JoLLE@UGA: Journal of Language and Literacy Education

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Submission Information

2027 Main Call

Submissions may be submitted now through November 1, 2026.

Reimagining Power and Possibilities for Language and Literacy Education in an Era of Disempowerment

This is a moment characterized by felt crisis: media-induced pressures around a literacy crisis (Thomas, 2024; Chaffin, et al., 2023), the ongoing weaponization of standardized testing, censorship of diverse texts (ALA, 2026), and threats facing diverse learners all elicit disheartening responses, such as steady rates of teacher attrition (National Center for Education Statistics, 2024), self-policing, and anticipatory obedience (AAUP, 2025). Times of panic invite rushed responses, often serving to further disempower those already struggling for power (Okun, 2025); in response, the members of JoLLE seek to slow down and invite empowering reflection and action that challenge these enervating forces. As these pressures can result in imposing traditional power-dynamics, we seek new possibilities, arcing toward resistance.

We, the 2027 staff of JoLLE, seek to give a venue for scholarship that confronts ongoing panic with new possibilities. As a way to respond to widespread disempowerment, we seek alternative approaches that deconstruct power dynamics; research that moves beyond identification of problems toward scholarly work that centers a reimagination of liberatory practices in language and literacy educational theories, traditions, and research.

We invite researchers, practitioners, and scholars at all levels to submit empirical research, theoretical papers, content analyses, discourse analyses, practitioner inquiries, and innovative methodological work that addresses our theme of reimagining power within the field of literacy and language education. Multiple modalities are welcome. Interdisciplinary work that fuses the creative and the analytical will also be considered.

Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following questions:

Who has power in education? How might place/spacemaking work to deconstruct power in education?
What counts as research? How might knowledge be constructed, shared, and celebrated?
How might anticipatory obedience impact teachers in the classroom? How might scholars and educators exercise agency in the face of felt-crises? How might educators disrupt crisis-narratives?
How might educators negotiate the intersection of addressing the added pressures of standardized testing, scripted curricula, and the wide-spread banning of text in tandem with these reimaginings?
How might children’s and young adult literature work to (re)structure authority for young people?
How might arts-based inquiry provide space for students to grapple with uncomfortable topics?

JoLLE’s first issue of 2027 volume year will include both a themed section which responds to the above call, and an “open-submission” section. The open-call section of JoLLE broadly facilitates topics for scholarship which encompasses the breadth and depth of the field of language and literacy education. Please consider submitting your work to either section of the journal. We appreciate your ongoing dedication to the field.

References

AAUP. (2025). Against Anticipatory Obedience. aaup.org. https://www.aaup.org/reports-publications/aaup-policies-reports/policy-statements/against-anticipatory-obedience

ALA. (2026). Censorship by the numbers: Banned books data. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data

Chaffin, M., Riesco, H. S., Hackett-Hill, K., Collet, V., Grizzle, M. Y., & Warren, J. (2023). “Phonics monkeys” and “real life reading”: Heteroglossic views of a state reading initiative. Literacy Research and Instruction, 63(3), 257–278. https://doi .org/10.1080/19388071.2023.2271085

National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Teacher Turnover: Stayers, Movers, and Leavers. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved [date], from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/slc.

Okun, T. (2025). Sense of urgency. Retrieved March 18, 2025 from https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/urgency.html

Thomas, P. L. (2024). Teaching English in the “Science of Reading” ERA: We teach English in times of perpetual crisis: The media continue to misread teaching reading and literacy. English Journal, 114(1), 14–19. https://doi.org/10.58680/ej2024114114

Submissions may be submitted now through November 1, 2026.

Author Guidelines
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission’s compliance with all of the items in the checklist. Submissions may be returned to authors who do not adhere to these guidelines.

  1. Format & Style. Manuscripts should be in upper and lower case, double-spaced, with 1” margins on all sides. They should be in MS Word, or RTF format. Submissions must follow the style outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2019, 7th edition)—available from the American Psychological Association, You can access this information at the Purdue Online Writing Lab site.

  2. Author Identification. The complete title of the article and the name of the author(s) should appear in your initial submission cover letter and the required sections of the submission portion in order to ensure anonymity in the review process. The manuscript itself should have no author names. It should have a short title (running head) at the top of each page. Information in text or references that would identify the author must be deleted from the manuscript (e.g., text citations of “my previous work,” especially when accompanied by a self-citation; the author’s own work in the reference list). These may be reinserted in the final draft. The author’s name should be removed from the document’s Properties, which in Microsoft Word is found in the File menu.

  3. Length. Manuscripts for the featured articles section should typically run between 5,000 to 10,000 words, including the reference list. Manuscripts for Features sections should typically run between 1,000-2,000 words, and authors should refer to each feature’s guidelines.

  4. Notes & References. Notes are for explanations or amplifications of textual material. A reference list contains only references that are cited in the text. Its accuracy and completeness are the responsibility of the author(s). Please adhere to APA 7th edition publication guidelines for all notes and references.

