As Children & Schools marks its 50th anniversary in 2028, this special issue interrogates the issues, voices, and knowledge that have been marginalized or excluded from the profession. Over five decades, the profession has generated a significant body of scholarship, but dominant narratives have not always fully captured the lived realities and tensions experienced by students, families, and practitioners situated at the margins of community life. This issue invites manuscripts that illuminate underrepresented perspectives or overlooked aspects of the profession’s development and practice while also provoking reflection on its directions toward a more just, equitable, and inclusive path forward.

Manuscripts should explore how power, intersecting identities, and systems shape educational issues, experiences, and school social work practice. The special issue editors welcome scholarship that elevates counternarratives, community knowledge, and perspectives that have historically remained absent or have been silenced in the profession. In commemorating the 50th anniversary of the journal, articles are encouraged to critically examine the field assumptions, practices, and priorities while imagining new possibilities for transformative change not only in schools and communities but also among students and their families. Contributions should be grounded in critical, transformative, or social justice perspectives.

The submission deadline is January 31, 2027. Authors who are uncertain about the relevance of their proposed manuscript can email Dr. Kevin Tan, Editor-in-Chief (kevintan@illinois.edu). To prepare your manuscript, follow guidelines at https://naswpress.org/children-schools-information-for-authors. Please submit the manuscript through the online submission portal (https://cs.msubmit.net; initial registration required) and indicate it is intended for this special issue.

To view this call for papers in PDF format, click here.