Open Access Policy

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State is an open-access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or their 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.

Review Process

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State is double-blind peer reviewed and published biannually. Anyone may submit an original article to be considered for publication. All submissions must be previously unpublished manuscripts and must currently be submitted only to Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State. By submitting a work for consideration, the authors affirm that the manuscript will not be submitted to another venue while under review with Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State. If you have concerns about the terms of submission or review, please contact the Editor(s).

Submissions are first screened by the Editor(s) for suitability before being sent for blind review by two reviewers. Each reviewer may include specific and narrative comments for the author of the submission about its content, argumentation, research methodologies, data, conclusions, etc. These comments will be provided to the authors without identifying the reviewers.

Each reviewer will give a recommendation about publication of a manuscript according to the following options:

• Accept: No revisions required
• Accept: Minor revisions required
• Revise and resubmit: Major revisions required
• Reject

When all reviews have been received by the Editor(s), a decision will be made regarding publication and authors will be notified. If the reviews are very different, the Editor(s) 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.

Submission Types

Guidelines and review criteria for different types of submissions are listed in the table below.

Type of Submission & Guidelines	Review Criteria
Research Review for Educators: Review of research that summarizes fundamental/significant conclusions and implications for classroom practice Reviews of research on specific strategies (ie. discussion, using film effectively, etc.), the use of technology and other aspects of instruction are welcome Reviews should focus on empirical studies from the last decade Authors should include an appendix delineating how studies/research were selected for inclusion in your analysis	Summarizes key findings from research Includes examples/evidence from research that supports key findings Delineates implications of these key findings for social studies educators Includes classroom-based example(s) for each implication Includes an appendix that explains the research review process - criteria for including studies in the review, etc.
Resource Roundup: (Book Reviews, Film Reviews, Themed Collection of Digital Resources) Presentation of opinions, reflections, and recommendations specific to teaching social studies Summary which describes the media under review, the author’s perspective, an evaluation of the quality of the media and its correspondence to current scholarship in social studies education, and an explanation of the media’s strengths and weaknesses	Summarizes content and correspondence to current scholarship and/or trends in social studies education Explanation of media’s strengths and weaknesses
Classroom-Based Activities: (Lesson Plans, Projects, Service Learning Activities, etc.) Focus on one or more of the major disciplines (i.e., history, geography, economics, civics and government) for teaching PreK-12 social studies Include logistics: applicable state and national standards, grade level, time commitment, materials and resources Implement innovative, technology-based (when appropriate), and discipline-specific methods for teaching and learning social studies Include clear and innovative methods for assessment in a variety of educational settings (e.g. not state or district specific) Write for a particular audience - pre/in-service PreK-12 teachers	Utilizes Classroom-Based Activities template Clear, detailed descriptions of learning activities, required resources, etc. Includes additional materials and resources, such as graphic organizers, templates. Etc. Working hyperlinks to any curricular materials (i.e. primary sources, videos, etc.) needed to implement activity Writing is appropriate for pre/in-service teacher audience
Youth Voices: Structure/format includes, but is not limited to blog posts, artwork, poetry, videos, short stories, reviews, and interviews Please reach out to the editorial board with other structures/formats that you would like to pursue Submission is the youth writer’s perspective (i.e., voice) on a social studies topic (e.g., related to history, economics, civics/government, geography, psychology, sociology, etc.) Written content in the submission is original (i.e., written by the youth writer, hasn’t been published elsewhere, etc.) Imagery in the submission is the youth writer’s own (e.g., drawing, photos, graphics, etc.) or the youth writer has received permission to use the imagery from the creator	Coherent in structure/format for the type of youth voices submission Clearly written in regards to content (e.g., appropriate details included) Captivating (i.e., compelling narrative - might be critical, uplifting, sad, funny, inspirational) for a wide range of journal audience members (e.g., other youth, teachers, etc.)
Empirical Research: Manuscripts should be no more than 10,000 words including references and charts/graphs. We feel everyone has a right to name themselves so we honor the ways author’s decide to name themselves. Includes an abstract of 300 words or less. Manuscripts must be original works, and if research includes human-subjects, must have IRB approval. Submissions must not be published previously nor under review at another journal. Work must be empirical in nature and attend to issues important to the field of Social Studies Education. We encourage manuscripts that highlights critical and/or transformative work with teachers (per-service or inservice), P-20 students, and curriculum, and/or engages in critical or creative research methodologies and analysis.	Authors articulate a clear research question. Literature review demonstrates knowledge of the current literature in the field of social studies and education. Research methodology is clear (you can understand and envision how the study was conducted) and outlines a rigorous approach to engaging in data collection and analysis. Study findings or emerging themes/ideas are clear and compelling. Manuscripts make a strong case for the work’s significance/importance to the field of social studies as well as the region and state of GA.

