Author Guidelines
Editors welcome manuscripts on all aspects of Catholic elementary, secondary, and higher education for peer review and possible publication. Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice features original empirical qualitative and quantitative research, literature reviews, theoretical works, and book reviews. Topics of particular interest include strengthening Catholic identity, finance and governance, the law and Catholic schools, leadership preparation, school choice, teacher/learning, spiritual development of educational leaders.
As we transition to our new website, please either use the online submission or you may e-mail an electronic copy of your manuscript to journal@bc.edu
Please be sure to follow the submission preparation checklist when preparing submissions.
The online submission process is broken into the following steps:
Step 1: Submitting a cover letter/title page
Step 2: Specifying the authors and contact information
Step 3: Specifying the title, abstract, and keywords
Step 4: Uploading the body text
Step 5: Specifying the list of attachments and then uploading those attachments (e.g., tables, figures)
Step 6: Final verification of the manuscript
Organizing Submissions
Manuscripts submitted to Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice must be divided into separate files to allow processing. Before proceeding with the online submission process, please separate your submission into the following:
- Cover letter/title page (word document or rich-text format)
- Abstract and keywords(word document or rich-text format)
- Body text (word document or rich-text format)
- Tables (each table is an individual file in word document or rich-text format)
- Figures (each figure is an individual file in word document or rich-text format)
For those submitting book reviews, please separate the cover letter/title page from the body text (no abstract, keywords, or tables and figures are required).
Cover Letter/Title Page
Though not required, you may submit a cover letter with details about the submission.
Abstract
Please input your abstract and keywords directly into the submission interface, either by typing them in or cut-and-paste. Do not include them in the body text of your manuscript.
Body Text
Manuscripts should be 6,000-7,000 words in length (though with our online format manuscripts can be longer in length). Authors must follow APA guidelines (6th ed., 2009). Any submissions that do not follow APA citation guidelines will be returned. Please see below for sample citations and important guidelines. All submissions should be in English with precision and clarity.
Tables and Figures
Please follow APA guidelines (6th ed., 2009) when formatting tables and figures.
Citation Guidelines
All works should follow APA guidelines (6th ed., 2009). The following provides a brief overview of the most common citations used. Please be sure that all in-text citations appear in the reference section (following APA guidelines, footnotes are discouraged).
Please also note that given the electronic format of the journal and the ability to link directly to references, whenever possible use links to internet resources in the reference section. For example, many Vatican documents are available online. Using this online version is preferred.
Journal/periodical citation
Surname, A. A. (year). Article title: Notice capitalization appears on the first word and first word after a colon. Title of Periodical, Volume(issue), page numbers.
Examples:
Denig, S. J., & Dosen, A. J. (2009). The mission of the Catholic school in the pre-Vatican II era (1810-1962) and the post-Vatican II era (1965-1995): Insights and observations for the new millennium. Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, 13(2), 135-156.
Husock, H. (2008). Uplifting the "dangerous classes": What Charles Loring Brace's philanthropy can teach us today. City Journal, 18(1). Retrieved from http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_1_urb-brace.html
Book citation
Surname, A. A. (year). Title of the book: Notice capitalization appears on the first word and first word after a colon. Publisher location: Publisher Name.
Examples:
McDonald, D., & Schultz, M. (2009). United States Catholic elementary and secondary schools 2008-2009: The annual statistical report on schools, enrollment, and staffing. Washington, DC: National Catholic Educational Association.
McDonald, D., & Schultz, M. (2009). United States Catholic elementary and secondary schools 2008-2009: The annual statistical report on schools, enrollment, and staffing. Retrieved from the National Catholic Educational Association website: http://www.ncea.org/news/AnnualDataReport.asp#full09
Chapter/section in a book citation
Surname, A. A. (year). Title of chapter. In A. A., Editor Surname (Ed.), Title of edited book (pp. 00-00). Publisher location: Publisher name.
Examples:
Riordan, C. (2000). Trends in student demography in Catholic secondary schools, 1972-1992. In J. Youniss & J. J. Convey (Eds.), Catholic schools at the crossroads: Survival and transformation (pp. 33-54). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Reports and Church Documents
Surname, A. A. (year). Title of report (Report No. xxx). Publisher location: Publisher.
Examples:
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2005). Renewing our commitment to Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the third millennium. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). Student achievement inprivate schools: Results from NAEP 2000-2005 (NCES 2006-459). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2006459.pdf
Vatican Council II. (1965). Gravissimum educationis [Declaration on Christian education]. Retrieved from the Vatican website: http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_gravissimum-educationis_en.html
Headings and subheadings
The body text should be subdivided into different sections with appropriate headings. Please follow APA guidelines (6th ed., 2009) regarding headings and subheadings:
Level of heading | Format |
1 | Centered, Boldfaced, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading |
2 | Flush Left, Boldfaced, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading |
3 | Indented, boldfaced, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. |
4 | Indented, boldfaced, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. |
5 | Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. |
Book Review Guidelines
Book reviews should be 900-1,200 words in length. Please include the author, title, editor (if applicable), place of publication, publisher, year of publication, price, and number of pages of the book. Describe the content of the book concisely, avoiding a chapter-by-chapter précis or excessive detail. Be sure to evaluate the work critically, judging the strengths and shortcomings of the work as it pertains particularly to Catholic education. The focus of the review should be evaluation of the book, ideally integrating a description of the book within the evaluation. Be sure to maintain a courteous tone, respecting the work of the author and providing a balanced critique. If citing directly from the book, indicate the page number in parentheses.