Journal of Curriculum Studies publishes original, refereed contributions to the theory and practice of, and policy-making for, curriculum, teaching, and the assessment of schooling. The primary focus is on schools and the curriculum of teacher education, but papers in any area where the curriculum is researched and debated are welcomed. In keeping with its international character, the Journal of Curriculum Studies especially welcomes articles which extend the perspectives of curriculum beyond national boundaries.

Journal of Curriculum Studies publishes papers reporting research studies, critical essays, case studies and essay reviews.

Further information about the journal including links to the online sample copy and contents pages can be found on the journal homepage

Submitting a paper to Journal of Curriculum Studies

Please read these Guidelines with care and attention: failure to follow them may result in your paper being delayed during the review and/or production processes. Note especially the referencing conventions used by the Journal of Curriculum Studies and the requirement for gender-, race-, and creed-inclusive language.

Journal of Curriculum Studies considers all manuscripts on the strict condition that they have been submitted only to Journal of Curriculum Studies that they have not been published already, nor are they under consideration for publication, nor in press elsewhere. Authors who fail to adhere to this condition will be charged all costs which Journal of Curriculum Studies incurs, and their papers will not be published.

All submissions should be made online at Journal of Curriculum Studies's Manuscript Central site. New users should first create an account. Once a user is logged onto the site, submissions should be made via the Author Centre.

Authors should prepare and upload two versions of their manuscript. One should be a complete text, while in the second all document information identifying the author(s) should be removed to allow them to be sent anonymously to referees. When uploading files authors will then be able to define the complete-text version as "File not for review":

• Authors should include a biographical note of approximately 50 words (see below).
• Manuscripts should be double-spaced throughout, including the reference section.
• Authors should include telephone and fax numbers as well as e-mail addresses on the cover page of manuscripts.
• Manuscripts should not exceed 10,000 words.

Electronic Processing

We welcome figures sent electronically, but care and attention to these guidelines are essential as importing graphics packages can often be problematic.

• Figures must be saved individually and separate to text. Please do not embed figures in the paper file.
• Do not use colour and tints in figures.
• Figures should be produced as near to the finished size as possible.
• All figures must be numbered in the order in which they appear in the paper (e.g. figure 1, figure 2). In multi-part figures, each part should be labelled (e.g. figure 1(a), figure 1(b)).
• Figure captions must be saved separately, as part of the file containing the complete text of the paper, and numbered correspondingly.
• The filename for the graphic should be descriptive of the graphic, e.g. Figure1, Figure2a.
• Files should be saved as one of the following formats: TIFF (tagged image file format), PostScript or EPS (encapsulated PostScript), and should contain all the necessary font information and the source file of the application (e.g. CorelDraw/Mac, CorelDraw/PC).

Please note that it is in the author's interest to provide the highest quality figure format possible. Please do not hesitate to contact an executive editor of Journal of Curriculum Studies if you have any questions.

Code of experimental ethics and practice

Contributors are required to follow the procedures in force in their countries governing the ethics of work done with human subjects. The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) represents a minimal requirement.

Specific permission for facial photographs is required. A letter of consent must accompany the photographs of individuals in which a possibility of identification exists. It is not sufficient to cover the eyes to mask identity.

Contributors are required to secure permission for the reproduction of any figure, table, or extensive (more than fifty word) extract from the text, from a source which is copyrighted -- or owned -- by a party other than Taylor & Francis or the contributor.

This applies both to direct reproduction or 'derivative reproduction' -- when the contributor has created a new figure or table which derives substantially from a copyrighted source.

The following form of words can be used in seeking permission:

Dear [COPYRIGHT HOLDER]

I/we are preparing for publication an article entitled

[STATE TITLE]

to be published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Journal of Curriculum Studies.

I/we should be grateful if you would grant us permission to include the following materials:

[STATE FIGURE NUMBER AND ORIGINAL SOURCE]

We are requesting non-exclusive rights in this edition and in all forms. It is understood, of course, that full acknowledgement will be given to the source.

Your prompt consideration of this request would be greatly appreciated.

