Review of Educational Research
The Review of Educational Research (RER, quarterly, begun in 1931; approximately 640 pp./volume year) publishes critical, integrative reviews of research literature bearing on education. Such reviews should include conceptualizations, interpretations, and syntheses of literature and scholarly work in a field broadly relevant to education and educational research. RER encourages the submission of research relevant to education from any discipline, such as reviews of research in psychology, sociology, history, philosophy, political science, economics, computer science, statistics, anthropology, and biology, provided that the review bears on educational issues. RER does not publish original empirical research unless it is incorporated in a broader integrative review. RER will occasionally publish solicited, but carefully refereed, analytic reviews of special topics, particularly from disciplines infrequently represented.
The Review of Educational Research publishes critical, integrative reviews of research literature bearing on education. Such reviews should include conceptualizations, interpretations, and syntheses of literature and scholarly work in a field broadly relevant to education and educational research. RER encourages the submission of research relevant to education from any discipline, such as reviews of research in psychology, sociology, history, philosophy, political science, economics, computer science, statistics, anthropology, and biology, provided that the review bears on educational issues. RER does not publish original empirical research, and all analyses should be incorporated in a broader integrative review. RER will occasionally publish solicited, but carefully refereed, analytic reviews of special topics, particularly from disciplines infrequently represented. The following types of manuscripts fall within the journal’s purview:
Integrative reviews pull together the existing work on an educational topic and work to understand trends in that body of scholarship. In such a review, the author describes how the issue is conceptualized within the literature, how research methods and theories have shaped the outcomes of scholarship, and what the strengths and weaknesses of the literature are. Meta-analyses are of particular interest when they are accompanied by an interpretive framework that takes the article beyond the reporting of effect sizes and the bibliographic outcome of a computer search.
Theoretical reviews should explore how theory shapes research. To the extent that research is cited and interpreted, it is in the service of the specification, explication, and illumination of a theory. Theoretical reviews and integrative reviews have many similarities, but the former are primarily about how a theory is employed to frame research and our understandings, and refer to the research as it relates to the theory.
Methodological reviews are descriptions of research design, methods, and procedures that can be employed in literature reviews or research in general. The articles should highlight the strengths and weaknesses of methodological tools and explore how methods constrain or open up opportunities for learning about educational problems. They should be written in a style that is accessible to researchers in education rather than methodologists.
Historical reviews provide analyses that situate literature in historical contexts. Within these reviews, explanations for educational phenomena are framed within the historical forces that shape language and understanding.
Commissioned reviews and thematic issues. The editors may commission and solicit authors to review areas of literature. In all other respects, commissioned reviews are subject to the same review process as submitted reviews. The editors also encourage readers to propose thematic topics for special issues and, as potential guest editors, to submit plans for such issues.
In addition to review articles, RER will occasionally publish notes and responses which are short pieces of no more than 1,200 words on any topic that would be of use to reviewers of research. Typically, they point out shortcomings and differences in interpretation in RER articles and policy.
The standards and criteria for review articles in RER are the following:
1. Quality of the Literature. Standards used to determine quality of literature in education vary greatly. Any review needs to take into account the quality of the literature and its impact on findings. Authors should attempt to review all relevant literature on a topic (e.g., international literature, cross-disciplinary work, etc.).
2. Quality of Analysis. The review should go beyond description to include analysis and critiques of theories, methods, and conclusions represented in the literature. This analysis should also examine the issue of access—which perspectives are included or excluded in a body of work? Finally, the analysis should be reflexive—how does the scholars’ framework constrain what can be known in this review?
3. Significance of the Topic. The review should seek to inform and/or illuminate questions important to the field of education. While these questions may be broad-based, they should have implications for the educational problems and issues affecting our national and global societies.
4. Impact of the Article. The review should be seen as an important contribution and tool for the many different educators dealing with the educational problems and issues confronting society.
5. Advancement of the Field. The review should validate or inform the knowledge of researchers and guide and improve the quality of their research and scholarship.
6. Style. The review must be well written and conform to style of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition). Authors should avoid the use of unexplained jargon and parochialism.
7. Balance and Fairness. The review should be careful not to misrepresent the positions taken by others, or be disrespectful of contrary positions.
8. Purpose. Any review should be accessible to the broad readership of RER. The purpose of any article should be to connect the particular problem addressed by the researcher(s) to a larger context of education.
