Journal on Education in Emergencies
(concept note)
This concept note outlines a proposal for the establishment of a Journal on Education in
Emergencies (EiE).1
In the past 15 years, the EiE field has grown tremendously, evidenced by the increasing number
of MA students choosing to specialize in EiE; increasing number of tools and resources to
support EiE policy and practice;2 increasing number of EiE researchers and publications on the
topic; exponential growth of INEE membership;3 and the global use of the INEE Minimum
Standards as a benchmark of quality and accountability in EiE programs and policies. Today, EiE
has been well established as a sub-field within education, and this sub-field is likely to see a
growth in rigorous research in the coming years.
This scholarly, peer-reviewed Journal4 is set up in response to the growing need for rigorous EiE
research to strengthen the evidence base, support EiE policy and practice, and improve learning
in and across service-delivery organizations, policy and academic institutions. This Journal will
create synergies among research, policy and practice. Moreover, the Journal will close a gap
existing in the academic space: currently, there is no Journal dedicated to this topic.5 With over
13 years of experience, INEE is well-positioned to facilitate EiE knowledge generation and
sharing through this Journal, thus contributing to the further professionalization of the EiE field.
See some examples of articles appropriate for this Journal below.
This initiative contributes to the goal and objective 2 of the Strategic Plan for the INEE Working
Group (WG) on Minimum Standards and Network Tools, namely to “facilitate research,
evaluation and knowledge-sharing on good practices in education in emergencies informed by
1
INEE is thankful for the guidance and advice on this concept note received from the INEE WG-MS, WG-Education
and Fragility, SG members, current and former Editors of leading Journals, including Comparative Education
Review, 43 anonymous survey respondents and other INEE partners. In developing the concept note, INEE
surveyed the leading Journals on education for processes, procedures, lessons learned and set-up. The Journal
concept is part of the broader strategy of the INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards and Network Tools to
support tertiary teaching and learning on education in emergencies.
2
The INEE Toolkit, the go-to place for EiE tools and resources, features over 800 documents. Visit
toolkit.ineesite.org to access these tools and resources.
3
In 2001, INEE members numbered just a few hundred. In mid-2013, INEE members are over 9,500 and it is
estimated that INEE membership will reach 10,000 by end of 2013.
4
INEE and the Editor can consider other Journal titles: e. g. Journal on Education in Emergencies Policy and
Practice. Final decision on the title will be determined by the Editor and INEE in consideration of advice from the
Editorial Board.
5
In developing this concept note, INEE conducted a mapping study of the level of EiE articles in existing, wellrespected Journals and reviewed the EiE to determine that there is no Journal that specifically focuses on this field.
1
the INEE Minimum Standards and network tools.” It also contributes to the achievement of
outcomes 2 and 3 of the overall INEE Strategic Plan.6
The establishment of the Journal on Education in Emergencies contributes to broader strategy
and efforts by the INEE WG to strengthen the EiE evidence base and to support university-level
teaching and learning on EiE.
Purpose:
The Journal on Education in Emergencies aims to:
1) To stimulate research to build the evidence-base and the collective knowledge around
EiE. A scholarly journal dedicated to EiE could validate the importance of rigorous
scientific research in the field and elevate the EiE community’s standards for, and
expectations of, how research and scholarship is conducted. This will contribute to the
further professionalization of the EiE field.
EiE practitioners and policy-makers often use the argument that EiE is life-saving: this
Journal could stimulate the rigorous investigation of the argument so that future EiE
programming, policy-making and funding allocation can be backed up by data. Intersectoral linkages, i.e., the interactions between education, health, shelter, protection,
nutrition and WASH sectors, is also a very under-researched area, albeit with great
potential to increase cross-fertilization and collaboration among sectors during
humanitarian response.
2) To promote learning across service-delivery organizations, policy and academic
institutions. Journal articles will inform a better quality, results-driven EiE policy and
practice, based on application of the learning shared through the Journal. This Journal
would provide a much-needed space within academic literature for practitioners, policymakers and academics to share EiE research and engage in dialogue with each other.
The Journal would form a platform to foster increased linkages between diverse actors
engaged in EiE.
3) To help to define research gaps and key trends as a way to inform policy, practice and
future research.
In a recent survey of 43 EiE practitioners and policy-makers, 92% of the respondents indicated
that the Journal would be helpful and useful for their work because it would keep them up-todate on current developments and research on EiE; 85% said that the Journal would identify
new EiE trends that they would need to address in their work; and 65% said that the Journal
would encourage them to document their work and share with the EiE community; and 61%
indicated that the Journal would encourage them to design and implement evidence-informed
EiE program and policies.
