Call for Editor(s): Journal of Political Science Education 

Call for Editor(s): Journal of Political Science Education 

Applications Due September 1, 2021

The American Political Science Association (APSA) invites applications and nominations for editorship of the Journal of Political Science Education (JPSE) to begin a term on August 1, 2022.  Since 2017, APSA has been the official sponsor of JPSE, which is made available to the 10,000 members of the association. The journal currently receives approximately 120 submissions per year from all areas of political science education, including scholarship of teaching and learning, political science instruction, teaching, book and resource reviews, and reflections.  

JPSE is an intellectually rigorous, peer-reviewed journal that publishes evidence-based and theoretically informed scholarship on teaching and pedagogical issues in political science. It aims to represent a full range of empirical and philosophical questions, issues, and approaches relevant to political science education at the two-year community college, four-year college, university, master’s, and PhD levels. This includes research on teaching methods, pedagogical innovations and techniques, classroom activities, educational assessment, and curriculum development. It welcomes work from diverse methodological perspectives, and work that represents levels of analysis ranging from classroom-based studies to inter-institutional and cross-national comparisons. The journal supports research that engages with the broad scholarship of teaching and learning and improves the quality of teaching and learning in the discipline.  

Please submit a proposal that includes the following: 

  1. Cover Letter specifying how you meet the criteria set out in this call.
  2. Vision and Mission Statement for the journal, including: 
    • Any planned innovations for the journal. 
    • Strategies for anticipating challenges and taking advantage of opportunities. 
    • Plan for sustaining the journal over the next 5 years and beyond.

  3.  Outreach Plan to solicit submissions and reviewers, including: 
    • Plan for soliciting high-quality submissions and reviewers and growing readership in the US and internationally, including any goals for acceptance rates, turnaround time, and how to leverage reviewers and editorial board members. 
    • Strategy for ensuring a diverse and inclusive approach to submissions, authorship, methods, subjects, reviewers, and subfield representations. 
  4. Editorial Process and Staff Organization, including: 
    • A management plan with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the individual editor or editorial team. 
    • Any assistance that APSA and/or other institutions will be asked to provide.  

      5. CVs of Editor-in-Chief and any additional Editorial Team Members 

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria: 

    • Compelling vision for the next five years of the journal. 
    • Demonstrated expertise in teaching and learning, including knowledge and understanding of the body of the scholarship of teaching and learning in political science and international relations.  
    • Commitment to inclusion and diversity in the discipline. 
    • A management plan that details a viable and sustainable process for running the journal and submission process. 
    • Experience with publishing, reviewing, editing and/or other aspects of journal production. 

We are open to applications from individuals or teams based at colleges and/or universities in the US and/or internationally. We also welcome applications from those not based at a college or university who might be considering a part-time or full-time staff position at APSA as part of the Editorship.  If you have any questions about which role to apply for, please contact Jon Gurstelle, APSA Publishing Director at jgurstelle@apsanet.org 

APSA provides the following support for the editor: 

  • ScholarOne manuscript submission and peer review system 
  • Copyediting and electronic production services 
  • Hosting an editorial board meeting every year at the APSA Annual Meeting or virtually 
  • Reporting on bibliometrics (citations, downloads, Altmetric, etc.) to inform decision-making 
  • For those applying who are employed as faculty at a college or university: financial support to be used to cover such costs as course buyouts/reassign time, graduate student support, travel expenses and/or honorariums. Please include any financial support provided by your institution. 

The editorship is a four-year term beginning on August 1, 2022, with the possibility of a two-year renewal with the approval of the APSA Council.  A Search Committee has been formed to help select the editor, who will then be submitted to the Publications Committee for APSA Council approval, and the selected applicant(s) will be contacted shortly thereafter.  We welcome applications from all interested parties and nominations of qualified candidates.

Please direct any questions or nominations to Jon Gurstelle, APSA Publishing Director at jgurstelle@apsanet.org or Amanda Rosen, Chair of the Search Committee at amanda.rosen@usnwc.edu. Applications should be submitted to Jon Gurstelle at jgurstelle@apsanet.orgThe deadline for applications is September 1, 2021.  

The JPSE Editor Search Committee: 

  •  Amanda Rosen, US Naval War College (Chair)  
  • Jeffrey Bernstein, Eastern Michigan University  
  • John Craig, Leeds Beckett University   
  • Josh Franco, Cuyamaca College   
  • Nanette Levinson, American University   
  • Matthew Platt, Morehouse College  
  • Jillian Schwedler, CUNY Hunter College