Yours faithfully

Biographical notes

Biographical notes should be presented as follows:

Ian Westbury is a professor of curriculum & instruction in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 390 Education Bldg, 1310 S. Sixth St., Champaign, IL 61820, USA; e-mail: westbury@uiuc.edu. His interests center on curriculum theory and policy-making. He is editor (with G. Milburn) of Rethinking Schooling: Twenty-five Years of the Journal of Curriculum Studies (London: Routledge, 2007).

In the case of second, etc. authors, mailing and e-mail addresses are not included in the biographical statements.

Abstracts

Abstracts are required for all papers, following the title and author's name and address, preceding the main text.

For papers reporting original research, state the primary objective and any hypothesis tested; describe the research design and your reasons for adopting that methodology; state the methods and procedures employed, including where appropriate tools, hardware, software, the selection and number of study areas/subjects, and the central experimental interventions; state the main outcomes and results, including relevant data; and state the conclusions that might be drawn from these data and results, including their implications for further research or application/practice.

Abstracts should be approximately 200 words.

Abstracts should be followed by 4--5 keywords, preferably drawn from the ERIC Thesaurus, see www.eric.ed.gov.

Notes on style

Please write clearly and concisely, stating your objectives clearly and defining your terms. Your arguments should be substantiated with well reasoned supporting evidence. In writing your paper, you are encouraged to review articles in the area you are addressing which have been previously published in Journal of Curriculum Studies and where you feel appropriate, to reference them. This will enhance context, coherence, and continuity for our readers.

All authors are asked to take account of the diverse audience of Journal of Curriculum Studies. Clearly explain or avoid the use of terms that might be meaningful only to a local or national audience. However, note also that Journal of Curriculum Studies does not aspire to be international in the ways that McDonald's restaurants or Hilton Hotels are 'international'; we much prefer papers that, where appropriate, reflect the particularities of each education system.

Some specific points of style for the text of articles, research reports, case studies, reports and essay reviews follow:

1. Journal of Curriculum Studies prefers US to 'American', USA to 'United States', and UK to 'United Kingdom'.

2 . Journal of Curriculum Studies uses conservative British, not US, spelling, i.e. colour not color; behaviour (behavioural) not behavior; [school] programme not program; [he] practises not practices; centre not center; organization not organisation; analyse not analyze, etc.

3. Single 'quotes' are used for quotations rather than double "quotes", unless the 'quote is "within" another quote'.

4. Punctuation should follow the British style, e.g. 'quotes precede punctuation'.

5. Punctuation of common abbreviations should follow the following conventions: e.g. i.e. cf. Note that such abbreviations are not followed by a comma or a (double) point/period.

6. Dashes (M-dash) should be clearly indicated in manuscripts by way of either a clear dash (—) or a triple hyphen (---), (N-dash) should be indicated with a clear dash (-) or a double hyphen.

7. Journal of Curriculum Studies is sparing in its use of the upper case in headings and references, e.g. only the first word in paper titles and all subheads is in upper case; titles of papers from journals in the references and other places are not in upper case.

8. Apostrophes should be used sparingly. Thus, decades should be referred to as follows: 'The 1980s [not the 1980's] saw ...'. Possessives associated with acronyms (e.g. APU), should be written as follows: 'The APU's findings that ...', but, NB, the plural is APUs.

9. All acronyms for national agencies, examinations, etc., should be spelled out the first time they are introduced in text or references. Thereafter the acronym can be used if appropriate, e.g. 'The work of the Assessment of Performance Unit (APU) in the early 1980s ...'. Subsequently, 'The APU studies of achievement ...', in a reference ... (Department of Education and Science [DES] 1989a).

10. Brief biographical details of significant national figures should be outlined in the text unless it is quite clear that the person concerned would be known internationally. Some suggested editorial emendations to a typical text are indicated in the following with square brackets: 'From the time of H. E. Armstrong [in the 19th century] to the curriculum development work associated with the Nuffield Foundation [in the 1960s], there has been a shift from heurism to constructivism in the design of [British] science courses'.