Format & Style Guidelines

Use APA format as found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th Edition, for headings, citations, references.

• About APA Style/format
• APA Citation Style
• APA Style Workshop

All submission types must be clearly written in regards to conventions (i.e., spelling, grammar, punctuation) and in regards to type of submission (i.e., neither too long - e.g., repetitious nor too short - e.g., lacking appropriate details). See the Submission Type Guidelines for details on how to structure your document for each Submission Type.

Before you begin, please be sure you have the following items:

• Submission Title
• An abstract (separate from the article body - 100 to 150 words)
• Brief biographical sketches for each author (no more than 100 words each)
• Keywords for your article (4-6)
• Type of Submission

Indenting, Line Spacing, and Justification
Indent all paragraphs except those following a section heading. An indent should be at least 2 em-spaces. Do not insert extra space between paragraphs of text with the exception of long quotations, theorems, propositions, special remarks, etc. These should be set off from the surrounding text by additional space above and below.

Don’t “widow” or “orphan” text (i.e., ending a page with the first line of a paragraph or beginning a page with the last line of a paragraph).

All text should be left-justified (i.e., flush with the left margin-except where indented).

Language & Grammar
All submissions must be in English with the exception of submissions to Youth Voices. Bilingual and multilingual work is welcome. Other exceptions: common non-English words and phrases; Overall, the use of non-English words and phrases should be avoided.

Authors should use formal English grammar — with the exception of submissions to Youth Voices. The Elements of Style. by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White (now in its fourth edition) is the “standard’ guide, but other excellent guides exist as well.

Text Color
Set the font color to black for the majority of the text. We encourage authors to take advantage of the ability to use color in the production of figures, maps, etc. However, you need to appreciate that this will cause some of your readers problems when they print the document on a black & white printer. For this reason, you are advised to avoid the use of colors in situations where their translation to black and white would render the material illegible or incomprehensible.

Please ensure that there are no colored mark-ups or comments in the final version, unless they are meant to be part of the final text. (You may need to “accept all changes’ in track changes or set your document to “normal” in final markup).

Emphasized Text
Whenever possible use italics to indicate text you wish to emphsize rather than underlining it. The use of color to emphasize text is discouraged.

Titles
Whenever possible, titles of books, movies, etc. should be set in italics rather than underlined.

Tables & Figures
To the extent possible, tables and figures should appear in the document near where they are referenced in the text. Large tables or figures should be put on pages by themselves. Avoid the use of overly small type in tables. In no case should tables or figures be in a separate document or file. All tables and figures must fit within 1.5-inch margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right) in both portrait and landscape view.

Submission Type Guidelines

Document Structure Based on Submission Type:

Research Review for Educators:

• Introduction
• Subsequent sections of the body of the article, including summary of significant findings and implications for classroom practice
• References
• Appendix explaining how studies/research were selected for inclusion in your analysis

Resource Roundup:

• Introduction
• Subsequent sections including description of resource(s) and classroom applications
• References

Classroom-Based Activities (Lesson Plans, Projects, Service Learning Activities):

• Please use template provided

Youth Voices

• Introduction explaining context and/or why you created this piece. Introduction can be submitted as a Word document or hyperlink to video

Empirical Research:

• Introduction
• Subsequent sections including literature review, methodology, findings and discussion
• References
• Appendices (if applicable)

Submission Requirements for Review of Research, Resource Roundup and Empirical Research:

• Do not include a title page or abstract. (Begin the document with the introduction. A title page that includes the abstract will be added to your paper by the editor).
• Do not include page numbers, headers, or footers. These will be added by the editor.
• The name(s) of the author(s) should not appear in the original submission of the manuscript.
• All submissions are to be in English. Please avoid using colloquialisms and regional terminology that may be unknown to an international audience.
• Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, etc., as a single file.
• Page size should be 8.5 x 11-inches.
• All margins (left, right, top, and bottom) should be 1.5 inches (3.8 cm), including your tables and figures.
• Single space your text.
• Use a single column layout with left justification.
• Use 12 point Times New Roman (or closest comparable) font for the body of the text.
• When possible, there should be no pages where more than a quarter of the page is empty space.
• The text of a manuscript should be divided in headings (not more than three levels deep).
• Notes, citations, and suggested sources should be placed at the end of the submission in APA format.
• If figures are included, use high-resolution figures, preferably encoded as encapsulated PostScript (eps).
• Copyedit your manuscript.

Copyright & Licensing Terms

All papers published in Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain all copyrights without restrictions, and agree to the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license for their work as a condition of publication.

End users' rights under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license are outlined here. For all other purposes, permission must be obtained from the author.

Plagiarism Policy

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State 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 & Researchers page.

Charges & Fees

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State levies no submission charges, or charges or fees for publication of accepted articles.