4-Trans Special Issue

2024-09-20

Exploring the “4-Trans” in Bi/Multilingual Teacher Education: Transnationalism, Transculturalism, Translanguaging, and Transdisciplinarity

Special Issue Call for Papers

In today’s world, there are instances of simultaneity and heterogeneity in how we identify ourselves and our world, and how we engage with that complex, multilingual world. The explorations and conceptualization of translanguaging (Andrei et al., 2020; Li Wei, 2018), transnationalism (Kasun & Mora-Pablo, 2022), transculturalism (Loh, 2022), and transdisciplinarity (Gibbs, 2017) have contributed to understanding the multidimensionality and complexity of individuals and communities beyond national boundaries. Political, social, historical, and economic forces are delivering a world that calls for an exploration and understanding from a “trans” perspective that emphasizes intersectionality and integration without separation, bringing to the forefront the multidimensionality and flexibility of social processes (Donahue, 2016). Inspired by the “4-trans,” the present call for articles is anchored on current academic discussions that confront monolithic conceptions of bilingual/multilingual teacher education.

In response to the culturally and linguistically diverse contexts of today’s classrooms, this special issue aims to contribute to current discussions on bilingual/multilingual teacher education frameworks and practices as explained, questioned, challenged, or proposed through one or more, as well as the intersection, of the “4 trans” lenses identified above.  Moreover, we seek manuscripts that challenge rigid approaches to bilingual/multilingual teacher education and share perspectives and/or explorations that transcend monoglossic, monocultural, monodisciplinar, and fixed notions of national identity in the development of bilingual/multilingual educators. In this way, we encourage submissions that address the complexities of bilingual and multilingual teacher education in any of the following areas:

  • Ways in which a multidimensional perspective could inform teacher preparation as it applies to transnationalism, transculturalism, translanguaging, and/or transdisciplinarity in different sociohistorical and cultural contexts.
  • Theoretical approaches to transcultural, transnational, translingual, and/or transdisciplinary research and practice in bi/multilingual teacher preparation and teacher development.
  • Disruptive approaches to multilingual teacher education which focus on any of the intersections of the 4-trans. Specifically, we invite submissions that go beyond superficial discourses of inclusion that challenge current mainstream discourses in multilingual education.
  • Examinations of practices and approaches regarding multilingual teacher preparation that draw from the “4 trans” in relation to education content, modalities, rural/urban contexts, and/or socioeconomical factors, etc.
  • Empirical studies that are informed by the intersection of translanguaging, transnationalism, transculturality, and/or transdisciplinarity.

Guided by the above description, the International Journal of Multicultural Education (IJME) welcomes scholars to read the guidelines stated below and submit manuscripts that offer research findings based on original studies employing predominantly qualitative methodologies; innovative qualitative methodologies; pedagogical reflections; literature reviews; and theoretical pieces utilizing and/or examining the “4 trans” described above.

IJME Submission Guidelines

  1. Register first with the IJME (ijme-journal.org) if you are not a registered user. Please ensure that you have checked the “author” option in your profile.
  2. Follow the IJME submission guidelines (https://ijme-journal.org/index.php/ijme/about/submissions) available from the website. Use the article template when preparing your manuscript (https://tinyurl.com/IJME-Template). Manuscripts not following the submission guidelines will not be reviewed.
  3. Submit your manuscript directly to the website. In addition, submit the author ethical checklist (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oikNpwfyy9TK7VqeLJIBb3PM23EGBeQ7/edit) as a separate supplementary document and complete the metadata of your manuscript, as instructed in the journal’s submission webpage, by July 30, 2024.

IJME Selection Process of Manuscripts

  1. Manuscripts will be judged on their strength and relevance to the theme of the special issue and should be aligned with the multicultural education mission of IJME.
  2. Manuscripts should not have been previously published in another journal, nor under consideration by another journal at the time of submission.
  3. Each manuscript will be prescreened by special issue editors for its general fitness to the special issue. Next, prescreened manuscripts will be subjected to a double-blind review by a panel of reviewers with expertise in the area. Those manuscripts recommended by the panel of experts will then be considered for final acceptance.

Recommended Timeline

  • July 30, 2024: Manuscript Submission Deadline.
  • October 30, 2024: Revision Request Decision by Special Issue Editors
  • November 30, 2024: Author Revision Deadline
  • December 30, 2024: Final Acceptance Decision
  • April 2025: Publication of the Special Issue (depending on IJME’s publication dates).