11. The preferred local (national) usage for ethnic and other minorities should be used in all papers. For the USA, African American, Hispanic, and Native American are used, e.g. 'The African-American presidential candidate, Jesse Jackson...' For the UK, African-Caribbean (not 'West Indian'), etc.

12. Material to be emphasized (italicized in the printed version) should be underlined in the typescript rather than italicized. Please use such emphasis sparingly.

13. n (not N), % (not per cent) should be used in typescripts.

14. Numbers in text should take the following forms: 300, 3000, 30,000. Spell out numbers under 10 unless used with a unit of measure, e.g. nine pupils but 9 mm (do not introduce periods with measure). For decimals, use the form 0.05 (not .05).

15. When using a word which is or is asserted to be a proprietary term or trade mark authors' must use the symbol ® or ^TM or alternatively a footnote can be inserted using the wording below:

This article includes a word which is or is asserted to be a proprietary term or trade mark. Its inclusion does not imply it has acquired for legal purposes a non-proprietary or general significance, nor is any other judgement implied concerning its legal status.

Notes on tables and figures

Artwork submitted for publication will not be returned and will be destroyed after publication, unless you request otherwise. Whilst every care is taken of artwork, neither the Editor nor Taylor & Francis shall bear any responsibility or liability for non-return, loss, or damage of artwork, nor for any associated costs or compensation. You are strongly advised to insure appropriately.

1. Tables and figures should be referred to in text as follows: figure 1, table 1, i.e. lower case. 'As seen in table [or figure] 1 ...' (not Tab., fig. or Fig).

2. The place at which a table or figure is to be inserted in the printed text should be indicated clearly on a manuscript:

Insert table 2 about here

3. Each table and/or figure must have a title that explains its purpose without reference to the text.

4. All figures and tables must be on separate sheets and not embedded in the text.

Thus tables and figures must be referred to in the text and numbered in order of appearance. Each table should have a descriptive title and each column an appropriate heading. For all figures, original copies of figures should be supplied. All figures should allow for reduction to column width (7.5cm) or page width (16 cm). Photographs may be sent as glossy prints or negatives. The legends to any illustrations must be typed separately following the text and should be grouped together.

Mathematics

Special care should be taken with mathematical scripts, especially subscripts and superscripts and differentiation between the letter 'ell' and the figure one, and the letter 'oh 'and the figure zero. If your keyboard does not have the characters you need, it is preferable to use longhand, in which case it is important to differentiate between capital and small letters, K, k and x and other similar groups of letters. Special symbols should be highlighted in the text and explained in the margin. In some cases it is helpful to supply annotated lists of symbols for the guidance of the sub-editor and the typesetter, and/or a 'Nomenclature' section preceding the 'Introduction'.

For simple fractions in the text, the solidus / should be used instead of a horizontal line, care being taken to insert parentheses where necessary to avoid ambiguity, for example, I /(n-1). Exceptions are the proper fractions available as single type on a keyboard.

Acknowledgements

Any acknowledgements authors wish to make should be included in a separate headed section at the end of the manuscript. Please do not incorporate these elsewhere.

Essay reviews

1. The following header material should appear in all reviews in the following order (note also the punctuation):

The book reviewed here is James P. Spillane and John B. Diamond (eds), Distributed Leadership in Practice (Teachers College Press, New York, 2007), x + 193 pp., $64.00 (hbk), ISBN 978-0-8077-4807-7, $29.95 (pbk), ISBN 978-0-8077-4806-0.

2. Page references within reviews should be given as follows: (p. 337) or (pp. 36--37).

Citations in text

References should be cited using the author-date, or Harvard, system.

1. 'Ibid.' (and the like) are not used when repeating citations. Simply repeat the original citation verbatim, e.g. (Orwell 1945).

2. Citations should be included in prefatory material to quotes (wherever possible) rather than placing them at the end. Thus, for example, 'Orwell (1945: 23) reduces the principles of animalism to seven commandments, namely, ...' is preferred to 'Orwell reduced the principles of animalism to seven commandments, namely, ... (Orwell 1945: 23)'.