  5. Tables, Figures, & Multimedia
    Tables and Figures. The purpose of tables and figures is to present data to the reader in a clear and unambiguous manner. The author should not describe the data in the text in such detail that illustration or text is redundant. Figures and tables should be noted in the text and included as appendices in the main manuscript document, if possible. If this is not possible, tables and charts can be submitted in a separate document from the manuscript. Do not include any identifying information in this document or in the document file name.
    Images. You are able to submit images along with your manuscript; however, please ensure that you have (or will) secure copyright protection for all images. The Journal of Language and Literacy Education cannot aid in, or financially contribute to, the procuring of copyright.

  6. Language. All authors should use non-discriminatory and unbiased language in their manuscripts. See APA guidelines for reducing bias in language. All manuscripts should be in English.

  7. Manuscript Exclusivity. We cannot publish any material that has been previously published in print or electronic form. Do NOT submit material to other publishers while your manuscript is under consideration for the Journal of Language and Literacy Education.

  8. Pronouns. When submitting your manuscript for review, please be sure to use the pronouns that all cited authors and participants use to refer to themselves.

  9. Review and Revision Process. We will acknowledge receipt of all manuscripts by email. The Journal of Language and Literacy Education is refereed, and once a manuscript has been received, the editorial staff will determine if the piece will be sent out for review, the exception being invited manuscripts. All manuscripts chosen for review are read by a minimum of two reviewers. We will attempt to reach a decision on each article within three months.

  10. Research Guidelines & Ethics. For authors submitting work that relies on human subjects, reporting verbatim what other people have produced in writing, speech, or other texts: During the submission process, you will be asked to share the name of the Institutional Review Board that has granted approval for your study, the approved protocol number, and confirmation that your participants have consented to be a part of the study.

  11. Policy on AI Use. For authors considering the use of generative AI tools, JoLLE conforms to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) generative AI journal policies and guidelines. Consequently, “authors must verify any information and citations provided to them by an AI tool. Authors may use, but must disclose, AI tools for specific purposes such as editing.” For disclosure guidance, authors can access the following additional APA resources:

Part 1: Citing generative AI - Provides specific templates for citing AI chats and tools;

Part 2: AI as a search engine and integrated AI software - Clarifies when citation is and is not needed

Part 3: Best practices and ethical concerns - Covers authorial responsibility and the conditional use of generative AI tools

  1. Autoethnographic pieces. Many scholars have written about the complicated nature of ethics in publishing autoethnographies (Edwards, 2021; Ellis, 2007; Tullis, 2021). At JoLLE, we ask that authors explicitly address the ethical implications of their work when submitting pieces that fall in this category.

Categories for Submission

JoLLE accepts submissions of the following:
Research manuscripts responding to the special themed call
Research manuscripts that are of an “open submission” nature
Reflections in Practice Feature manuscripts
Children’s and Young Adult Literature Feature manuscripts
Blossoming Language Learning through Arts-Based Expression Feature manuscripts
Academic Book Reviews

Please direct all submission questions to the Principal Editor at jolle.principal.editor@gmail.com.

Submission Preparation Checklist
All submissions must meet the following requirements.

  1. Unmasked Manuscript Information, submitted within the portal and not included in the main manuscript document, including: a. manuscript title b. author’s or authors’ name(s) c. a 50-word bio of each author d. a 150-250 word abstract e. 3-5 keywords f. word count of the manuscript.

  2. Masked Manuscript. Do not include any identifying information in your manuscript document or in the document file name. Replace author identification with “Author” or “Author A,” etc. Please make sure your abstract is also included in this document.

3.Cover Letter. Please include a cover letter to the editors that indicates what type of manuscript you are submitting. This cover should be unmasked and include the manuscript title, author’s name or authors’ names, and the type of manuscript. The cover letter should be a separate file submitted via the submission portal. The types of manuscripts JoLLE current considers include: Research manuscript; Feature manuscript; Academic book review; Arts-based feature; Children’s and Young Adult Literature feature; Reflections in Practice feature.

  1. Tables and Figures. Any additional tables and figures relevant to the study should be submitted as appendices at the end of the manuscript as part of the same document.

  2. For Revised and Resubmitted Manuscripts: Include a masked manuscript with all changes tracked or marked; Include a clean masked manuscript (with no changed tracked or marked); Include a masked letter to the editors and reviewers in a separate document as well as any additional documents pertinent to your revised copy.

Permission to Publish: In submitting a manuscript to the JoLLE, you agree to the following terms of publication, which must be acknowledged via email:

Approval and Acceptance: We mutually agree that publication of the manuscript and/or art is contingent upon its acceptance for publication by JoLLE and upon its meeting editorial standards.
Warranty. You warrant that the submission is original, that it contains no matter which is libelous or is otherwise unlawful or which invades individual privacy or infringes any proprietary right or any statutory copyright, and you agree to indemnify and hold JoLLE harmless against any claim or judgment to the contrary. If JoLLE consents to publish your manuscript and/or art, and you consent to publication, you grant and assign to JoLLE for its exclusive use the entire copyright for the work submitted.

Previous Publication and Permission: You warrant that the manuscript and/or art has not been published elsewhere in whole or in part and that no agreement to publish the manuscript and/or art or any part or version thereof is outstanding. Should the manuscript and/or art contain any material that requires written permission for inclusion in, such permission shall be obtained at your own expense from the copyright owner and submitted with the manuscript.

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