Calls for Papers

Special Issue: Canadian Student Affairs and Services

Submission of 500-600 word abstract for editorial review: June 28th, 2024

Submission of complete manuscript for double-blind review: November 1st, 2024

Tentative publication date: Spring/Summer 2025

 

The Canadian Association of College & University Student Services (CACUSS) encourages and supports this opportunity for student affairs and services research dissemination and publication among its members and communities.

 

Background 

There has been considerable growth in the status of student affairs and services in post-secondary education in North America, as both service and program provision are integral to student success. The integration of empirical knowledge and theoretical propositions within this context is imperative for the analysis of current practice and future developments. A recent review (Clarke & Arnold, 2022) revealed noteworthy gaps in the Canadian literature on student affairs and services: college, polytechnic, and institute student experience were largely underrepresented; student affairs and services professionals’ identities, experiences, and the associated requirements for work were relatively unexplored; and there remains a need for more generalizable and transferable research that concentrates on multi-institution or system- and nationwide research in student affairs and services.

 

Call for Submissions

This Special Issue seeks to advance Canadian student affairs and services research, inviting contributions across five broad topics that previous studies have used to organize scholarship in the field (Clarke & Arnold, 2022; Hanson & Denzine, 2000): 

 

1. Who are today’s college and university students? 

2. How do they experience college and university? 

3. What do students learn in college and university, and who do they become?

4. How does college and university affect what students learn and who they become? 

5. What organization and communication structures characterize student affairs and services divisions? What competencies and qualifications guide the profession?

 

Our wish is to collect contributions to Canadian student affairs and services research. We are seeking to advance the literature across these five broad, meta-research questions. It is important that we gather and highlight research that concentrates on the student affairs and services profession, the student communities/populations that these professionals serve, and the experiences and expertise that characterize these valued post-secondary members’ livelihoods.

We particularly encourage contributions addressing the gaps mentioned above, in particular multi-institution, sector, system, and nationwide research, academic and scholar-practitioner perspectives, and graduate student and postdoctoral fellow perspectives on services, supports, transitions, and student success. We welcome submissions from early career scholars, including postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.

 

 

Submission Process

Step 1

Submit a 500-600 word abstract by June 28th, 2024. The abstract should be clearly written and provide the following information:

· Title,

· Abstract of the manuscript,

· Overview of the theoretical and/or conceptual framework,

· Information about the research project (including method, sample size, demographics, findings, recommendations, etc.), and

· Explanation regarding your contribution’s relevance to student affairs and services within the Canadian context and the broad research question classifications identified.

 

Step 2

Authors of abstracts that are positively reviewed will be invited to submit a complete version of their manuscript by November 1st, 2024. All manuscripts will undergo a desk review by the Special Issue Co-editors, followed by a double-blind review by external reviewers. The editorial team, including the CJHE Editor, will make the final decision with regard to the manuscripts selected for publication in the Special Issue. Allowing time for re-submissions, we expect the Special Issue to be published in Spring/Summer 2025. Please contact the Special Issue Co-editors with any questions or enquiries about the scope of the Special Issue or the submission process (and include in the subject line “CJHE Special Issue Proposal”).

 

Special Issue Co-Editors

Christine Helen Arnold, Associate Professor, Adult Education/Post-Secondary Studies, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, christinearnold@mun.ca 

Kathleen Clarke, Assistant Professor, Student Affairs Field of Study, Faculty of Education, Wilfrid Laurier University, kclarke@wlu.ca

 

References

Clarke, K., & Arnold, C. (2022). An analysis of trends and themes in Canadian student services articles. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 51(3), 145-165.

Hanson, G. R., & Denzine, G. M. (2000). Student affairs research: The work we do. New Directions for Institutional Research, 108(4), 5–17.