Call for Papers

Call for Proposals for Special Issues

The Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice invites proposals for special issues on contemporary themes associated with effective and innovative teaching and learning practice in the higher education environment. The expectation is that the special issue would be of interest to an international audience. To propose a special issue please complete the Special Issue Proposal and return to the Senior Editor, Special Issues Dr Jo-Anne Kelder by email jo.kelder@utas.edu.au. The Journal periodically has specific calls for Special Issues, but also accepts unsolicited proposals.

Current Calls for Papers

The following are Special Issues open for submissions, with a link to take you to the specific Call for Papers

Forthcoming Special Issues

The following are Special Issues closed for submissions that are preparing for future publication

Purpose-Driven Learning in Universities: Its Role and Social Impact

Guest Editors

Background

The growing trend towards purpose-driven organisations has highlighted the changing role of universities. This special issue is proposed in response to the pressing need for universities to play a larger role in the community, supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and responding to major shifts in the future of jobs and learners' behaviour, and considering what universities may look like in the future. It includes research papers that seek to inform and inspire universities to make an impact in their community, country, and the world.

Research into purpose-driven learning has focused on providing frameworks and case studies to inform how higher education can facilitate and expedite learning that contributes to socio-ecological sustainability transitions while nurturing the capacity of individuals to drive societal change on a large scale (Stewart et al., 2022). Current purpose-driven learning frameworks include Haski-Leventhal’s 2020 The Purpose-Driven University Model (Andrew et al., 2023; López-López et al., 2021), University-Industry Collaboration Model (Rybnicek & Konigsgruber, 2019) and Logic and Theory of Change Models (Ota et al., 2022; Ren & McGuckin, 2022; Reinholz & Andrews, 2020). Lastly, Corporate Social Responsibility Impact (CSRI) (Fallah Shayan et al., 2022; Fatima & Elbanna, 2023) also lends its framework in part to purpose driven learning.

There are emergent current purpose-driven university case studies including IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access in a Learning Community) and The Alternative Breaks @ Stanford Program, which expose students to community visits, experiential learning, direct service, group discussion and reflection. The Erasmus University, Netherlands is carrying out its positive change initiative including I Will Campaign, I Will Inspirational Stories, I Will awards and Escape Room designed to raise awareness of UNSDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The Collaborative at the University of Glasgow achieve their civic engagement goals through their social impact projects with voluntary sector organisations (Weakley et al., 2021). In addition, the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Compact 2020 focuses on inclusion, innovation, and impact alongside its Netter Center for Community Partnerships, which involves delivering education and engagement to non-university students from greater Philadelphia to create social impact. Finally, education at Taylor's University in Malaysia is also purpose-led and impact-driven, aligning students’ purpose to make a positive impact to society through establishment of Impact Labs to accelerate sustainability education integrated with research. Presently, higher education as a whole and the ‘pedagogy of care’ (López-López et.al., 2021) has not caught up to the idea of purpose-driven universities thus exposing universities to criticism of being maladaptive and no longer fit for purpose (Percy et al., 2021; Stewart et al., 2022). Graham and Moir (2022) propose for universities to reevaluate notion of students’ feelings of belonging to the university for self-serving purposes like employability and entrepreneurialism to engaging them to change the world so that they can belong in it (the world) more authentically. Furthermore, existing literature on purpose-driven learning advances a dominant but restrictive Western modernist paradigm and there is gap in literature from a holistic, relational, and ecological view from the Asian region. In addition, methodological gaps are left unexplored particularly the ethical ways to research underserved, vulnerable, and sensitive communities.

This Special Issue will bring together experts in the field of purpose learning to answer questions including, but not limited to:

  • What is purpose learning? Why is purpose learning important for SDG projects? What are the benefits of purpose learning for education institutions and organisations?
  • What are the roles of impact labs in supporting purpose learning and SDG projects?
  • How to build collaborative partnerships for purpose learning and SDG projects through impact labs? What are some case studies of successful collaborative partnerships in SDG projects?
  • How to align curriculum for purpose-driven learning?
  • How to define and measure impact and evaluating success in purpose learning and SDG projects?
  • Leadership practices in creating impact and leading positive change
  • Student voice and student experience
  • The role of learners as research partners in investigating the efficiency of chatbots
  • Strategies for scaling purpose-driven learning and SDG projects
  • Challenges in scaling SDG projects and how to overcome them

Types of publications accepted into this Special Issue

The types of publications that are eligible for acceptance into this Special Issue include:

  • Original research manuscripts
  • Review articles (e.g., systematic review or meta-analysis
  • Scholarly evidence-based case studies
  • Book review

Developing a high-quality proposal

We recommend the creation of a single document (Word document preferably) that contains the following:

  • Proposed article title
  • Proposed authors names and affiliations
  • A clear evidence-based rationale for the line of inquiry proposed
  • Research question(s)
  • Proposed method (for both theoretical and empirical manuscripts)
  • Practice-based implications of the proposed research

The word limit for the proposal is 250 words (not including references) and is designed to give the Editorial Team a sense of the rigour of the manuscript proposed and the possible implications of such research. The Editorial Team may return with an invitation to combine similar manuscripts. Acceptance of proposals does not guarantee acceptance of final manuscripts.