Journal Focus:
6
See INEE Strategic Plan, page 15-16.
2
The focus of this Journal is Education in Emergencies. According to the INEE Minimum
Standards, education in emergencies is defined as “quality learning opportunities for all ages in
situations of crisis, including early childhood development, primary, secondary, non-formal,
technical, vocation, higher and adult education. Education in emergencies provides physical,
psychosocial and cognitive protection that can sustain and save lives.”
The scope of EiE research appropriate for this Journal is conceptualized broadly to cover many
areas of EiE including emergency education response in natural disasters, conflict/fragile states
and complex emergencies, conflict sensitive education, attacks on education, education for
peacebuilding, peace education, conflict mitigation, education and fragility, resilience, disaster
risk reduction and education, transitions from emergency through recovery to development,
and forced migration and education.
The Journal welcomes EiE articles within the entire continuum of prevention, preparedness,
response, recovery through to development.
In addition, articles linking EiE with thematic/cross-cutting issues are also appropriate. These
include gender and gender-responsive education, inclusive education, human rights, conflict
mitigation, HIV/AIDS, inter-sectoral linkages, protection, psychosocial support, youth &
adolescents, early childhood development, and disaster risk reduction. Other topics include
benefits in investing in EiE, EiE program administration challenges (surge staffing, roster
funding), meta-analyses of cross-cutting issues, capacity building and collaboration with local
populations for education delivery, and curricula (revision, renewal, history and identity-issues).
The Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the Editorial Board may decide to broaden the Journal
focus and can select specific topics related to EiE as the focus of special editions. Final language
describing the Journal’s focus and mission will be developed by the Editor and incorporate the
advice of the Editorial Board.
Editions & Contents:
This journal will be published online twice a year.7 Each Journal edition will feature 5-6 peerreviewed articles written by researchers and practitioners in the field of EiE.
The three proposed Journal sections are:
1) EiE Research Articles (Section 1): articles in this section will have solid research
methodology/ research design, use an explicit, well-recognized theoretical or
conceptual framework, and contribute to the evidence-base and the advancement of
knowledge on EiE. Articles that develop a new, or challenge existing EiE theoretical or
conceptual frameworks will also be considered. Qualitative, quantitative research and
mixed-methods articles are appropriate. It is envisioned that articles in this section will
be mainly authored by researchers.
2) EiE in Practice (Section 2): articles in this section will demonstrate progress and/or
challenges in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating EiE policies and
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The Editor-in-Chief in consultation with INEE and the Editorial Board may decided that there are sufficient,
excellent-quality articles to warrant more than two editions a year.
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programs. Articles on the development and applications of tools and resources on EiE
and articles exploring linkages between EiE and traditional humanitarian sectors will
also be considered. It is envisioned that articles in this section will be authored by
practitioners or practitioner-and-researcher teams.8
3) EiE Book Reviews (Section 3): articles in this section will offer a critical review of a
recently published or an upcoming book ( or substantial studies, evaluations, metaanalyses, documentaries or other media) focusing on EiE. Due to the small number of
published EiE books, this section may not appear in each edition.
Abstracts of all articles in each Journal edition will be translated in Arabic, French, Spanish and
Portuguese to ensure knowledge sharing across the broader INEE membership.
Peer Review Process:
All articles will be peer-reviewed through a double blind process.9 Each article will be reviewed
by at least 3 peer reviewers, qualified to evaluate a manuscript on the given topic. For this
purpose, INEE will establish and facilitate a roster of Peer Reviewers and their areas of expertise
and employ the necessary system to ensure that Peer Reviewers are reviewing articles without
knowledge of the authors’ names. Peer Reviewers should have experience in EiE research
and/or practice and be able to evaluate the rigor of the used research methods, the evidence
presented, and the validity of the argument. As much as possible, INEE will strive to ensure that
the roster includes peer reviewers from the global South. In a recent survey, 75% of the
respondents indicated that they are interested in serving as peer reviewers for this Journal.10
Peer reviewers may generally take 4+ hours to review a manuscript and write feedback
comments.
A well-recognized software system to facilitate the double-blind peer review process, called
PeerTrack or an equivalent, will be employed. This software is already used by a number of
existing Journals.
The peer review process will be facilitated by the Editor-in-Chief with an administrative and
coordination support from INEE Secretariat.
