A Culture of Caring: How School–University Partnerships Support Nurturing Pedagogy, Social- Emotional Learning, and Teacher Self-Care
Guest Editors
- René Roselle, Sacred Heart University
- Robin Hands, Sacred Heart University
Overview
The world has been tried and tested in many ways over the last couple of years, with implications for students, teachers, schools, teacher preparation programs, and partnerships. When faced with the disruptions of 2020 and 2021, education needed to reinvent itself — almost overnight. Despite the interruptions, strong school–university partnerships were able to endure the trials and tribulations, and — with strong collaborations and respectful relationships — adapt to the changing conditions. Notable themes that emerged throughout the year were an increased focus on students’ social-emotional learning, nurturing pedagogical practices, educational inequities, and how we are supporting or preparing teachers to do this work.
The global pandemic provided the educational community with both a mirror and a window. As COVID tore through our nation like a tornado, it unveiled a myriad of educational inequities that, as educators, we are morally obliged to address. However, it has also given us new insight into the resilience and courage that educators are capable of bringing to bear on behalf of our nation’s children.
Unfortunately, the pandemic is not the only metaphorical tornado educators are dealing with. We were also beset by the evils of racism and blatantly discriminatory acts directed toward multiple groups of people. All of which means there is much work to be done! As such, we encourage you to think about what all of this means to you, to the communities you represent, and to the future of education. And we hope that you will share your insights with us so that we might learn from one another.
The world has started to take notice of the complexity of the work done by teachers — and their tenacity and dedication to serving students. During the tumult of the last couple of years, teacher preparation programs have continued their commitment to preparing teachers. School–university partnerships have needed to negotiate many moments of ambiguity and disruption, and it appears that many of these partnerships have met the challenges and are stronger than ever.
The theme of this special, online issue of the School-University Partnerships Journal is to celebrate the ways school-university partnerships have thrived, examine the overlapping ideas of nurturing pedagogy, self-care, and social emotional learning, share ideas that address and confront educational inequities, and explore the ways in which school–university partnerships have supported the social emotional health and well-being of all partnership stakeholders.
We believe this issue complements and expands on the topics explored in the previous special issue titled School–University Partnerships in a Time of Crisis.
Proposed topics for this special issue could include, but are not limited to, the following:
Nurturing Pedagogy
- What elements contribute to sustaining a strong partnership during turbulent times? Are there specific actions that can preserve and strengthen these relationships?
- How have school–university partnerships demonstrated resilience?
- How can hope be an intentional teaching practice, and how can it be operationalized in schools and/or in partnerships with teacher preparation programs?
Cultural Awareness and Humility
- How do we create and sustain culturally responsive learning contexts that are inclusive, caring, equitable, and celebrate diversity?
- How do we create safe and supportive spaces and curriculum for LGBTQIA+ students, students of various ethnicities and religions, students with dis/abilities, etc.?
- How do we confront and address policies that continue to promote racism in our schools, our universities, and our communities?
Social–Emotional Learning
- How have school–university partnerships worked together to create a culture of caring?
- How have school–university partnerships worked together to advance social-emotional learning (SEL)?
- Are there specific SEL practices that span both the school and the university and/or were developed as part of a school–university partnership?
Teacher Self-Care
- How have school–university partnerships promoted, supported, and encouraged the self- care of teachers?
- In what ways does a school–university partnership impact teacher satisfaction?
- Can teacher self-care be formalized? In what ways can partnership work ensure that teachers and school leaders are cared about in the same ways that we care about students?
Publication of the Themed Issue
This themed issue will be published in late summer 2022
Submission/Author Guidelines
Articles should be a collaboration between PK-12 school-based staff, students, university faculty, and/or student interns. Authors must identify at least one of the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) !Nine Essentials” addressed by the submission. Article authors do not have to be NAPDS members. Article submission indicates that the authors have not submitted substantially similar reports to any other journal or publication.
Because this will be a fully online issue, we encourage submissions that utilize multimedia approaches. While all articles will be posted as PDFs, if submitters enhance the article, there is an opportunity to include hyperlinks to pertinent information, embedded images, video footage, or other resources. It is the responsibility of the submitters to obtain the necessary consent for any multimedia features used in an article.
For full consideration, articles must be submitted to the Guest Editors by April 15, 2022.
Option One: Longer papers of 2,000 to 3,000 words. Typically, these submissions may include but are not limited to a detailed description of the PDS Initiative.
Option Two: Provides an opportunity for shorter submission of 750 to 2,000 words. The primary purpose of this option is to illustrate the importance of specific efforts of PDS partners.
Both options may include multimedia links.
Submission Guidelines
- 12 pt, Times New Roman font, double spaced
- Follow APA 7 guidelines
- Submissions must be blinded, including a blinded title page and abstract, and a cover page with 30 word biographies for all authors.
Authors will be notified of publication decisions by June 1, 2022
Tentative Schedule for Publication
Proposal Submission
| Call for manuscripts | December, 2021 |
| Provide support for authors via email and video conferencing as needed | January- February, 2022 |
| Meet with authors during NAPDS 2022 Conference for additional support if needed | February, 2022 |
| Submission of full articles | April 15, 2022 |
| Authors will be notified of publication decisions and receive feedback through a double-blind peer review process | June 1, 2022 |
| Final article revisions submitted | July 15, 2022 |
Please submit themed issue articles to roseller@sacredheart.edu and handsr@sacredheart.edu.