We also encourage all authors interested in submitting a manuscript to RER to read our Editorial Vision for more information on our publication aims.
| Mildred Boveda | Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Karly Sarita Ford | The Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Erica Frankenberg | The Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Francesca López | The Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Melanie Acosta | Florida Atlantic University, USA |
| Brittany Aronson | Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Laura Bofferding | Purdue University, USA |
| Jessica DeCuir-Gunby | University of Southern California, USA |
| Sherman Dorn | Arizona State University, USA |
| Carlton J. Fong | Texas State University, USA |
| ChanMin Kim | Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Daniel D. Liou | Arizona State University, USA |
| Jameson Lopez | University of Arizona, USA |
| Edna Tan | University of North Carolina, Greensboro, USA |
| Adai Tefera | University of Arizona, USA |
| Federico R. Waitoller | University of Illinois, Chicago, USA |
| Dor Abrahamson | University of California, Berkley |
| Patricia Alexander | University of Maryland, USA |
| Jasmine Alvarado | University at Buffalo - SUNY, USA |
| Ryan Baker | University of Pennsylvania, USA |
| Brian Belland | Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Elizabeth Bettini | Boston University, USA |
| Paulo Blikstein | Columbia University, USA |
| Melissa Braaten | University of Colorado Boulder, USA |
| Saskias Casanova | University of California, Santa Cruz, USA |
| Clark Chinn | Rutgers University, USA |
| Geraldine Cochran | Ohio State University, USA |
| Dionne Cross | University of North Carolina, USA |
| Eric Dion | University of Quebec, Canada |
| Susan Faircloth | Colorado State University, USA |
| Erin Furtak | University of Colorado Boulder, USA |
| Steve Graham | Arizona State University, USA |
| Jeffrey Greene | University of North Carolina, USA |
| Kris D. Gutiérrez | University of California, Berkeley |
| Daniel Hickey | Indiana University, USA |
| Megan Holland Iantosca | University at Buffalo - SUNY, USA |
| Bryant Jensen | Brigham Young University, USA |
| Matthew Kelly | Pennsylvania State University, USA |
| Suneal Kolluri | University of California, Riverside, USA |
| María Ledesma | San Jose State University, USA |
| Robb Lindgren | University of Illinois, USA |
| Endia Lindo | Texas Christian University, USA |
| David Lubinski | Vanderbilt University, USA |
| Erica McCray | University of Florida, USA |
| Kathryn McDermott | University of Massachusets, Amherst, USA |
| Susan McKenney | University of Twente, Netherlands |
| Emma Mercier | University of Illinois, USA |
| Nicole Mirra | Rutgers University, USA |
| Jens Möller | University of Kiel, Germany |
| Laura Muñoz | University of Nebraska - Lincoln, USA |
| Justin C. Ortagus | College of Education, University of Florida, USA |
| Leigh Patel | University of Pittsburgh, USA |
| Peng Peng | University of Texas-Austin, USA |
| Raquel Rall | University of California, Riverside, USA |
| Joshua Rosenberg | University of Tennessee, USA |
| Brian Smith | Boston College, USA |
| Catherine Snow | Harvard University, USA |
| Jon Star | Harvard University, USA |
| Andrei Streke | Mathematica, USA |
| David Stroupe | University of Utah, USA |
| Iris Tabak | Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel |
| Katie Taylor | University of Washington, USA |
| Sharon Tettegah | University of California, Santa Barbara, USA |
| Antar Tichavakunda | University of Cincinnati, USA |
| Tracy Arámbula Turner | University of Vermont, USA |
| Jan Van Driel | University of Melbourne, Australia |
| Adriana Villavicencio | Texas State University, USA |
| Catherine Voulgarides | Hunter College, USA |
| Andrea Weinberg | Arizona State University, USA |
| Camille Wilson | University of Michigan,USA |
| Suzanne M. Wilson | University of Connecticut, USA |
| Susan Yoon | University of Pennsylvania, USA |
1. Publication Standards
2. Submission Preparation Checklist
3. How to Get Help With the Quality of English in Your Submission
4. Copyright Information
5. For authors who use figures or other materials for which they do not own copyright
6. Right of Reply
7. Sage Choice and Open Access
The Review of Educational Research (RER) publishes comprehensive reviews of literature related to education and does not publish new empirical work, except in the context of meta-analytic reviews of an area. Please check the journal’s Aims and Scope to see if your manuscript is appropriate to submit to RER.
All manuscripts should be submitted electronically to the editorial team at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rer. For questions or inquiries about manuscripts, email us at REReditors@aera.net. Manuscripts may not be submitted via e-mail.
Researchers who intend to submit studies for publication should consult the Standards for Research Conduct adopted by the AERA Council. We also recommend consulting (a) the Guidelines for Reviewers, which outline the criteria under which manuscripts are reviewed for publication by AERA and (b) recent previous editions of the journal. Individuals submitting systematic reviews or meta-analyses should also consult The PRISMA Statement (http://www.prisma-statement.org) as well the article on “Reporting Standards for Research in Psychology” in American Psychologist, 63, 839 – 851 (doi:10.1037/0003-066X.63.9.839).
