Author Guidelines

Submissions to Focus on Exceptional Children are by invitation only.

Writing For Focus on Exceptional Children

Articles published in Focus on Exceptional Children are typically 25 to 60 pages in length, including cover page, abstract, references, tables and figures. Manuscripts should be double spaced with 1-inch margins and size 12 font type per the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition, 2010 (APA) guidelines.

Focus on Exceptional Children is a scholarly research journal.  Its articles are read by a broad audience. This includes international, national, state, and local policy makers, local school and district leaders, practitioners, and family members. Therefore, articles submitted for Focus on Exceptional Children are reviewed, accepted, and edited with this broad audience in mind.  

Avoid educational jargon.   Each article must be clear, providing enough substantive information to ground readers in the perspectives used to analyze issues or address questions.  Narratives must include the approach to understanding the topic, the procedures for analysis, and the basic findings.  Recommendations and implications are required. 

Manuscripts may be solicited or submitted for review.  The following manuscript requirements apply.

Manuscript Requirements

Manuscripts submitted to Focus on Exceptional Children are reviewed only if they meet the following criteria:

  • Manuscript is consistent with the purpose of the journal and is between 25–60 pages including all references, tables, and figures.
  • Manuscript conforms to APA format (see Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition, 2010), particularly:
    • Manuscript is double spaced, Microsoft Word, with 1-inch margins (size 12 font type preferred).
    • All pages are numbered in sequence, starting with the title page. Note: The uploaded manuscript should include a title page and abstract but you must remove the author(s) name from the manuscript due to the blind review process.
    • Titles and headings are bold.
    • Digital object identifiers (DOIs) must be included in the reference list. Below is the link to the CrossRef site where authors can look up a DOI number for a reference.  http://www.crossref.org/guestquery/
    • Language in the manuscript making reference to disabilities and other characteristics of individuals must conform to the “person first” recommendations outlined in General Guidelines for Reducing Bias (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition, pp. 71–77).
    • Reproductions of figures (rather than professionally prepared figures) may be submitted for the review process (APA exception for submission).
    • Effect size information is provided for quantitative studies.
    • All references in text are listed and in complete agreement with text citations. It is important that the journal articles and references to studies that are cited in the articles reflect the most current work (preferably within the last 10 years)—except when it is a classical or seminal work.
    • Article title should not exceed 12 words.
    • Abstract is not more than 150 words long. It is included in the submitted manuscript and uploaded separately on the portal site.
    • Footnotes are not used.
    • All word processing codes (including those that may identify authors) are removed from the electronic version of the manuscript for apostrophes, quotation marks, hyphens, and so forth.

Cover Letter Requirements

  • Clearly state the purpose of the article and its expected contribution.
  • Indicate that you are the author, or the authorized agent of the author(s) and copyright holder (if different from the author(s)), that the author(s) have approved the work for publication, have agreed to submit the article, and accept full responsibility for the content of the article.
  • Acknowledge that the article is the author(s)’ original work and does not contain any libelous or unlawful statements or infringe on the rights or privacy of others or contain material or instructions that might cause harm or injury.
  • State that the article has not been previously published, is not pending review elsewhere, and will not be submitted for review elsewhere pending the completion of the editorial decision process at the journal.
  • Indicate if any part of the data on which the article depends has been published elsewhere or is part of another manuscript submitted for publication. Authors must also indicate if the data for their study is part of a larger data set, describing how this study differs from other investigations drawn from the same data set. If either situation exists, the author needs to provide a thorough explanation.
  • Report that the author(s) have received approval by the appropriate Institutional Review Boards for all participating agencies and obtained consent and assent when appropriate.
  • Include contact information for all authors (full name, institution, address, phone number, e-mail address).
  • State that if accepted, authors agree to grant exclusive license to publish to FOEC

Submission Process and Requirements

All manuscripts should be submitted to the journal editor copied to the member of the editorial board with whom the author has been working.

REVIEW PROCESS

Selection of manuscripts for publication is based on a blind peer review process; however, all manuscripts are screened first by the editors. Those manuscripts that do not meet all the manuscript requirements, or that are not consistent with the purpose of the journal, are not forwarded for peer review. In such cases, the submitting author is notified that the manuscript is not acceptable for Focus on Exceptional Children, or is requested to make changes in the manuscript so that it meets requirements.

Manuscripts that are consistent with the purpose of the journal and meet all requirements are assigned two or more reviewers to evaluate the manuscript. Reviewers are asked to evaluate the manuscript on its overall importance, quality of the work, and clarity of writing. Reviewers will not know the identity of the authors. While under review (until authors receive word of a decision from Focus on Exceptional Children), the journal has exclusive options on possible publication. The manuscript should not be submitted elsewhere during this time.

After reading and evaluating the manuscript and the reviews, the editors will e-mail the submitting author a written decision and the reviews. The decision will be one of the following:

  • Acceptable, with routine editing.
  • Acceptable, with revisions indicated.
  • Revise and resubmit.

Decisions on manuscripts submitted to Focus on Exceptional Children will be made within 3 months from the time that they are received by the editors. Once a manuscript is received, the date is recorded and the submitting author is notified by e-mail.

AUTHOR RESPONSIBILITIES FOLLOWING PUBLICATION ACCEPTANCE

  • After a manuscript is accepted for publication in Focus on Exceptional Children, the authors are responsible for completing the following:
    • Acknowledging the funding agency for supported research.
    • Verifying the authenticity of all quoted material and citations and for obtaining permission from the original source for quotes in excess of 150 words or for tables or figures reproduced from published works.
    • Preparing camera-ready black and white copies of all figures included in the article. Obtaining permission to reprint or adapt previously published figures, tables, and other materials.
    • Signing the contributor agreement.

Submission Checklist

  1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  2. The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
  3. Where available, DOIs for the references have been provided.
  4. The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points.
  5. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in the About menu.
  6. If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.
  7. Once an article has been accepted, the author must agree to the terms in the Publication Agreement.

Copyright Notice

The articles in Focus on Exceptional Children are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial-NoDerivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) license.