Journal of Educational Sociology

Journal of Educational Sociology is a peer-reviewed periodical focusing on the sociological study of Harvard University, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley and comparative institutions. Founded amid interwar debates involving John Dewey, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Thorstein Veblen and contemporaries, the journal has published empirical and theoretical work on schooling, stratification, policy and institutional change. Its articles have intersected with research from Chicago School, Functionalist theory, Conflict theory, Symbolic interactionism and contributions by figures associated with Radcliffe College, Teachers College, Columbia University, Barnard College and Brookings Institution.

History

The journal emerged during the late 1920s when debates linked scholars from Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, Yale University, University of Michigan, Northwestern University and University of Wisconsin–Madison around issues of schooling and social mobility. Early editors corresponded with public intellectuals at New School for Social Research, London School of Economics, University of Paris, University of Leipzig and University of Göttingen and published work that engaged with the legacies of Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, Karl Marx, Alexis de Tocqueville and Herbert Spencer. During the postwar era the journal featured empirical studies tied to initiatives at Carnegie Corporation, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, RAND Corporation and policy debates in United States Department of Education, often responding to landmark events such as the GI Bill, Brown v. Board of Education and the expansion of public research universities. In later decades scholarship in the journal intersected with research programs at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Toronto, McGill University and Australian National University and with international conferences hosted by UNESCO, OECD, World Bank and Council of Europe.

Scope and Content

The journal publishes research across topics including social stratification, cultural capital, school choice, curriculum politics, teacher labor markets, quantitative and qualitative methods, and comparative systems. Contributors have drawn on traditions affiliated with Pierre Bourdieu, James Coleman, Paul Lazarsfeld, Robert Merton, Talcott Parsons, C. Wright Mills and Annette Lareau. Empirical work has used data sources linked to National Center for Education Statistics, Programme for International Student Assessment, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, General Social Survey, Panel Study of Income Dynamics, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health and administrative datasets from New York City Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools and provincial systems such as Ontario Ministry of Education. The journal also publishes theoretical essays that dialogue with scholarship from Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Nancy Fraser, Iris Marion Young and activists from National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers and advocacy networks like Teach For America.

Editorial Board and Publication Details

Editorial leadership has included scholars with appointments at institutions such as Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and Teachers College, Columbia University. The board typically comprises elected members from American Educational Research Association, American Sociological Association, European Sociological Association, Sociological Association of Ireland and regional associations like Association for Asian Studies and African Studies Association. Publication frequency has ranged from bimonthly to quarterly, with special issues guest-edited by scholars affiliated with centers including Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Russell Sage Foundation, Spencer Foundation and research groups at Max Planck Institute for Human Development. The journal uses double-blind peer review and adheres to ethical guidelines modeled on codes from Committee on Publication Ethics and institutional review practices at major universities.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed in major bibliographic services and citation databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, JSTOR, ERIC, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, Sociological Abstracts, Social Sciences Citation Index, Google Scholar and specialist datasets curated by ICPSR. Library cataloging records exist in holdings of institutions including Library of Congress, British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and national repositories in Canada, Australia, Germany, France and Japan. Its metadata are harvested into aggregators run by consortia like HathiTrust, CrossRef and Project MUSE.

Impact and Reception

The journal has been cited widely in policy debates involving Brown v. Board of Education, No Child Left Behind Act, Every Student Succeeds Act and international reforms promoted by OECD and World Bank. Seminal articles have influenced scholarship by authors associated with Harvard Kennedy School, London School of Economics, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and think tanks including Brookings Institution and Urban Institute. Citation metrics recorded in Journal Citation Reports and listings in Scimago Journal Rank reflect steady influence within the sociology of institutions and comparative studies. Critical reception has addressed debates over methodological pluralism, engagement with race and class scholarship linked to W.E.B. Du Bois, Patricia Hill Collins, bell hooks, Angela Davis and transnational critiques by scholars from University of Cape Town, University of Melbourne and National University of Singapore.

Category:Academic journals