G., & Monroe, L. (2011). Using JCEL Case Studies to Meet ELCC Standards. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 14(1), 1-12

Jacobson, S. (2012). Principal Leadership Sustaining and Deepening School Improvement in Low-Income Communities in North America. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 15(3), 7-10.

ERIC Descriptors

instructional leadership
instructional improvement
instructional effectiveness

For more information, please refer to the SAGE Manuscript Submission Guidelines.