Submissions

Author Guidelines

Manuscripts submitted to Childhood Art must be typed, double-spaced, and have appropriate margins. Manuscripts should be between 5,000 and 8,000 words and include an abstract of 100-150 words. Authors should follow the guidelines detailed in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (2020), available from the American Psychological Association.

All journal manuscripts go through a masked peer review by selected members of the Editorial Review Board of Childhood Art . While most manuscripts go through at least one rewrite, often two, some manuscripts will require more than two rounds. The Editors of Childhood Art may elect to further edit a manuscript prior to publication, but in such cases author permission will be obtained, especially if extensive editorial changes are determined to be necessary. 

Unless otherwise noted on the journal’s website (www.childhoodart.org), Childhood Art welcomes article submissions at any time. Childhood Art uses OJS online management system to facilitate the submission, review, and publication process, with support from University of Arkansas Press. To begin, please create an account and carefully review and follow the author guidelines below:

1. Your submission will be returned without review if you did not follow the submission guidelines. In order to ensure masked peer review, you must remove all author information from the Microsoft Word file submitted to Childhood Art for publication consideration. 
2. If there are multiple authors, the lead author should create an account and submit the manuscript on behalf of other contributing authors. 
3. We do not accept abstract submissions. Please submit your full manuscript for consideration.

Submission Process

There is no charge for submitting and publishing in Childhood Art. All costs related to Childhood Art are supported by University of Arkansas Press and the Center for the Study of Childhood Art.

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance, including the following items:

• Written manuscripts should be in English.
• The submission file is in Microsoft Word. Any supplemental files are in Microsoft Word. Other file formats, including PDFs, are NOT acceptable and will be declined.
• Utilization of graphics, photographs, video streaming, as well as other technologies are welcome.
• Complete contact information for all authors should be supplied on a separate title page file: Name, affiliation, complete street address, e-mail address, phone numbers (the more, the better). Clearly indicate the first-named author or the co-author who will be handling the correspondence and clearing galleys with the editors and associate editors.
• The complete name of the author(s) should be typed only on the separate title page file to ensure anonymity in the review process.
• The main manuscript should have no author names. Information in text or references that would identify the author should be deleted from the manuscript, including both from text citations and the reference list. These may be reinserted in the final draft.
• Childhood Art is a masked peer reviewed journal. To avoid author identification, the author's name should be removed from the document's Properties, which in Microsoft Word is found in the File menu.
• Notes should be typed as footnotes using MS Word footnote function and should be numbered consecutively throughout the article. A reference list contains only references that are cited in the text. Its accuracy and completeness are the responsibility of the author(s). Personal communications (letters, memos, telephone conversations) are cited in the text after the name with as exact a date as possible. Personal communications are not cited in the reference list. Please do not use space bar or hard return (Enter) to format the references.
• Tables, figures, illustrations, and other technologies are accepted. The purpose of tables and figures is to present data to the reader in a clear and unambiguous manner. The author should not describe the data in the text in such detail that illustration or text is redundant. Utilization of graphics, photographs, and video streaming as well as other technologies are welcome. The images may be embedded in the initial submission. However, in addition to the embedded images, all graphics and photographs must be sent in JPEG or GIF format in the final accepted version for publishing. If an image is embedded in the text, indicate the corresponding name of the JPEG (i.e., "Insert Image 1, [name of image] here").
• Once an article has been accepted, all tables, figures, illustrations, and audio/video files should be e-mailed to the assigned associate editor along with the manuscript and an author bio of no more than 100 words. The timeline of the review process varies, but it is our goal to get feedback to authors as quickly as possible.

Note: submissions may be returned to authors who do not adhere to these guidelines.

Because Childhood Art is published electronically, a wider array of representational forms and formats are possible in comparison to what print journals traditionally allow. These include audio, pictorial, and videographic as well as verbal/print. Multi-media formats are especially welcome. Whatever the mode employed, articles should provide important insights into, or suggest provocative questions about, the complexities of art in historical and contemporary childhoods. The originality, educational significance, and technical quality of submissions is paramount to the review and selection processes. 

Childhood Art Welcomes

Research Articles 

Childhood Art welcomes research-based articles from established and emerging scholars whose work advances key issues, ideas, and perspectives related to the artistic, play-based, and aesthetic practices of children and the relationship of this work to historical and contemporary childhoods. Article submissions should be between 5,000 and 8,000 words. Submissions should not exceed 8,000 words.

Book and Media Reviews

Childhood Art welcomes review essays that inform the readership of current works related to the study of childhood art. Book and Media Review submissions should be between 3,500 and 5,000 words. Book and Media Review submissions should not exceed 5,000 words.

Commentaries

Childhood Art welcomes scholarly essays of a conceptual or interpretive nature that offer insights and perspectives calling attention to timely issues and considerations related to childhood art. Commentary submissions should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words. Commentaries should not exceed 5,000 words.

Special Issues

Childhood Art welcomes special issue proposals. All proposals need to include the following items:

1. A brief description of the focus of the proposed special issue, the purpose or aims of the proposed special issue, and the relevance of the proposed special issue to the study of childhood art (500-1000 words).
2. Indication of whether contributors will be pre-selected or developed through an open call. If contributors are pre-selected, a list of contributors should be provided in advance, accompanied by a 100-150-word abstract for each contribution and a 100–150-word bio of each contributor.
3. A detailed calendar outlining the proposed special issue production process.
4. A list of reviewers with knowledge and expertise specific to the special issue’s focus. Members of the Childhood Art Editorial Review Board may also be used in the review process. However, with special issues it is necessary at times to supplement the expertise represented on the Editorial Review Board with external reviewers. Each manuscript must be reviewed by a minimum of two peer reviewers.

While the Editors of Childhood Art will provide a final review of the special issue, the process of assembling and editing the issue will be the responsibility of the guest editors. All proposals should be submitted directly to the Editors for consideration at cschulte.uark.edu. 

Childhood Art’s Research Publishing Ethics Guidelines

As an innovative and leading publisher of research and scholarship, Childhood Art is committed to meeting high standards of ethical behavior at all stages of the publication process. These Guidelines outline the publishing ethics responsibilities of Childhood Art, contributing authors, peer reviewers, and editors. Childhood Art makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in our publications. However, Childhood Art, the Center for the Study of Childhood Art, and the University of Arkansas Press make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors and are not the views of or endorsed by the Center for the Study of Childhood Art or the University of Arkansas Press. The accuracy of the content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Childhood Art, the Center for the Study of Childhood Art, and University of Arkansas Press shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, or other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to, or out of the use of the Content. 

Publication Ethics

Childhood Art takes seriously the process of identifying and preventing the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred. In no event does Childhood Art encourage such misconduct or knowingly allow it to take place. In the event that Childhood Art’s editors or advisory board members are made aware of an allegation of research misconduct, noted allegations will be promptly and appropriately addressed. Childhood Art’s guidelines for retracting or correcting articles when needed is outlined below.

Childhood Art’s editors will consider retractions, corrections, or expressions of concern in line with COPE’s Retraction Guidelines. If an author is found to have made an error, Childhood Art will issue a corrigendum. If the journal is found to have made an error, it will issue an erratum. Retractions are usually reserved for articles that are so seriously flawed that their findings or conclusions should not be relied upon. Journals that publish Accepted Manuscripts may make minor changes such as those which would likely occur during typesetting or proofreading, but any substantive corrections will be carried out in line with COPE’s Retraction Guidelines.