New from the IAU: Astronomy Education Journal
Janelle Bailey & Sanlyn Buxner
Astronomy Education Journal Editorial Board Members
The International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Working Group on Astronomy Education Research and Methods recently announced the creation of the Astronomy Education Journal and its first call for papers. Led by coeditors Urban Erikkson and Paulo S. Bretones, managing editor Saeed Salimpour, and an editorial board of a dozen international scholars, this will be an open-access journal that — at least as of right now — has no page or article processing charges for authors.
The intention for the creation of the journal was announced at the first-ever IAU Astronomy Education Conference, held in Garching, Germany, in September 2019. According to the website, “the journal tries to capture the original spirit whilst taking on board the important lessons from the, now out-of-print, Astronomy Education Review.” There will be peer-reviewed sections on astronomy education research as well as an edited and curated (but non-peer-reviewed) section that may include curriculum materials, opinions, announcements, and more.
A submission preparation checklist notes a variety of details to consider. Manuscripts can be submitted in Word, PDF, OpenOffice, RTF, or LaTeX+PDF. Templates are provided in both Word and LaTeX. Submissions are done online via the OJS/PKP platform. As of this blog post’s writing, the journal has received submissions but has not yet published any pieces. The first issue is anticipated in mid-2021, but accepted articles will be posted as they are ready for publication.
We invite and encourage members of the AAS community to contribute astronomy education research studies, theoretical pieces, and innovations. We are excited for AEJ to join other journals that publish astronomy education research, including but not limited to Physical Review Physics Education Research and The Physics Teacher (see our resource page for links). We are happy to answer any questions you might have about the process!