Submissions

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
The submission file is in Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format. As a suggestion, Times New Roman could be used as font style given that published manuscripts will be, in the end, formatted using this font.
Where available, URLs for the references have been provided. Dates of access should be included for anything taken from an article or other link taken from the internet.
The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font, with times new roman font preferred but not required at submission; text employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal. We are asking authors to use the 6th edition of the American Psychological Association for the reference/style formatting guide. If another style guide is strongly preferred, please choose that, and follow it consistently in journal article development before submission. Again see below about "Blind Review."
If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review) have been followed.
An abstract of not more than 150 words has been provided along with a short author bio.

Author Guidelines

The manuscript should illuminate issues of power, justice, equity, and/or oppression/privilege important to the various fields of research and practice that focus on policy related to younger human beings locally and/or globally. These fields include, but are not limited to: education, history, culture and gender studies, anthropology, sociology, and critical psychology. Please note that articles from disciplinary fields that are not traditionally tied to "childhood," or work that challenges the boundaries of disciplines, may provide important insights into power and public policy for those who are younger. Further, when a manuscript focuses on local policy issues, the author is expected to relate the content to the broader international community, whenever possible or relevant; this relationship should NOT be in the form of generalizations, but rather tied to an appreciation for diversity, complexity, and the multiplicity of lenses from which critical perspectives can function.

The manuscript should demonstrate evidence of intellectual thoroughness, depth, author reflexivity, and a broad understanding of the knowledge(s) that are used to construct the text. Diverse examples of this evidence would include: a well informed use of literature related to the topic, OR for a naturalistic research study, an in-depth, rich display of the complexity of data gathered from informants.

Article length should usually range from 25-30 double-spaced typed pages; however, the online nature of the journal facilitates a range of possible lengths. The author is reminded that manuscript length may influence time for review and choice of use by readers once the article is published. The journal adheres generally to the bibliographic and research paper style of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition). Performance and/or other artistic formats may be accepted when appropriate for text; however, the basic consistent bibliographic format will be expected. Examples include the following, but guidelines and the APA 7th edition handbook, found in most libraries, or with guides on-line, should be used. Please see a summary for guidance below:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/index.html

Robinson, S.P., & Brown II, M.C. (Eds.) (2007). The children Hurricane Katrina left behind: Schooling context, professional preparation, and community politics. New York: Peter Lang.

Hodkinson, P. (2008). Scientific research, educational policy, and educational practice in the United Kingdom: The impact of the audit culture on further education. Cultural Studies-Critical Methodologies, 8 (3), 302-324.

Critical Childhood Policy Section

Critical Issues Section

We hope readers are enjoying this season of light and the possibilities of the coming new year! As editors, we reflected on the state of the world and impacts on young children, early childhood practitioners, researchers, and broader policy trends. We agreed that the time was right to activate a section of the journal envisioned as a space for shorter opinion essays that address critical and time sensitive issues.

Several of these issues were discussed at the recent 31^st RECE international conference in Santiago, Chile. Such issues include radical policy shifts to the Right in many nations including the US, where anti-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) policies and book banning have been promoted nationally and legislated in several states. Faculty face surveillance of curriculum and teaching, threatening academic freedom and free speech rights. Teachers face backlash including job loss over “woke” content and practices with students including young children, as anti-bias/oppressive practices are banned in several states.

Nations, including Aotearoa New Zealand, long known for culturally inclusive and bilingual early childhood frameworks are shifting to more neoliberal policies that would threaten if not erase years of more inclusive curricula.

An international backlash in the US and Europe against immigrants affects many children as parents – and youth – are detailed and deported. Cuts in funding of child care and national early childhood programs also affect the availability and quality of care and early education.

Wars continue to directly affect children’s health, nutrition, and lives. Over 20,000 children were killed, 42,000 children have been injured, and at least 21,000 have been left permanently disabled in 23 months of war in Gaza. Extended conflict in the Sudan has deeply affected children and families, as have four years of war in Ukraine. The long-term trauma of loss, displacement, and violence have profound impacts on children’s well-being. The list is long and complicated.

Starting with the next issue, we invite readers to submit short (1,500 – 2,000 word) essays addressing issues directly affecting their work, children and programs they work with, and ideas about ways to find possibilities for positive change. More details regarding submissions will be added in the coming month.

We are also excited about the two forthcoming special issues and growing engagement with this RECE-supported journal.

All our best in 2026 – may it be filled with possibilities for peace, justice, and children’s wellbeing!

Lucy Heimer, Beth Blue Swadener, and I-Fang Lee, Editors

Marianne (Mimi) Bloch, Editor Emerita

Please Note

We also invite contributions to this section as original articles or essays, which must adhere to the ‘Author Guidelines’ as published on the journal website.

Please submit contributions directly to the section editor Beth Blue Swadener (beth.swadener@asu.edu) or through the journal website (http://journals.sfu.ca/iccps/index.php/childhoods/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions ).

Special Issue: Reconceptualizing ECE--Turning to Hope, Making Sanctuary

Abstracts and articles will be published early spring, 2026. Guest Editors: Janice Kroeger, Kent State University and Iris Berger, University of British Columbia.

Community/Teaching/Family and Children's Voices and Perspectives

Specific discussions, or articles, videos, or new critiques that are largely from or based on community (family, teachers, caregivers, children's voices and experiences) should be submitted to (for now) marianne.bloch@gmail.com for possible inclusion in this section of the journal. These perspectives are very welcome; however, as this is a new section of the journal, contributions will be reviewed by the editor or editors before posting or inclusion. Thank you. Research articles focused on these same issues should be sent to the peer-reviewed article section of the journal.

Special Issue: How do we get to know moving with children?

Peer reviewed articles. Articles submitted following guidelines of journal and Special Issue description-- see journal Announcement of Call for Articles issued April 6, 2026

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

Those reproducing all or part of manuscripts first published in the journal are asked to acknowledge the International Critical Childhood Policy Studies Journal.

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