Submission Preparation Checklist
When you upload your initial submission, upload (1) a separate title page that is not anonymized. Please format the title page as described by the 7th edition of the APA Manual and (2) the main manuscript, which includes an ANONYMIZED title page, an abstract with keywords at the bottom, and the rest of the document including tables and figures, and finally (c) Author Bios.
Please ensure that your manuscript complies with the “RER Formatting Requirements and Common Formatting Errors” (see PDF on the RER website). If your submission does not meet these requirements, it will be returned to you.
Additionally, your submission should meet the following guidelines:
1. The submission has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; or an explanation has been provided in the Cover Letter. Authors should indicate in the Author Note on the separate title page if sections of the manuscript have been published in other venues.
2. THE MANUSCRIPT CONTAINS NO IDENTIFYING INFORMATION, EVEN
ON THE ANONYMIZED TITLE PAGE. Please anonymize any work of limited circulation (e.g., in press papers, manuscripts under submission) that would point to the author, both in the body of the manuscript and the reference list. More information on anonymizing is described subsequently. Please double check that the author’s name has been removed from the document’s Properties, which in Microsoft Word is found in the File menu (select “File,” “Properties,” “Summary,” and remove the author’s name; select “OK” to save).
3. The text conforms to APA style (currently the 7th ed.). Consult the guidelines spelled out under “Manuscript Style, Length, and Format” on this webpage and in the RER Formatting Requirements PDF included on our website.
4. The submission must be in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), which will be converted into a PDF file. Please do not upload PDF files, or they will be returned to you.
5. All URL addresses and DOIs in the manuscript (e.g., http://www.aera.net) should be activated and ready to click.
6. An abstract of 150 words maximum is included (both separately and on the second page of the main document after the ANONYMIZED title page). Please also include three to five keywords—the terms that researchers will use to find your article in indexes and databases.
Manuscript Style, Length, and Format
The style guide for the Review of Educational Research and all AERA journals is the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., 2020. The manual is available for purchase here. Guidelines are also available on the APA website.
Manuscripts should NOT exceed 65 pages (or 15,000 words), including tables, figures, appendices, notes, and references, but excluding anonymized title page, abstract, and any supplementary files. Pages should be numbered consecutively in the top right-hand corner, with a fully capitalized running head in the top-left corner. All manuscripts should begin with the anonymized title page (p.1). Manuscripts should be typed for 8½” x 11” paper, in upper and lower case, with 1-inch margins on all sides. Manuscripts should be typed in 12-point Times New Roman font. Manuscripts that exceed 65 pages may be returned without review.
All text, from the title page to the end of the manuscript should be double-spaced, including the abstract, block quotations, bulleted text, and the reference list. Single-spacing is allowed in tables when it is useful in making the table clearer. Do not leave blank lines after paragraphs or before sub-headings. However, if a heading or subheading is the last line on a page, use a page break to move it to the top of the next page. The Abstract, Introduction (beginning with the title), the References, and all tables and figures begin on new pages.
Please use the five subheadings as appropriate based on the 7th edition of the APA style manual. In addition to being on the title page, the title should also be placed at the beginning of the Introduction (in lieu of the word, “Introduction,” which should not appear) and the title at the beginning of the Introduction should be a Level 1 heading.
Tables and figures are to be placed after the references—all tables precede all figures—and should not be included in the body of the text. Each figure and table should begin on a separate page. Do NOT use the “Place Table 5 here” or “Place Figure 1 here” convention. The tables and figures will be placed nearest to where they are mentioned as appropriate when copyediting is done.
Figures and tables should present data to the reader in a clear and unambiguous manner, and should be referred to in the text. If the illustration/table/figure and text are redundant, eliminate the illustration or reduce the amount of detail provided in text. The use of lines in tables is limited (please consult the APA style manual for formatting guidelines). Figure captions should be placed at the bottom of the figure. One high-quality electronic version of each figure must be submitted with the manuscript. Tables will be typeset. Note that any figures and tables uploaded separately from the main manuscript will still count toward the total 65-page limit.
Italics can be used for emphasis or contrast in special situations but should be used sparingly. Ideally, sentence structure should be used for these issues. All words to be set in italics (e.g., book titles, journal names) should be typed in italics. There should be no underlined text. Abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out the first time they are mentioned unless they are found as entries in their abbreviated form in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., 2003 (e.g., “IQ” can be used without being spelled out). Mathematical symbols and symbols for vectors should be clearly formatted in italics and boldface, respectively.
You can use the footnote or endnote feature of Microsoft Word. However, notes are only for explanations or amplifications of textual material that cannot be incorporated into the regular text; they are not for reference information. Moreover, notes are distracting to readers and expensive to produce and should be used sparingly and avoided whenever possible.