Timeline

  • Proposals due: 23 February 2024
  • Acceptance notifications: 29 March 2024
  • Full articles due: 26 July 2024
  • Final revised papers due: 29 November 2024
  • Final publication: 28 February 2025

For further information, or to submit an abstract, please email: Associate Professor Lim Chee Leong. You can download a .pdf version of the Call for Expressions of Interest by clicking here

 

References

Andrew, M. B., Dobbins, K., Pollard, E., Mueller, B., & Middleton, R. (2023). The role of compassion in higher education practices. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 20(3), 01. Fallah Shayan, N., Mohabbati-Kalejahi, N., Alavi, S., & Zahed, M. A. (2022). Sustainable development goals (SDGs) as a framework for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Sustainability, 14(3), 1222. Fatima, T., & Elbanna, S. (2023). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation: A review and a research agenda towards an integrative framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 183(1), 105-121. Graham, C. W., & Moir, Z. (2022). Belonging to the university or being in the world: From belonging to relational being. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 19(4), 04. Haski-Leventhal, D. (2020). The Purpose-driven University: Transforming Lives and Creating Impact Through Higher Education. Emerald Publishing Limited. López-López, M. C., Martínez-Rodríguez, F. M., & Fernández-Herrería, A. (2021). The university at the crossroads of eco-social challenges: pedagogy of care and the community of life for a transformative learning. Frontiers in Sustainability, 14. Ota, Y., Singh, G. G., Clark, T., Schutter, M. S., Swartz, W., & Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M. (2022). Finding logic models for sustainable marine development that deliver on social equity. PLoS Biology, 20(10), e3001841. Percy, A., Press, N., Andrew, M. B., & Pollard, V. (2021). Editorial 18.4: Reframing theory of, and for, practice in higher education. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 18(4), 1. Ren, K., & McGuckin, C. (2022). Using theory of change as both theory and method in educational research. SAGE Publications, Limited. Reinholz, D. L., & Andrews, T. C. (2020). Change theory and theory of change: what’s the difference anyway?. International Journal of STEM Education, 7(1), 1-12. Stewart, I. S., Hurth, V., & Sterling, S. (2022). Re-Purposing Universities for Sustainable Human Progress. Frontiers in Sustainability, 3, 859393. Weakley, S., Karlsson, P. S., Cullingworth, J., Lebec, L., & Fraser, K. (2021). Developing a university-voluntary sector collaboration for social impact. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 18(7), 71-88.

SPECIAL ISSUE 2023 Internationalisation of Higher Education at Home: Implications for an Evolving World

Guest Editors

Timeline

  • Proposals due: 1 November 2022
  • Acceptance notifications: 10 December 2022
  • Full articles due: 10 May 2023
  • Final revised papers due: 30 September 2023
  • Final publication: 20 November 2023

For further information, or to submit an abstract, please email: Dr Dongmei Li. You can download a .pdf version of the Call for Expressions of Interest by clicking here

SPECIAL ISSUE 2023 Sustainability in Learning and Teaching During and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

Guest Editors

Timeline

  • Proposals due: 30 October 2022
  • Acceptance notifications: 15 November 2022
  • Full articles due: 27 February 2023
  • Final revised papers due: 15 September 2023
  • Final publication: 15 October 2023

For further information, or to submit an abstract, please email: Dr Kim Beasy. You can download a .pdf version of the Call for Expressions of Interest by clicking here

 

Enhancing Student Engagement using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and chatbots like ChatGPT

Guest Editors

Timeline

  • Proposals due: 30 June 2023
  • Acceptance notifications: 30 July 2023
  • Full articles due: 30 November 2023
  • Final revised papers due: 30 March 2024
  • Final publication: 30 April 2024

For further information, or to submit an abstract, please email: Dr Mario Kremantzis. You can download a .pdf version of the Call for Expressions of Interest by clicking here

 

Are the Technology Acceptance Models still fit for purpose?

Guest Editors

Timeline

  • Proposals due: 30 June 2023
  • Acceptance notifications: 30 July 2023
  • Full articles due: 30 December 2023
  • Final revised papers due: 30 March 2024
  • Final publication: 15 May 2024

For further information, or to submit an abstract, please email: Dr Mike O'Dea. You can download a .pdf version of the Call for Expressions of Interest by clicking here