3. Multiple citations within parentheses should be divided by a comma, not a semi-colon, and there should be no use of '&' within such multiple references. References to works published in the same year should be cited as, e.g. (Smith 1991a, b).

4. Multiple citations within a text should be ordered alphabetically by first author's name, e.g. (Brown 1955, 1958a, b, Green 1995, Jones and Bower 1934, Smith 1902 ).

5. 'et al.' should used in all references within the text when a paper or book has three or more authors, but note that all names should be given in the reference itself.

6. Page spans in references should be given in full, e.g. 'Sedgewick (1935: 102-103; emphasis added) outlines them as follows:'.

References

Journal of Curriculum Studies uses the following conventions for references:

1. To a book:

Reid, W. A. (2006) The Pursuit of Curriculum: Schooling and the Public Interest (Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing).

Westbury, I. and Milburn, G. (eds) (2007) Rethinking Schooling: Twenty-five Years of the Journal of Curriculum Studies (London: Routledge).

Dewey, J. (1956) [1902] The School and Society (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).

2. Reference to a chapter in a book:

Hamilton, D. (2007) Adam Smith and the moral economy of the classroom system. In I. Westbury and G. Milburn (eds), Rethinking Schooling: Twenty-five Years of the Journal of Curriculum Studies (London: Routledge), 26--47.

Stodolsky, S. (1989) Is teaching really by the book? In P.W. Jackson and S. Haroutunian- Gordon (eds), From Socrates to Software: The Teacher as Text and the Text of the Teacher. 89th Yearbook, Part 1, of the National Society for the Study of Education (Chicago: NSSE), 159--184.

3. Reference to an article in a journal:

Crocket, M. D. (2007) The relationship between teaching and learning: examining Japanese and US professional development. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 39 (5), 609--621.

4. Technical reports and unpublished literature

Burnham, C.A. and Anderson, T.H. (1991) Learning to sew on a button by reading a procedural text. CSR Technical Report, No. 543, Center for the Study of Reading, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. ERIC ED 332 157.

Clark, C.M. and Lampert, M. (1985) What knowledge is of most worth to teachers? Insights from studies of teacher thinking. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing). ERIC ED 266 109.

5. Reference to a newspaper or magazine

Richards, H. (1996) Republican lite? The Times Higher Education Supplement, 1 November, 16.

6. Reference to an Internet source

Give the universal resource locator in full as follows:

Available online at: http://acsinfo.acs.org/instruct/instruct.html, accessed November 8, 2007.

7. Reference to a personal communication

Brannen, J. (1996) Personal communication.

8. Reference to a case in law

In text, italicize names of plaintiffs and defendants:

Miranda v. Arizona 1974

9. Reference to government legislation

US Congress, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (1956) The Mutual Security Act of 1956, 84th Congress, second session, report 2273.

US Congress, House Committee on Banking & Currency (1945) Bretton Woods Agreements Act: Hearings on HR 3314, 79th Congress, first session, report 452.

United Kingdom Parliament, Committee on the Working of the Monetary System [Radcliffe Committee] (1960) Principal Memoranda of Evidence, vol. 2, Cmd 1958.

United Nations General Assembly, Secretariat for Economic Affairs (1951) Methods of Financing Economic Development in Less Developed Countries, report II B 2.

Contacting the Editors:

Ian Westbury (General editor), Department of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 390 Education Building, 1310 S. Sixth Street Champaign, IL 61820, USA

E-mail: westbury@uiuc.edu

Robert Boostrom (Executive editor), Department of Teacher Education, University of Southern Indiana, 8600 University Blvd, Evansville, IN 47712, USA

Andrew Stables (Executive editor), Department of Education, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK

Free article access

Corresponding authors will receive free online access to their article through our website (www.informaworld.com) and a complimentary copy of the issue containing their article. Reprints of articles published in this journal can be purchased through Rightslink® when proofs are received. If you have any queries, please contact our reprints department at reprints@tandf.co.uk