•  
  •  
 

Policies

Contents

Philosophy of Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

We believe in the power of the written word to change the world. In its ability to create community, compel spirited debate, and ultimately inform research, policy, and practice, we believe that the professional journal is a time-honored fundamental force in producing desired change.

We believe that leaders of 21st Century learning organizations, especially K12 public school districts, public charter schools, and independent schools, are uniquely poised to reimage the social contract that equitably and responsibly serves people and their institutions.

We believe that higher education has a unique role to play in creating change. Because a purpose of higher education, especially at the doctoral level, is as much to create knowledge as to transmit it, a particular burden is placed on teachers who seek authentic, job-related learning opportunities for their students. This burden is especially acute for professors who advise dissertations and capstone experiences.

We believe that there is no higher calling than to develop in students and the professionals who support them the responsibility to advance educational research, development, and dissemination to serve teachers, principals, superintendents and other organizational leaders in utilizing research and best practice that improves schools and other organizations as learning centers.

Finally, the institutional stakeholders, the editors and reviewers, and the authors of JOEL believe that disciplined inquiry is a unique and valued way of knowing and ultimately changing the world as problems of practice are explored and then exposed to the practitioner scholar community for review and improvement.

{ top }

Open Access Statement

The Journal of Organizational and Educational Leadership is loyal to open access for academic work. All the original articles and review papers published in this journal are free to access immediately from the date of publication. We don’t charge any fees for any reader to download articles and reviews for their own scholarly use.

{ top }

Who Can Submit?

We welcome manuscripts from any individual without regard for institutional affiliation. The focus of JOEL is on evaluation, empirical, and conceptual studies, including original research, research and literature reviews, and informed opinion by and for K12 educators and other senior leaders charged with professional learning in their organizations. Special consideration will be given to manuscripts concerning teacher-leader, principal, superintendent and organizational senior-leader professional practice in North and South Carolina submitted by Gardner-Webb University students and faculty.

{ top }

General Submission Rules

Most published articles are up to 7,500 words, written in a scholarly style, covering issues pertinent to K12 educators and organizational learning leaders. Some qualities we look for include:

  • Papers describing research-based solutions to current problems of practice in education.
  • Program evaluations and evaluation studies and their local or organizational impact.
  • Reasoned, articulate, research-informed opinion on controversial subjects.

{ top }

Author Guidelines

Authors will use the reference style outlined by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition. Figures and tables should fit the page and be sized accordingly. Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy of citations, quotations, figures, and facts. Be sure to adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Include an abstract of no more than 150 words.
  • Include no more than five tables or figures and a maximum 40 references.
  • Paginate and double-space all copy and leave generous margins.
  • Include your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address on the cover sheet.
  • Identify the number of words in the manuscript, including tables, figures, and references.
  • Authorization to publish relinquishing property rights to JOEL and Gardner-Webb

{ top }

Book Review Guidelines

JOEL welcomes reviews of books relevant to organizational and educational leadership. If you are thinking about submitting a review, please read our Book Review Guidelines to ensure that your work meets editorial requirements. Tips for first time book reviewers: Writing a Book Review from Purdue OWL.

{ top }

Rights for Authors and Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University

As described in our submission agreement (the Submission Agreement), in consideration for publication of the article, the authors assign to Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University all copyright in the article, subject to the expansive personal--use exceptions described below.

{ top }

Attribution and Usage Policies

Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein, in any medium as permitted by a personal-use exemption or by written agreement of Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University, requires credit to Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University as copyright holder (e.g., Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University © 2023).

Personal-use Exceptions

The following uses are always permitted to the author(s) and do not require further permission from Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University provided the author does not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:

  • Storage and back-up of the article on the author's computer(s) and digital media (e.g., diskettes, back-up servers, Zip disks, etc.), provided that the article stored on these computers and media is not readily accessible by persons other than the author(s);
  • Posting of the article on the author(s) personal website, provided that the website is non-commercial;
  • Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open access institutional repository or other non-commercial open access publication site affiliated with the author(s)'s place of employment (e.g., a Phrenology professor at the University of Southern North Dakota can have her article appear in the University of Southern North Dakota's Department of Phrenology online publication series); and
  • Posting of the article on a non-commercial course website for a course being taught by the author at the university or college employing the author.

People seeking an exception, or who have questions about use, should contact the editors.

{ top }

General Terms and Conditions of Use

Users of the Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University website and/or software agree not to misuse the Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University service or software in any way.

The failure of Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article.

{ top }