Call for Book Chapters: “Online Education During a Time of Emergency: Conditions, Contexts, and Critiques”

Vernon Press invites book chapter proposals for the forthcoming edited volume, “Online Education During a Time of Emergency: Conditions, Contexts, and Critiques,” edited by Dr. Patricia Marybelle Davies (pdavies@pmu.edu.sa)

The Edited Volume is intended to explore perspectives on online education, especially after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in 2019, to broaden and deepen readers’ understandings of how research might better address academic issues relating to educating online. When the pandemic triggered the disruption of national educational systems and a rapid transition to online education, there were no guidelines on how to proceed; specifically, the role of educational technologies and distinctions between formal and informal learning remained unclear (Greenhow & Lewin, 2016). This Volume will examine how educators adopted new pedagogical practices, adjusted to flexible working environments and tackled new technologies to keep education systems going following the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic. The focus will be on showcasing innovative practices and reflecting on learning theories in online education.

The main objective of the Volume is to provide research-based insights on the contexts and conditions of the emergency transition to online education around the world and useful recommendations for the path forward. There is also the opportunity to discuss online education issues through the critical lens of power and inequality in education systems, to initiate dialogue and provide pathways to potential solutions to problems related to access to online education. This is a vital text that will bring together researchers, technologists, and practitioners in the field of educational technology, and include empirical, theoretical, and methodological articles that address the conditions and contexts of online education, and provides critiques thereof. It is also an opportunity to examine flexible learning, alternate pedagogical practices, and changes in work environments that utilise digital technology. 

Below are several topics being considered for, but not limited to, inclusion in the Volume. The chapters and their organization will depend on the proposals received:

• New or underexplored issues in online education.
• How and why educational institutions foster or impede the success of online education programs.
• The role of educational leaders in online education programs.
• Transitioning to online education.
• Institutional readiness for online education.
• Digital divides, inequalities, and asymmetries of access to online education.
• Promising alternatives and transformational educational possibilities in online education.
• Student voices and student disruptive uses of online learning technologies.
• Examinations of progress and backwardness in online education.

This Volume will contribute in a timely and significant manner to reflecting on the recent global health and education emergency, which caused a complete temporary shutdown of education and has prompted changes in national educational systems. Educators have had to grapple with teaching and learning online during the global pandemic over the past two years. With over 500 million people having been infected with the coronavirus COVID-19 and over 6 million dead (World Health Organization, 2022; Worldometer, 2022), now is the ideal time to evaluate the lessons learned and explore the potential of online education in a post-pandemic era.

Deadlines for consideration:

• Submission of abstract: August 31, 2022
• Chapter draft: December 31, 2022
• Peer review: March 31, 2023
• Final chapter draft: June 30, 2023

Submission Details for Chapter Manuscripts: 

• Abstract Length: 800-1,000 words
• Author Bio Length: 250-300 words
• Manuscript Length: 6,000-8,000 words (including notes)
• Referencing system: Chicago Manual of Style
• Choice of regional language: American or British English
• Submission: All correspondence should be sent to the volume editor, Dr. Patricia Marybelle Davies, at pdavies@pmu.edu.sa

Vernon Press provides an Open Access option for monographs and chapters of edited volumes to be published in journals under the Creative Commons Licenses.