Call for Papers: Special Issue on Student Leadership in Self-Access

Call for papers. SiSAL Journal is planning to publish a special issue on student leadership in self-access in December 2017 (Volume 8, Issue 4) edited by Kevin Knight, Jo Mynard, and Erin Okamoto. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: September 10th, 2017.

Information for potential contributors

The editors take view that language learner autonomy and self-access learning can be applied  to other areas of students’ lives and not just the process of language learning. Equally, by engaging in leadership roles, learners take charge of not only aspects of their lives but also their language learning. Further, we believe that a Self-Access Learning center (SALC) can and does promote student leadership development. Until now the bodies of work on language learner autonomy / self-access and on student leadership have taken two separate academic paths, yet there are benefits for combining the two fields. A closer examination of the literature alongside an investigation of how leadership is conceptualized in self-access learning could shed light on our understanding of language learner autonomy. In this special issue, we hope to explore the two overlapping fields by featuring contributions from different contexts and perspectives. One such perspective may be where self-access learners are engaged in leadership roles. These roles might include students working or volunteering in a SALC, students organizing events, or students taking charge of other aspects of SALCs. Another perspective may be how self-access learning makes it possible for individual students or groups of students to achieve shared visions or create social change. A third perspective may be how self-access learners conceptualize leadership.  Finally, how do SALC leaders’ conceptualizations of  leadership and self-access learning influence SALC design and operations?

The editors invite submissions from colleagues who are involved in facilitating or researching leadership in self-access learning. The papers can be research papers, theoretical papers, and/or practical papers. Themes may include (but are not restricted to):

1. Theoretical principles for promoting student leadership in self-access settings.
2. Empirical studies related to leadership in self-access settings.
3. Practical and/or reflective case studies and examples of student leadership in self-access settings.
4. Discourses and conceptualizations of student leadership (e.g. Knight, 2015)
5. Organizational structures for student leadership in self-access.
6. Leadership, identity and the development of learner autonomy.
7. Learner autonomy for achieving shared visions and movements (i.e., social change) with a focus on leadership.
8. The influence of SALC student leaders’ conceptualizations of leadership on SALC operations.
9. The SALC as a means of promoting student leadership development.
10. Other topics related to leadership and self-access learning (please check with us first).

This special issue may publish the following:

1. Research papers (around 4000 words)
2. Summaries and works in progress (around 2000 words)
3. Descriptions of practice and practical applications based on research (up to 3500 words)
4. Perspectives (opinions and reflections) (around 2000 words)
5. Reviews of events, academic books, articles, and learning resources (around 2000 words)

Submissions will follow the usual blind peer review process. Please refer to the following page for a detailed description of submission types and format:

https://sisaljournal.org/for-authors/submission-guidelines/

Deadline for submissions: September 10th, 2o17.

Articles can be submitted via the usual channels outlined on the SiSAL Journal website: https://sisaljournal.org/

References

Knight, K. (2015). Analysing the discourses of leadership as a basis for developing leadership communication skills in a second or foreign language. Sydney, AU: Macquarie University.