August 23, 2017
New Prairie Press publishes peer-reviewed education journal
A digital publication for teacher research in existence for nearly two decades is now being published by K-State Libraries' New Prairie Press.
"Networks: An Online Journal of Teacher Research" recently released its first edition edited and published at K-State. Suzanne Porath, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education, served as co-editor, and was named editor of the peer-reviewed journal in 2015. The publication was founded in 1998 by Gordon Wells at OISE/University of Toronto. Catherine Compton-Lilly edited/hosted the journal at the University of Wisconsin, Madison from 2006-2016.
Porath was introduced to New Prairie Press in fall 2016 when she joined the K-State faculty and believes this hosting site offers many advantages.
"The new format provides for stronger analytics and social media ties for the authors of the articles," she said. "Because it is open access, the stories and research of classroom teachers, education students and higher education instructors will be accessible to a broad audience to improve teaching and learning across subject areas and grade levels. I am thrilled to have this resource at K-State."
Porath thanked the staff at the Center for the Advancement of Digital Scholarship for their phenomenal work in updating the journal and transitioning the content to the new platform.
The peer-reviewed journal's mission has not changed in 19 years, even though it has transitioned to new hosting sites. According to the focus statement, "This journal offers a place for sharing reports of action research, in which teachers at all levels, kindergarten to postgraduate, are reflecting on classroom practice through research ventures. It also provides space for discussion of other ways in which educational practitioners, alone or in collaboration, use inquiry as a tool to learn more about their work with the hope eventually of improving its effectiveness. We do not envisage a journal in which the contributions will necessarily be reports on studies that have already been completed; there is much to be said for reports of work in progress that can open up areas of discussion and interchange of experiences and ideas that will benefit all involved."
To view the current edition, please visit newprairiepress.org/networks.