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Policies

Contents


Open Access Policy

The Current Issues in Middle Level Education is an open-access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of all articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access (opens in new tab).

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Review Process

The Current Issues in Middle Level Education is double-anonymized peer reviewed, and published twice per year. If you have concerns about the terms of submission or review, contact the editor at cimlejournal@gmail.com.

  • All submissions must be previously unpublished manuscripts and must currently be submitted only to Current Issues in Middle Level Education. By submitting a work for consideration, the author(s) affirm(s) that the manuscript will not be submitted to another venue while under review with Current Issues in Middle Level Education.
  • All submissions must center on middle level education.
  • Manuscripts should be formatted by the author(s) according to the Format & Style Guidelines for Submission below. Along with your manuscript, you will provide a manuscript title, an abstract of 150-200 words, two to four keywords for your article, and a manuscript type: research study, article on best practices, review of research, literature review, or description of a program or initiative. If the submission is a research study, the author(s) must confirm that all research was conducted with institutional IRB approval. If the submission, research or otherwise, includes material (words, images, academic tasks, etc.) produced by middle level students, the authors must use pseudonyms for all students. Authors also must confirm, in the letter to the Editor, that all material has parental and school approval for publication.
  • Upon submission, the Editor reviews all manuscripts for appropriateness. If appropriate, the Editor will assign two Reviewers to the submission.
  • Each Reviewer may include specific and narrative comments for the author(s) of the submission about its content, argumentation, research methodologies, data, conclusions, etc. These comments will be provided to the author(s) without identifying the Reviewers.
  • Each Reviewer will give a recommendation about publication of a manuscript according to the following options:
    • Accept: no revision needed
    • Accept with minor revisions needed
    • Revise and resubmit
    • Reject (provide reasons in comments)
  • When all reviews have been received by the Editor, a decision will be made regarding publication and authors will be contacted. If the reviews are very different, the Editor may ask 1-2 additional Reviewers to read and evaluate the submission and then, upon receipt of the additional reviews, a final publication decision will be made.
  • Author(s) whose manuscripts are provisionally accepted will have the option and opportunity to make suggested edits and resubmit their manuscript.
  • Once accepted for publication, manuscripts should be reformatted by the author(s) according to the Format & Style Guidelines for Publication below, then re-submitted for publication. Due dates for final versions vary with each issue.
  • The response time for manuscripts is typically about three months from submission.

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Format & Style Guidelines for Submission

Submit manuscripts according to the following guidelines. If you have questions or concerns about these guidelines, contact the editor at cimlejournal@gmail.com:

  • Prepare manuscripts as Word documents (.docx files) using the appropriate template:
  • Use one inch margins on all sides.
  • Use a 12-point font accessible font such as Aptos or Arial.
  • Follow the length guidelines (see Types of Manuscripts below).
  • All authors must disclose any conflicts of interest and/or any sources of funding related to the manuscript.
  • Include a title page with abstract and two to four keywords.
  • Do not include headers, footers, or pagination.
  • Remove any references to any of the authors that may allow a reviewer to identify the authorship of the submission. Instead, use "Author 1", "Author 2", etc., as needed.
  • Include any tables, charts, figures, etc. in the text in the approximate places where they would appear. For any and all tables, figures, images, etc., in the text that are not the original work of the author(s), the author(s) must cite those republished materials and provide evidence that they hold the copyright or that the materials are licensed for use in the manuscript.
  • Include any appendices in the text of the submission; do not include these as separate documents.
  • Follow current APA guidelines for references, including in-text citations. The references section of the manuscript should be left-justified.

Types of Manuscripts:

  • Research: These are reports of original research undertaken by the author(s) and can represent a range of research paradigms. The author(s) should explain the topic, literature review, research question(s), methodology, data collection and analysis, and findings. Research submissions are typically 15-20 pages, excluding references, tables, and appendices.
  • Best Practices: These are rich reports of practice from the classrooms of the author(s) or in schools with whom the author(s) have collaborated. Best Practices submissions include reflections, relevant references, and recommendations for readers. Best Practices submissions are typically 10-15 pages, excluding references.
  • Reviews of Research or Literature Reviews: These are reviews of research or literature on a topic identified by the author(s) that is relevant to middle level education. The author(s) should state the topic and the method of review, and then provide synthesis of important themes and issues, with insights and recommendations for readers. Reviews are typically 15-25 pages, excluding references.
  • Description of a Program or Initiative: These are descriptions of programs or initiatives to provide useful information for readers. These pieces should clearly explain and describe relevant aspects of the program or initiative. Descriptions are typically 8-20 pages, excluding references.