EiE Research Manuscripts (Section 1) will be judged on the following criteria: use of an explicit
theoretical or conceptual framework, situation of the research within relevant body of
literature, originality of the analysis, appropriateness of the used methodology and
methodological approach, contribution to the advancement of knowledge in EiE, and clarity of
expression.11
EiE in Practice Manuscripts (Section 2) will be judged on the following criteria: usefulness of the
tools or resources shared to the broad EiE community, evidence of the potential for scaling up
8
Articles for this section will include those that examine quality EiE programming as well as EiE programming that
is poor, problematic or faces challenges so that readers could learn from past mistakes in EiE programming.
9
Double-blind review process means that the manuscript author does not know who the peer reviewers are, and
the peer reviewers do not know who the author is.
10
See annex 1 for a list of the area of expertise for the survey respondents who indicated interest in serving as
peer reviewers.
11
Criteria will be finalized by the Editor-in-Chief.
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of good practice, clarity of expression.12
EiE Book Review Manuscripts (Section 3) will be invited directly by the Editor-in-Chief. (This is
standard practice for the Comparative Education Review and other well-respected journals).
Readers, authors, and publishers can suggest books for review by emailing the Editor-in-Chief
directly.
In a recent survey, 29% and 41% of the respondents indicated that they are very likely and
somewhat likely to submit their manuscripts for consideration to this Journal.
Journal Access:
INEE would provide free online access to the Journal’s content to ensure that all readers can
easily access the scholarly work. The Journal will be hosted on the INEE Toolkit whose existing
search engine can facilitate readers’ search for Journal articles on specific topics. In addition,
the Journal will be accessible through the main INEE website.
The Journal will be available in pdf format only. INEE may eventually make the Journal available
in hard copy, funding permitting. As an intermediate step, while full funding is not yet available,
INEE may consider printing and distributing a 2-page summary of the articles featured in the
edition, similar to the current cost-saving practice for some open-access Journals and
publications. Funding will be required for printing and mailing of the Journal.13
Abstract summaries will be translated in all INEE languages (Arabic, French, Spanish,
Portuguese) by the INEE Language Community Facilitators in order to ensure access to
information to all INEE members. If a special edition focuses on a country or region, INEE will
try to make the edition available in the local language(s), funding permitting.
INEE will make the Journal articles accessible through JSTOR and other recognized academic
search engines and citation indexes.14 All Journal editions will be issued an ISSN number, by the
Library of Congress. In addition, the Journal will be available through the Directory of Open
Access Journals: http://www.doaj.org/.
Journal Promotion:
The Journal will be promoted widely to the broad EiE community and beyond, using various
channels to carry out electronic, printed and in-person promotion at conferences, trainings and
other events. Possible channels for e-promotion of each Journal edition include:
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INEE listserv (9,000+ subscribers)
Education Cluster listserv
Global Partnership for Education listserv
12
Ibid.
Once the Journal is established and has gained a wide readership, INEE could explore the idea of paid Journal
subscription as a revenue-generating opportunity. Until there is a well-established readership, it is best to offer the
Journal freely available and accessible online. Alternatively, INEE could also explore the option of offering free
internet-access to the Journal’s content, but charging those wishing to buy a hard copy.
14
Some possibilities include: Google Scholar, Social Sciences Citation Index ® (SSCI), JSTOR, SCIRUS, Cornell
University Library, and Scientific Commons etc.
13
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Coalition for Basic Education listserv
Sphere listserv
CPWG listserv
Mental Health in Conflict listserv
Forced Migration Review listserv & hard copy distribution
OCHA
UNGEI listserv
OSF listserv
PCDN network
UNICEF Education Chiefs of Section distribution list
USAID Education staff distribution list
Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack listserv
INEE social media channels (YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter)
In addition, INEE could host a table at international education/humanitarian conferences,
including the next CIES, UKFIET, USAID-Education, INEE Global Consultation conferences, to
promote the Journal and/or secure a panel dedicated to the launch of the Journal, as
appropriate. The Editor and INEE team will explore additional channels for promotion outside
the Global West.
Additional promotion ideas (funding & capacity permitting):
Following each Journal edition, 1-2 article authors will be invited to synthesize the key
outcomes and findings of their research papers in a short 1-page INEE blog piece and/or 5-min
interview for INEE’s YouTube channel/podcast as a way to promote discussion of their article
and, by extension, generate interest in the Journal.
Target Audience:
This Journal would be of interest to EiE practitioners, policy-makers, students, researchers and
academics. Journal articles would be of interest also to colleagues working in traditional
humanitarian sector response, peacebuilding and development sectors.
Journal articles will allow professors teaching EIE at the tertiary levels to include scholarly
articles in their syllabi, thus significantly strengthening the teaching and learning of EiE.
