Submissions

This page is designed to help you ensure your submission is ready for and fits the scope of the journal.

Before submitting you should read over the guidelines here, then register an account (or login if you have an existing account).

About

The Journal of Movement Arts Literacy informs the international movement arts literacy communities of the latest inquiry in pedagogy, theory, application, practice, and research of human movement having literacy as a tool to investigate, analyze, or frame understanding. This forum encourages practitioners, theorists, and researchers to test hypothetical and theoretical premises and share their ideas and discoveries for the benefit of the movement literacy community. The outcome goal of the Journal of Movement Arts Literacy is to provide a venue of critical reflection for communities of practice toward further understanding and development of theory and praxis.

For purposes of this journal, the term movement literacy has a broad multi-dimensional meaning that supports the exchange of text/symbolic–based information about movement. As much as embodied knowing differs from other ways of knowing, movement literacy is not just about re-presenting movement in text/symbolic–based forms, but it involves the art and science of knowing, making meaning, understanding, and communicating about human movement. Movement literacy involves the embodied experience and a set of cognitive skills of reading (i.e. interpreting, reflecting on, interrogating, theorizing, investigating, exploring, probing, and questioning) and writing (i.e. acting on and dialogically transforming) the world of movement arts and the applied practices and situated applications of active, broad-based processes of creating and interpreting in order to communicate qualitative and quantitative analysis of human movement arts.

Focus and Scope

The Journal of Movement Arts Literacy informs the international movement arts literacy communities of the latest inquiry in pedagogy, theory, application, practice, and research of human movement having literacy as a tool to investigate, analyze, or frame understanding. This forum encourages practitioners, theorists, and researchers to test hypothetical and theoretical premises and share their ideas and discoveries for the benefit of the movement literacy community.

The outcome goal of the Journal of Movement Arts Literacy is to provide a venue of critical reflection for communities of practice toward further understanding and development of theory and praxis.

FEATURE ARTICLES (Essays or Research) – These papers must be original essays or research of international relevance and include a clear research methodology and/or application and analysis of movement arts literacy. Papers should be aimed to be approximately 8000 words, including References. Standard headings should be used for the type of paper being submitted. For example, for qualitative research, here are example headings: Introduction, Literature Review (or) Theory Perspective, Research Design and Method, Findings, Discussion, Conclusion, Appendices, and References. For quantitative research, here are example headings: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Literature Cited, Appendices, and References. For essays, use headings that are appropriate for the type of essay and subject. Contact editors if you need assistance. To help focus the writing of your article, CLICK HERE FOR GUIDELINES FOR WRITING FOR JMAL.

PRACTITIONER'S PERSPECTIVE – These articles provide a platform for individuals to present their personal ideas and views on the direction and application of movement arts literacy and are about your creative application. They may be written in a "how I do it" format using an action research approach, for example, select a teaching-learning focus, support with theory, identify teaching-learning questions, gather your data, analyze your data, report your results, discuss how you will take informed action in future teaching. Headings will vary from article to article. Those with asterisks are required: Introduction*, Relevant Literature or brief background information about literacy*, Stance of the Educator, Setting and Participants*, How you developed the Course/Unit/Lesson/Project, Description of Pedagogical Innovation*, Implementation/Application*, Expected Learning Outcomes*, Assessments; Lesson Plan/Project Application Description*, Teaching-Learning Reflections*, Challenges and Strengths, Relationship to National Dance Standards, Discussion*, Conclusion*, Future Recommendations. Contributions should be about 4000 words. References should be included if you aim to support claims, assertions, and quotations. Please also provide a Lesson Plan or Project Plan that summarizes the step-by-step guidelines for how to implement your approach. A sample Lesson Plan/Project Plan template is included in the “Guidelines for Writiting for JMAL pdf. To help focus the writing of your article, CLICK HERE FOR GUIDELINES FOR WRITING FOR JMAL.

BOOK/SCORE/ONLINE SOURCE REVIEWS – Book/Score/Online Source reviews are assigned by the Editor, but individuals wishing to review a particular source may submit an inquiry to the Editor. The heading should include name of author(s) or editor(s), Book/Score/Online Source title (italicized), place of publication, name of publisher, year of publication, number of pages, cloth/paperbound/online, and price. Reviews should be scholarly in orientation, and approximately 1200 to 1500 words in length.

Submission Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
The submission file is in Microsoft Word.doc or docx file format.
Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the "Manuscript File Submission Instructions."
If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.editor

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see "The Effect of Open Access").

Peer Review

JMAL Review Policy: The practice of peer review is to ensure that only high quality scholarly writing is published. Our reviewers play a vital role in maintaining the high standards Journal of Movement Arts Literacy (JMAL), and all manuscripts are peer reviewed following the procedure outlined below.

Initial manuscript evaluation: The Editor first evaluates all manuscripts. It is rare, but it is possible for an exceptional manuscript to be accepted at this stage. Manuscripts rejected at this stage are either insufficiently original, have serious flaws in research method, or are outside the aims and scope of the journal. Those that meet the minimum criteria are normally passed on to at least 2 experts for review.

Type of peer review: JMAL operates an open, double anonymous, peer review policy, whereby both the referees and author remain anonymous throughout the process.

Selection of referees: Whenever possible, reviewers are matched to the paper according to their expertise.

Referee reports: Reviewers are asked to evaluate whether the manuscript is (a) original, (b) methodologically sound, (c) follows appropriate ethical guidelines, (d) has results that are clearly presented and support the conclusions, and (e) correctly references previous relevant work. Language correction is not part of the peer review process, but referees may, if so wish, suggest corrections to the manuscript.

Review process timeline: The time required for the review process is dependent on the response of the referees. Should the reviewer’s reports contradict one another or a report is unnecessarily delayed, a further expert opinion will be sought. In rare cases for which it is extremely difficult to find a second reviewer to review the manuscript, or when the one reviewer’s report has thoroughly convinced the Editor, decisions at this stage to accept, reject, or ask the author for a revision are made on the basis of only one referee’s report. The Editor’s decision will be sent to the author with recommendations made by the reviewers, which usually includes verbatim comments by the reviewers. Revised manuscripts might be returned to the initial reviewers who may then request another revision of a manuscript.

Final report: A final decision to accept or reject the manuscript will be sent to the author along with any recommendations made by the referees, and may include verbatim comments by the referees.

The Editor’s decision: Reviewers advise the editor who is responsible for the final decision to accept or reject the article. This decision is final.

Becoming a reviewer for JMAL: If you are not currently a reviewer for JMAL but would like to be considered as a reviewer please contact the editor. The benefits of reviewing for JMAL include the opportunity to read, see, and evaluate the latest work in your research area at an early stage and to contribute to the overall integrity of movement literacy research and its published documentation. You may also be able to cite your scholarly service work for JMAL as part of your professional development requirements for various Professional Societies and Organisations.

Licences

Journal of Movement Arts Literacy allows the following licences for submission:

CC BY 4.0
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
CC BY-ND 4.0
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
CC BY-NC 4.0
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Publication Fees

The Journal of Movement Arts Literacy does not charge article processing charges (APCs) or other fees to authors.

Publication Cycle

Regular Issues: Individual "regular issue" articles will be published as soon as they are ready and are open added to the "current" volume's Table of Contents.

Special Issues: For Specal Issues, journal articles will be published collectively. Special Issues are published annually or biannually.

Sections

Sections submission information
Section or article type	Public Submissions	Peer Reviewed	Indexed
Practitioner's Perspective	Yes	Yes	Yes
Book, Score, Online Source Reviews	Yes	Yes	Yes
Article	Yes	Yes	Yes