Journal of School Counseling

GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS

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Guidelines for Authors

Guidelines for Reviewers

The Journal of School Counseling (JSC) invites authors to submit manuscripts regarding theory, research, and practice in school counseling. The journal presents 4 topical or interest sections: Innovative Methods, Theory & Research, Professional Development, and Current Issues. As we review manuscripts for publication, we categorize submissions into 3 types of manuscripts:

• Innovations – strategies, techniques, activities, and best practices

• Empirical studies – qualitative or quantitative

• Position papers – theory/practice, or integrations, current issues, and literature reviews

If accepted for publication, these types of manuscripts will be organized into the following interest sections in the Journal of School Counseling:

Innovative Methods includes thorough descriptions of techniques, strategies, skills, and activities that have been developed and/or implemented by counselors in elementary, middle, and high schools. We invite you to submit your “best practices” and to tell others why and how they are particularly effective. These manuscripts should include a section on the practical applications for school counselors.

Manuscript types may include: innovations or position papers.

Theory & Research hosts a variety of manuscripts, both qualitative and quantitative, that describe original research as well as literature reviews on topics pertaining to school counseling. These manuscripts should include a section on the implications or practical applications for school counselors.

Manuscript types may include: empirical studies or literature reviews (meta-analysis).

Professional Development articles primarily describe ways in which school counselors can continue to cultivate and enhance their professional identities. Training strategies for school counseling students as well as continuing education for experienced counselors will be highlighted.

Manuscript types may include: position papers or innovations.

Current Issues detail contemporary issues and literature reviews affecting schools and school counselors. Authors are invited to explore topics such as charter schools, No Child Left Behind, funding issues, and social issues faced by children and adolescents. These manuscripts should include a section on the implications for school counselors.

Manuscript types may include: position papers.

Submissions

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically as an email attachment using either Microsoft Word (preferable) or Corel WordPerfect for Windows. We do not accept Macintosh formats. Submissions to the Journal of School Counseling should be sent to:

Dr. Mark Nelson markn@montana.edu or Dr. Jill Thorngren jillt@montana.edu

Authors, please use the following guidelines when submitting manuscripts.

Originality

All manuscripts must be the original work of the authors, have not been published elsewhere, and are not being considered for publication elsewhere. In the event of publication, the Journal of School Counseling retains copyright ownership.

Client Anonymity

Client anonymity must be protected in all manuscripts. Authors must avoid all identifying information in describing clients and their personal histories.

Review Process

All manuscripts will be initially reviewed by the editors. Acceptable manuscripts will be sent to at least two additional reviewers of the Editorial Board. Reviewers’ comments, suggestions, and disposition recommendations will be sent to authors. Authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review process.

Style Specifications

General

All manuscripts should use 12-point Arial font, be double spaced including references and extensive quotes, allow 1" margins on all sides, and include an abstract of 50-100 words.

• Authors must use the guidelines established by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5^th edition) as the manual for style and manuscript format, including style for all figures, tables, and references. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references, tables, and figures. Authors may also find The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White (1979) to be a helpful reference source.

• Authors are encouraged to use active rather than passive voice whenever possible. Moreover, authors are encouraged to use guidelines to reduce bias in language against persons on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic group, disability, or age by referring to the fifth edition of the Publication Manual for the American Psychological Association.

• Lengthy quotations (300-500 words) require written permission from the copyright holder for reproduction. This permission must accompany the manuscript.

Title

A separate first page of the document should include the title, author(s) name, and institutional affiliations of all authors (if not affiliated with an institution, city and state should be listed).

Abstract

A separate second page of the document should include an abstract describing the article in 50-100 words.

Body

All manuscripts begin with an untitled introduction, which should include a rationale that supports the significance and/or clarifies how the manuscript contributes to the field of school counseling. It may consist of a statement of the major questions or issues addressed and their importance. This is followed by a brief review of the pertinent literature and a statement regarding how the current article addresses questions and ambiguities that the literature has not answered.

• Empirical studies will continue with detailed method sections, followed by results/discussion (including limitations and suggestions for future research).

• Innovative methods manuscripts will continue with descriptive method sections, followed by a discussion section (including limitations), and an implications or practical application section.

• Position papers will continue with various section headings to be determined by the focus of the paper, followed by a discussion section, and an implications or practical application section. Some position papers may focus on a review of the literature regarding a given topic or theme.

References found in the body of the manuscript should follow APA guidelines. Some examples follow; underlines represent examples and would not be used in an actual manuscript. References cited at the end of a sentence use the author-date method of citation, inserting the author’s surname and year of publication (Jackson, 2001). Authors should use “and” when there are two or more authors cited within a sentence, according to Anderson and Wilson (2009); however, authors should use an ampersand (&) for parenthetical citations in text (Anderson & Wilson, 2009). If a work has more than two but fewer than six authors, cite all authors the first time the reference occurs; in subsequent citations list only the surname of the first author followed by et al. and the date. If a work has more than six authors, cite only the first author’s surname followed by et al. for all citations. For more reference information, refer to the APA Publication Manual.

References

References should be listed in alphabetical order on a separate page titled “References” immediately following the body of the manuscript. Be sure all references are cited in both the text and the reference list.

• Names of author(s). List names of all authors with surnames first followed by the initials for the first and middle names. Use an ampersand (&) when there are two or more authors and use a comma to separate the names.

• Date of Publication (in parentheses).

• Article title. Capitalize only the first word of the title and of the subtitle. Do not underline or use quotation marks.

• Journal title and publication information. Italicize the full title and volume number of the journal. Always include page numbers in references to quotations or specific sections of a book. For more reference information, refer to the APA Publication Manual.

Figures & Tables

Include each figure and/or table on a separate page. Adaptation of tables and figures also requires reproduction approval. It is the author’s responsibility to secure such permission. A copy of the publisher’s permission must be provided to the journal Editor immediately on acceptance of the article for publication.

Biographical Statement

On a separate page, following the references, include a separate biographical statement for each author that describes professionally related information, for example: job title, work setting and location, school counseling related interests, and any specializations or expertise.