INEE Partnership with a Leading University:
For the development and running of the Journal, INEE will partner with a leading EiE professor
from a university with an established focus on researching and teaching EiE. Such a partnership
leverages the coordination and networking expertise of INEE as well as the Professor’s scholarly
knowledge of the EiE field and the ability to establish the Journal as a well-respected peerreviewed Journal and set its direction.
By partnering with INEE, the university contributes with:
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Time and effort of a Professor who will serve as the Editor-in-Chief for a 2-year tenure;
the university is expected to give the professor a “release-time” of one course per
semester to lead the Journal
 (if possible) financial support for the operations of the Journal
INEE could also consider co-branding the Journal to include both the University and INEE’s
logos.
INEE has not pre-selected an Editor. All interested candidates will be invited to apply. The
position will be advertised on the INEE Jobs page in August-September 2013. A selection
committee will review all applications.
Staffing:
The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board, and the work they do to establish the Journal and to
secure quality articles from top-notch researchers that contribute to the EiE field, will impact
how the Journal is viewed and perceived in the field.
1) Editor-in-Chief: he/she decides whether a submitted manuscript will be published in the
Journal, keeping in mind recommendations from the peer reviewers. Responsibilities
include selecting books for review and soliciting book reviewers; contributing editorial
pieces; editing manuscripts approved for publication; providing manuscript authors with
constructive, detailed feedback; determining the topic/theme of special editions;
collaborating with the INEE Coordinator and the Editorial Board on policies, procedures etc.
The Editor-in-Chief will have a 2-year tenure, producing 3-4 editions.
The Editor-in-Chief should meet the following criteria: significant contribution to the EiE
field (measured in number of articles published in peer reviewed Journals; number of
citations for such articles etc); previous experience in editing Journals; ability to solicit paper
manuscript submissions from top researchers. His/her credentials should be recognizable
and viewed as high enough status to give the Journal the needed stature.
The Editor-in-Chief is expected to be granted a “release-time” equal to one course per
semester or per year from his/her university. The Editor must have a Ph.D./Ed.D. in
education or related fields. Please refer to the TOR for more details.
2) INEE Coordinator for Minimum Standards & Network Tools: The INEE Coordinator will
serve as the Managing Editor and will ensure the smooth process of running the Journal—
from putting out the call for articles through to the release of each edition. Responsibilities
include keeping the roster with peer reviewers up to date; helping to secure at least 2
reviewers for each article; coordinating communications of comments, edits and feedback
with the authors; supervision of interns; management of the production process (graphic
design, printing, article translation); management of promotion campaigns etc.
3) Editorial Board: the Editorial Board will consist of over 10 members, including established
researchers and members from the INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards, INEE
Working Group on Education and Fragility, INEE Working Group on Education Cannot Wait
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Advocacy, INEE Steering Group and INEE Secretariat.15 Editorial Board members should
have a Ph.D., Ed.D. or MA in Education or related fields. They should demonstrate a track
record of EiE scholarly publications, contributing to the knowledge base of the EiE field, or
extensive experience in EiE programming and policy-making.
Responsibilities include helping the Editor-in-Chief set the Journal’s policy; making decisions
on the topics/themes of special editions; recruiting submissions and advising particularly
strategies to encouraged manuscript submissions from the global South; identifying
potential books for review etc. The Editorial Board will add more visibility to the Journal
and contribute to the establishment of the Journal as a host of scholarly work on EiE.
Editorial Board members will have a 2-year tenure, with half of the members rotated out
every year. Please refer to the TOR for more details.
4) Interns: he/she supports the smooth process and coordination of calls for submissions,
submissions, communications with peer reviewers, communications with authors and
production (graphic design, printing etc). Responsibilities include cross-checking facts,
spelling, grammar, references, writing style, design pages and photos, and checking
citations. Interns will be managed by the INEE Coordinator.
5) Guest Editors: occasionally, the Editor-in-Chief may invite Guest Editors from other
established Journals (Disasters, Comparative Education Review etc) to facilitate the call for
proposals and selection of articles on particular thematic issues, such as nutrition, WASH,
shelter, protection, psychosocial support, human rights etc. Responsibilities include
reviewing articles submissions, providing feedback and supporting the Editor-in-Chief with
final decisions of selected manuscripts.
6) INEE Language Community Facilitators (or external translators): each edition will include
translations of all abstracts of the articles included in that edition in Arabic, French,
Portuguese and Spanish. These translations will be done by the LCFs or external translators,
funding permitting. LCFs will also be crucial to the process of promoting the Journal to nonEnglish audience and promoting manuscript submissions from the Global South.
