Young Exceptional Children (YEC) Journal Editor (September 2024 – June 30, 2028) Request for Applications
- Division for Early Childhood (DEC)
- Jul 31, 2024
- 1 min read
The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children is recruiting an editor for the Young Exceptional Children (YEC) journal to serve a 4-year term beginning September 2024. The YEC Editor provides the overall leadership of the journal. As such, the YEC Editor sets the tone and vision for the journal, keeping in line with DEC’s overall mission and purpose. The YEC Editor manages all the day-to-day logistics and operation of the journal. The current YEC editor is Dr. Angel Fettig.
Members representative of the diversity of DEC membership are encouraged to apply, including race, ethnicity, culture, language, dialect, age, ability, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion/spirituality, and national origin. We seek representation of geography, organizations, agencies, universities, and experience. Applicants should be knowledgeable about the DEC Mission and Policies (including the Priority Issues Agenda), and Racial Equity Point of View. Individuals will be required to be current DEC members or to join DEC.
About YEC
YEC offers articles related to the application of research into daily practice that address early interventions/early childhood special education for infants and young children with special needs and their families. Early intervention/early childhood special education is broadly defined as services and supports that facilitate the development of infants and young children who have special needs or who are at risk for developmental delays/disabilities. All articles must have a strong evidence-base and be written in a way that readers can readily apply them in “real world” settings.
Duties and Responsibilities
The YEC editorial duties include the following
Establish Team:
Select a managing editorial team to include at a minimum, one managing editor and three associate editors following DEC RE:POV recruitment procedures.
Select a review board of standing reviewers following DEC RE:POV recruitment procedures.
Manage Review Process
Coordinate receipt and processing of manuscripts submitted for publication consideration via the SAGE online submission system.
Monitor the entire review process including assigning manuscripts to associate editors or reviewers, supporting associate editors and reviewers, ensuring that timeframes are maintained, and providing communication with authors is timely.
Provide advice to associate editors and reviewers about editorial issues that may arise in the review process.
Prepare Issues
Assemble accepted manuscripts and other articles (e.g., Message from the DEC Board, DEC Announcements, and Resources within Reason).
Obtain and maintain appropriate releases of copyright, artwork, and photos.
Review all articles and photographs for accuracy as well as potential libel or slander.
Oversee the copyediting and proofreading of manuscripts with support from the editorial team, authors, and SAGE Publications.
Provide final editorial comments and changes prior to the journal going to press or digital release.
Provide final approval for articles, photos, design, and layout of each issue.
Interact with SAGE as publisher
Become familiar with the SAGE publication process.
Communicate regularly with SAGE Publications to discuss issues, plans, and other business related to YEC.
Address Additional Responsibilities
Recruit authors and articles for submission with assistance from SAGE Publishing.
Promote YEC together with SAGE publishing
Collaborate with DEC Executive Office, Executive Board, and other appropriate committees, workgroups, or task force to ensure the journal’s ongoing alignment with DEC’s organizational mission, vision, Racial Equity Point of View,and priority issues agenda.
Develop proposals, reports, and other information requested by DEC, SAGE, and other relevant stakeholders.
Generate ideas for new ways of doing things, such as initiate new columns, use of new technology and social media, and implement ways to increase readership.
Conduct an annual meeting of the YEC Editorial Board.
Resources provided by DEC to the Editor
SAGE provides for management of the review process by sending out and tracking reviews.
SAGE provides copyediting for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style consistent with the style and format adopted by DEC for YEC; checks references for style; codes text for electronic delivery; prepares the manuscript and digital files for composition; and prepares artwork; typesets, formats, and composes pages into page proofs.
SAGE provides support in terms of analytics, marketing, manuscript tracking, and production to editors.
SAGE provides an annual summary of journal performance that will highlight usage, circulation, marketing initiatives, and manuscript processing information.
SAGE provides ad-hoc reports for citation activity, marketing, usage, and circulation.
SAGE provides support in terms of consulting on matters of ethics, and legal advice.
DEC provides the YEC journal editor annually with complimentary DEC Conference registration and an editor stipend is available for travel costs.
Qualifications
The YEC journal is an important resource and voice for our field and thus, it is critical that the next editor is poised to take a leadership role in building its impact and visibility.
You are likely a great fit if . . . | You are likely not a great fit if. . . |
You are a member of DEC (or willing to become a member) and have knowledge, expertise, and/or lived experiences in the issues, trends, and recommended practices for serving infants and young children with disabilities and their families. | Your background and experiences to date are somewhat related to serving infants and young children with disabilities and their families, but have mostly been in the general education field or with older students/populations. |
You have a passion and vision for building and extending YEC’s visibility and impact. You are interested in investigating strategies that may be new to DEC and/or EI/ECSE, but are prevalent and known to be effective in increasing impact and visibility of a journal. | You are pleased with how YEC currently is disseminated and see no need to investigate additional options/approaches. |
You have relevant experience in serving as a reviewer, editor, and/or in a related capacity in terms of professional publication(s). | You are thinking this would be something good to put on your vitae but have little experience with journals or the publication process. You currently serve as editor on another publication. |
You have 10-15 hours per week to devote to YEC. | You are already somewhat overcommitted and would not be able to make YEC a priority. |
You enjoy working collaboratively with others who reflect the diversity of the field, raising the voice of those not always represented including families, persons with disabilities, and practitioners, and feel you are organized, good at delegating, and bringing out the best in others. | You prefer to work alone, are not particularly good at delegating, and struggle with staying organized. You think DEC currently reflects all voices including underrepresented voices of the field and members. |
As a DEC leader, selected editor(s) commit to supporting all DEC guidance to include the DEC mission, ends, priority issues agenda, position statements, and racial equity point of view. In relation to journal work, selected editors commit to the following:
DEC provides explicit and accessible pathways to publication and product development for practitioners, families, and those most directly harmed by structural racism and ableism and incentivizes the same.
DEC prioritizes exploratory, participatory design, and other manners of centering those DEC serves in the research driving its creation of publications and products and broadens what we consider rigorous research.
DEC provides explicit and consistent guidelines for authors, editors/associate editors, and peer reviewers to ensure that advancing equity, diversity, social justice, and inclusion are attended to in the publication/peer review process to increase accessibility, particularly for practitioners and families.
DEC requires that editors, associate editors, and guest reviewers and editors of publications demonstrate a commitment to continually building their own and their team’s equity capacity, and their commitment to centering equity in their work.
DEC maintains clear, open, and transparent processes for recruitment of editors, editorial boards, and reviewers.
DEC maintains a review process that examines the rigor of study design and includes specific criteria that focus on inclusion, equity, and community engagement in the study.
DEC is committed to creating and maintaining open and no-cost access to publications and products and provides multiple print and online resources to fulfill this commitment.
Application Requirements
For full consideration, applicants should submit the following items:
Letter of application in which the applicant states:
interest in the position;
how they meet each of the listed qualifications and their vision for YEC;
description of the resources available to the editor to facilitate the management and preparation of YEC (e.g., office space; reduction in load if in full time position; graduate student or other staff support).
Current Curriculum vitae.
A letter from the dean or other appropriate supervisor indicating institutional support.
Three (3) letters of reference from individuals who have knowledge of the applicant’s ability to fulfill the duties of the YEC editor.
Submit application materials and letters of reference using the YEC Editor Application form here. All materials must be received by Friday, August 30th, 2024. Each applicant will receive an acknowledgement of material receipt. Applicants will be notified of the decision in September 2024. The goal is to have the new editor in place by Monday, September 15th, 2024.
Questions
Questions about the search process and position may be directed to Peggy Kemp, peggy@dec-sped.org.