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Format & Style Guidelines for Publication

Manuscripts accepted for publication should be re-formatted according to the following guidelines. If you have questions or concerns about these guidelines, contact the editor at cimlejournal@gmail.com:

Manuscripts accepted for publication should be formatted according to these guidelines:

  • Submit manuscripts as Word documents (.docx files) with one inch margins on all sides.
  • Use a 12-point font accessible font such as Aptos or Arial.
  • Follow the length guidelines (see Types of Manuscripts above).
  • Disclose any conflicts of interest and/or any sources of funding related to the manuscript.
  • Include a title page with abstract and two to four keywords.
  • Do not include headers, footers, or pagination.
  • Add in any references to the author(s) as needed. Remove anonymized references (such as "Author 1") and replace with names as appropriate.
  • Ensure that all references are correct, current, and properly formatted according to current APA guidelines.
  • Format the references section of the manuscript using left-justified formatting.

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Accessibility Requirements

By submitting their work for publication, the author(s) must warrant and affirm the following:

  1. The author(s) have reviewed the Current Issues in Middle Level Education's accessibility requirements as outlined in the journal's policies and submission guidelines.
  2. The author(s) have made a good-faith effort to ensure that the work, including all text, images, figures, tables, supplementary materials, and multimedia files, complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA (opens in new tab), including but not limited to:

    • The work uses built‑in heading styles to reflect its structural hierarchy.
    • All tables are created using proper table tools and include clearly identified header rows.
    • All images and figures contain descriptive alternative text (alt text).
    • All video or audio content contains accurate captions or transcripts.
    • Color is not used as the sole method of conveying information.
  3. The author(s) affirm that an accessibility check has been performed on the work, and all identified issues have been resolved.
  4. If any component of the work cannot be made fully accessible due to the nature of the content, the author(s) have described these limitations and the accommodations provided.
  5. The author(s) affirm that the work may be returned to them at any time for accessibility remediation, both prior to and following publication.

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All works published in the Current Issues in Middle Level Education are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (opens in new tab) (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Copyright owners retain all rights to their work without restriction and agree to apply the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license to the final published version of their work as a condition of publication.

End users' rights under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license are outlined on the Creative Commons website (opens in new tab). For all other uses, permission must be obtained from the copyright owners or their authorized agents.

Copyright and licensing terms for the Current Issues in Middle Level Education are registered with Open Policy Finder (opens in new tab).

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

All submitted work must reflect the authors' own original thinking, design, analysis, and voice. Any and all use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools must be disclosed clearly in a brief statement at the end of the manuscript (i.e., an acknowledgement). If any AI tool is part of the study (e.g., student use, research design), this use should be described clearly in the methods section according to standard research practice.

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Plagiarism Policy

The Current Issues in Middle Level Education may use Similarity Check, a multi-publisher initiative, to selectively screen article submissions for originality. Similarity Check uses the iThenticate software, which checks submissions against millions of published research papers (the Similarity Check database), documents on the web, and other relevant sources. These submitted papers are not retained in the Similarity Check system after they have been checked. Read more at Crossref's Similarity Check (opens in new tab) page.

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Charges & Fees

The Current Issues in Middle Level Education levies no submission charges, or charges or fees for publication of accepted articles.

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Digital Archiving

The Current Issues in Middle Level Education is preserved using CLOCKSS (opens in new tab), a leading preservation archive that guarantees persistent access to journal content for the very long term. Articles also receive Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) through Crossref (opens in new tab) to ensure they can always be found.

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Need Help?

Have a question about GS Commons? Need additional description, text alternatives, or captions for GS Commons resources? Contact us or request accessible formats (opens in new tab).

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