Examples of Scholarly Articles Appropriate for the Journal (in alphabetical order):
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Apple, Michael W. 2002. “Patriotism, Pedagogy, and Freedom: On the Educational
Meanings of September 11.” Teachers College Record 104 (8): 1760-1772.
Betancourt, Theresa S., Stephanie Simmons, Ivelina Borisova, Stephanie E. Brewer,
Uzo Iweala, and Marie de la Soudière. 2008. “High Hopes, Grim Reality: Reintegration
and the Education of Former Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone.” Comparative Education
Review 52 (November): 565-587.
15
It is advisable that future Editors-in-Chief (each Editor’s tenure is 2 years) be part of the Editorial Board in order to get
familiar with the editorial process.
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Burde, Dana. 2012. “Assessing Impact and Bridging Methodological Divides: Randomized
Trials in Countries Affected by Conflict.” Comparative Education Review 56 (August):
448-473.
Burde, Dana. 2004. “Weak State, Strong Community? Promoting Community
Participation in Post-Conflict Countries.” Current Issues in Comparative Education, 6(2):
73-87.
Davies, Lynn, and Christopher Talbot. 2008. “Learning in Conflict and Postconflict
Contexts.” Comparative Education Review 52 (November): 509-518.
Dicum, Julia. 2008. “Learning, War, and Emergencies: A Study of the Learner’s
Perspective.” Comparative Education Review 52 (November): 619-638.
Hromadžić, Azra 2008. “Discourses of Integration and Practices of Reunification.”
Comparative Education Review 52 (November): 519-540.
Jones, Adele. 2009. “Curriculum and Civil Society in Afghanistan.” Harvard Educational
Review 79 (March): 113-122.
Kagawa, Fumiyo. 2005. “Emergency Education: a critical review of the field.”
Comparative Education 41 (November): 487-503.
Mendenhall, Mary A. 2012. “Education sustainability in the relief-development
transition: Challenges for international organizations working in countries affected by
conflict.” International Journal of Educational Development.
Niens, Ulrike and Marie‐Hélène Chastenay. 2008. “Educating for Peace? Citizenship
Education in Quebec and North Ireland.” Comparative Education Review 52 (November):
519-540.
Oh, Su‐Ann and Marc van der Stouwe. 2008. “Education, Diversity, and Inclusion in
Burmese Refugee Camps in Thailand.” Comparative Education Review 52 (November):
589-617.
Preston, Rosemary. 1991. “The Provision of Education to Refugees in Places of
Temporary Asylum: some implications for development.” Comparative Education 27(1):
61-81.
Silova, Iveta, Mark S. Johnson, and Stephen P. Heyneman. 2007. “Education and the
Crisis of Social Cohesion in Azerbaijan and Central Asia.” Comparative Education Review
51 (May): 159-180.
Sobe, Noah W. 2009. “Educational Reconstruction ‘By the Dawn’s Early Light’: Violent
Political Conflict and American Overseas Education Reform.” Harvard Educational
Review 79 (March): 123-131.
Waters, Tony and Kim LeBlanc. 2005. “Refugees and Education: Mass Public Schooling
without a Nation-State.” Comparative Education Review 49 (May): 129-147.
Wessel, Margit Van, and Ruud Van Hirtum. 2013. "Schools as Tactical Targets in Conflict:
What the Case of Nepal Can Teach Us." Comparative Education Review 57 (February): 121.
Winthrop, Rebecca and Jackie Kirk. 2008. “Learning for a Bright Future: Schooling,
Armed Conflict, and Children’s Well-Being.” Comparative Education Review 52
(November): 639-661.
Survey:
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http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VMM9MHG
Questions for the Editor and Editorial Board:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Strategy for encouraging manuscript submission from the Global South
Strategy for ensuring peer reviewers from the Global South are included in the Roster
Final decision on the title
Ensuring that the Journal crosses the line of the humanitarian vs development divide
Addressing longer term issues (post-recovery) of education
Strategy to avoid reinforcing the practitioner / researcher / policy-maker /donor divide
Strategy to ensure a double-blind process, given the size of the EiE community?
Do we need an internal review of submissions to gage whether manuscripts are ready
for peer review process?
9. Do we need to consider a separate Book Editor? This is usually time-consuming, but it
may not be necessary given the relatively low number of books published on the topic.
Contact:
For more information on this concept note or funding ideas, please contact Tzvetomira Laub,
INEE Coordinator for Minimum Standards and Network Tools, at tzvetomira@ineesite.org.
Annex 1. Survey results on peer review area expertise.
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