The reference list should contain only references that are cited in the text. Its accuracy and completeness are the responsibility of the authors. Reference each publicly available dataset with its title, author, date, and a persistent Web identifier such as a digital object identifier (doi), a handle, or a uniform resource name (URN). If necessary, this last element may be replaced by a web address. Additionally, any references that were included in the analysis but not cited in-text in the main manuscript can be included in a separate reference list that is uploaded as a Supplementary File for Review (this may assist in meeting the page limit).
Authors should anonymize their manuscripts for review. Anonymizing does not mean removing all self-citations. Authors should only anonymize citations of limited circulation (e.g., forthcoming, in press, unpublished) that point to the author. Publications already in the extant literature (e.g., books, book chapters, journal articles) should be cited normally, but authors should include self-citations judiciously. When anonymizing, please use “Author” or “Authors” as in the examples below and place this alphabetically in the reference list and not where the author’s actual name would typically appear.
For examples of common types of references, consult the APA 7th edition manual, or visit the webpage here: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references
How to Get Help with the Quality of English in Your Submission
Authors who would like to refine the use of English in their manuscripts might consider using the services of a professional English-language editing company. We highlight some of these companies at https://languageservices.sagepub.com/en/.
Please be aware that Sage has no affiliation with these companies and makes no endorsement of them. An author's use of these services in no way guarantees that his or her submission will ultimately be accepted. Any arrangement an author enters into will be exclusively between the author and the particular company, and any costs incurred are the sole responsibility of the author.
Copyright Information
Accepted authors will be asked to assign copyright to AERA, in return for which AERA grants several rights to authors.
Permission to reproduce your own published material
No written or oral permission is necessary to reproduce a table, a figure, or an excerpt of fewer than 500 words from this journal, or to make photocopies for classroom use. Authors are granted permission, without fee, to photocopy their own material or make printouts from the final pdf of their article. Copies must include a full and accurate bibliographic citation and the following credit line: “Copyright [year] by the American Educational Research Association; reproduced with permission from the publisher.” Written permission must be obtained to reproduce or reprint material in circumstances other than those just described. Please review Sage Publishing’s Journal Permissions for further information on policies and fees.
Permission to submit material for which you do not own copyright
Authors who wish to use material, such as figures or tables, for which they do not own the copyright must obtain written permission from the copyright holder (usually the publisher) and submit it along with their manuscript. However, no written or oral permission is necessary to reproduce a table, a figure, or an excerpt of fewer than 500 words from an AERA journal.
Copyright transfer agreements for accepted works with more than one author
This journal uses a transfer of copyright agreement that requires just one author (the corresponding author) to sign on behalf of all authors. Please identify the corresponding author for your work when submitting your manuscript for review. The corresponding author will be responsible for the following:
1. Ensuring that all authors are identified on the copyright agreement, and notifying the editorial office of any changes in the authorship.
2. Securing written permission (by letter or e-mail) from each co-author to sign the copyright agreement on the co-author’s behalf.
3. Warranting and indemnifying the journal owner and publisher on behalf of all co-authors. Although such instances are very rare, you should be aware that in the event that a co-author has included content in his or her portion of the article that infringes the copyright of another or is otherwise in violation of any other warranty listed in the agreement, you will be the sole author indemnifying the publisher and the editor of the journal against such violation.
Please contact the publications office at AERA if you have questions or if you prefer to use a copyright agreement for all coauthors to sign.
The right of reply policy encourages comments on recently published articles in AERA publications. They are, of course, subject to the same editorial review and decision process as articles. If the comment is accepted for publication, the editor shall inform the author of the original article. If the author submits a reply to the comment, the reply is also subject to editorial review and decision. The editor may allot a specific amount of journal space for the comment (ordinarily about 1,500 words) and for the reply (ordinarily about 750 words). The reply may appear in the same issue as the comment or in a later issue (Council, June 1980).
If an article is accepted for publication in an AERA journal that, in the judgment of the editor, has as its main theme or thrust a critique of a specific piece of work or a specific line of work associated with an individual or program of research, then the individual or representative of the research program whose work is critiqued should be notified in advance about the upcoming publication and given the opportunity to reply, ideally in the same issue. The author of the original article should also be notified. Normal guidelines for length and review of the reply and publication of a rejoinder by the original article’s author(s) should be followed. Articles in the format “an open letter to …” may constitute prototypical exemplars of the category defined here, but other formats may well be used, and would be included under the qualifications for response prescribed here (Council, January 2002).
If you or your funder wish your article to be freely available online to nonsubscribers immediately upon publication (gold open access), you can opt for it to be included in Sage Choice, subject to payment of a publication fee. The manuscript submission and peer review procedure is unchanged. On acceptance of your article, you will be asked to let Sage know directly if you are choosing Sage Choice. To check journal eligibility and the publication fee, please visit Sage Choice. For more information on open access options and compliance at Sage, including self author archiving deposits (green open access) visit Sage Publishing Policies on our Journal Author Gateway.