5:22 a.m.
Dear Colleagues,
Below is the CFP for our 2017 Special Themed Issue of our AMAE Journal. Please circulate
widely.
Call for Papers, Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal
2017 Special Themed Issue: "Latinx and the Community College: Promoting Pathways to
Postsecondary Degrees"
Guest Editors: Edna Martinez, Nancy Acevedo-Gil, & Enrique Murillo, Jr. (California
State University, San Bernardino)
Latino/a/x have become the largest student population of color in higher education and
represent 25% of community college students nationwide (Fry & López, 2012). When
compared to Whites, Latino/a/x are more likely to choose a community college, even after
controlling for academic achievement and socioeconomic status (Kurlaender, 2006; Tovar,
2015). Thus, upon completing high school, 46% of Latinx enroll in the community college
sector (Krogstad & Fry, 2015). When entering the community college system,
approximately 51% of Latino/a/x aspire to transfer to a four-year college, but less than
14% will earn the bachelor’s degree within six years of enrollment (Radford, Berkner,
Wheeless, & Sheperd, 2010). Ultimately, 35% of Latino/a/x earning a bachelor’s degree
are transfer students, which is the highest among other racial groups (Cataldi, et al.,
2011).
U.S. community colleges are complex organizations to lead (Eddy, 2010; Nevarez & Wood,
2010; Cohen & Brawer, 2008). Upholding the multiple missions of the community college
(Amey 2012; Wood & Nevarez, 2014); responding to the nation’s developmental education
crisis (Acevedo-Gil, Santos, & Solorzano, 2014; Bailey, 2009); addressing low
completion and transfer rates (Bailey, Jaggars, & Jenkins, 2015); contending with
dwindling, insufficient, and shifting revenue streams (Cohen & Brawer, 2008;
Goldrick-Rab, 2010; Nevarez & Wood, 2010); (re)building relationships with board
members (Smith, 2016); and operating within a culture of increased audit and
accountability (Amey, 2010, 2012) are but a few of the challenges with which community
college leadership and faculty must grapple. Additionally, an increasing number of
community college leaders and faculty now face decisions centered on the added role of
conferring baccalaureate degrees (Martinez, 2014; McKinney, Scicchitano, & Johns,
2013).
Within this context, we frame the community college as a sector that can facilitate
college access for Latino/a/x students as well as a context where students, faculty, and
leaders have to navigate and overcome institutional challenges to bridge degree
aspirations with completions. This special issue aims to highlight the multiple ways in
which community college leaders and Latino/a/x students respond to and challenge
institutionalized obstacles in the community college pathway.
Latino/a/x across the United States enact new forms of social and political agency and
claim authority to assert their voices through organizing and knowledge sharing. We see
this collective sense of strength and resilience in the actions of Latinas/os/x who are
creating new spaces from which to enact change. We expect this call for papers to continue
to build collective knowledge and highlight the various ways Latino/a/x students and
community colleges are adapting to and surviving these difficult times. It is also our
hope for this issue to provide a forum for scholarship that addresses the national
imperative of the growing Latino/a/x community college student population, as well as the
spaces of hope and possibility present in their aspirations and persistence. We welcome
manuscripts that offer theoretical perspectives; research findings; innovative
methodologies; pedagogical reflections; and implications related to (but not limited to)
the following areas:
* College access
* Developmental education
* Transfer preparation
* Parental and community support
* Faculty and leadership
* Community college mission and functions
* Student Services
Submissions suitable for publication in this special issue include empirical papers,
theoretical/conceptual papers, essays, book reviews, and poems. It is important to note
that the special issue is interested in the broader Latino/a/x experience and not solely
focused on the experiences of Mexican Americans (per the title of the journal).
The selection of manuscripts will be conducted as follows:
1. Manuscripts should not have been previously published in another journal, nor should
they be under consideration by another journal at the time of submission.
2. Each manuscript will be subjected to a blind review by a panel of reviewers with
expertise in the area treated by the manuscript. Those manuscripts recommended by the
panel of experts will then be considered by the AMAE guest editors and editorial board,
which will make the final selections. PLEASE NOTE: For a manuscript to be accepted for
review, each contributing author (or at least one among co-authors) must agree to review
one manuscript submitted to this special issue.
3. Manuscripts will be judged on strengths and relevance to the theme of the special
issue.
Manuscripts should be submitted as follows:
1. Submit via email both a cover letter and copy of the manuscript in Microsoft Word to:
Dr. Edna Martinez (emartinez@csusb.edu<mailto:emartinez@csusb.edu> ) and Dr. Nancy
Acevedo-Gil (nacevedo-gil@csusb.edu<mailto:nacevedo-gil@csusb.edu> ).
2. Cover letter should include name, title, short author bio (100 words), and
institutional affiliation; indicate the type of manuscript submitted and the number of
words, including references. Also, please indicate how your manuscript addresses the call
for papers.
3. Prepare the manuscript for anonymous peer review. Authors should make every effort to
ensure that the manuscript contains no clues to the author's identity. The manuscript
should not include author’s name, institutional affiliation, contact information, or
acknowledgements. (This information can be included in the cover letter at the time of
submission).
4. Manuscripts should be no longer than 7,000 words (including references) and have an
abstract of 200 words or less. Please follow the standard format of the American
Psychological Association (APA). Include within the text all illustrations, charts, and
graphs. Manuscripts may also be submitted in Spanish.
Deadline for submissions is April 20, 2017.Please address questions to Dr. Edna Martinez
(emartinez@csusb.edu<mailto:emartinez@csusb.edu> ) and Dr. Nancy Acevedo-Gil
(nacevedo-gil@csusb.edu<mailto:nacevedo-gil@csusb.edu> ). Authors will be asked to
address revisions to their manuscripts during the summer months of 2017. This special
issue is due to be published in December 2017.