CALL FOR PAPERS: SPECIAL ISSUE ON ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER K-12 EDUCATION

AAPI Nexus: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Policy, Practice and Community

AAPI Nexus is a peer-reviewed, national journal published by UCLA's Asian American Studies Center focusing on policies, practices and community research to benefit the nation's burgeoning Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. The journal's mission is to facilitate an exchange of ideas and research findings that strengthens the efforts through policy and practice to tackle the pressing societal problems facing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Since the inception of ethnic studies, the goal of "serving the community" has been at the heart of Asian American Studies and Pacific Islander Studies.

Previous issues have focused on Community Development, Civil Rights, and Voting. The table of contents and editors' notes can be found at: http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/aascpress/nexuscollection.htm

For 2009, AAPI Nexus will publish two special volumes focusing on issues, challenges and opportunities facing Asian American and Pacific Islanders in K-12 and Higher Education. The first Special Issue on K-12 Education will be published in Winter/Spring 2009. Professor Peter Kiang, University of Massachusetts, Boston, is the consulting Guest Editor working with the editorial staff on this volume. The second Special Issue on Higher Education will be published in Summer/Fall 2009. Professor Mitchell J. Chang, University of California, Los Angeles, is the consulting Guest Editor working with the editorial staff on this volume.

For the K-12 special issue, our objective is to share information and insights to enhance the ability to take action in the areas of advocacy, strategic planning, policy development and programming. Articles on K-12 education may address the following questions, although they are not limited to these:

o How have federal and state-mandated educational policies of the past decade such as high stakes testing requirements, shifts in bilingual education mandates, and support for charter schools affected the educational engagement and outcomes for the most vulnerable segments of Asian American and/or Pacific Islander children, including those in poverty, those with disabilities, and those in urban or rural school districts?

o Given the growth and institutionalization of Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies as a field during the past four decades, what do empirical studies show about the impact of Asian American Studies content in the K-12 curriculum on student learning and development?

o How do shifting transnational contexts for learning about Asia and the Pacific - from access to the internet and the global influence of Asian youth/pop culture to study-travel opportunities and increased funding for Asia-related curriculum and teacher training - influence the perspectives and experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islander students academically and socially in K-12 schools?

o What can be learned from the narratives and trajectories of the small number of Asian Americans and/or Pacific Islanders who have had significant impact on policy and practice in school districts through taking on leadership roles as school superintendents or elected school board members?

o What do syntheses of research and educational practice in community-based settings, such as Headstart, family literacy programs, and heritage language/culture schools reveal about effective approaches and strategies for working with Asian American and Pacific Islander children and families that have been or should be adapted for school-based settings?

If you are interested in submitting a manuscript, please send or email a letter of intent with the title and a very short descriptive paragraph of the proposed paper to the editors for review. If you have a prepared paper, you may also submit the paper at the same time.

We invite academic researchers, practitioners, and community leaders to submit manuscripts. Along with articles based on original research, AAPI Nexus publishes Practitioner's Essays from professionals and community leaders, and Resource Papers that present new statistics on AAPIs or discuss applied research methods. For submission guidelines, please visit: http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/aascpress/pressresources.htm
Click on STYLE SHEET for Article Submissions (PDF Document).

Deadline for Letter of Intent: December 31, 2008.
Deadline for Manuscript Submissions: March 31, 2009.

Earlier submission of a Letter or Manuscript is encouraged. Internet communication is preferred. Please address to Managing Editor Melany Dela Cruz-Viesca & send to AAPI Nexus Journal at:

Melany Dela Cruz -Viesca (nexus@aasc.ucla.edu)
and send an electronic copy to:

Senior Editor Marjorie Kagawa-Singer (mkagawa@ucla.edu)
Associate Editor Don T. Nakanishi (dtn@ucla.edu)
Professor Peter Kiang (peter.kiang@umb.edu)
Professor Mitchell J. Chang (mjchang@gseis.ucla.edu)

For regular mail, send all correspondence to:

Melany Dela Cruz -Viesca, Managing Editor
AAPI Nexus Journal
UCLA Asian American Studies Center
3230 Campbell Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1546