Section
Theory and practice of learning and teaching
Abstract
This Editorial calls for change in the practices of editing in response to a culture of mental ill health in higher education publishing. Through extended review of current practices, this Editorial offers practical opportunities to improve the quality of editors' decision-making processes. This includes a focus on publishing clear and formative editorial positions, a broader acceptance of university style guides and referencing, desk rejection that is timely and supportive, peer review with improved integrity, a more genuine revise and resubmit process, and fostering quality post-acceptance engagement. The significance of this Editorial is in the potential to lead reform in the journal publishing industry to be more supportive and kind while maintaining quality and rigorous production of knowledge.
Practitioner Notes
- The practices of editors needs to change to build a culture of quality knowledge cultivation over blanket desk rejections.
- High quality editorials can provide prospective authors with feedforward advice to apply prior to submitting a manuscript.
- Desk rejections should not be simply generic text responses, and instead take a developmental approach to writing.
- Articles should only go through revise and resubmit if they have the genuine potential to be publishable.
- Editors should take the opportunity to engage with authors and reviewers after articles are published to recognise their contribution.
Recommended Citation
Crawford, J. (2022). On editor decisions: A framework of best practice. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 19(3), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.19.3.01
Twitter Handle
@JoeyCrawf
Agreements
1
