Implications for Practice and Education: Writing and Reviewing for Peer-Reviewed Journals

Editor-in-Chiefs from Families in Society, Studies in Clinical Social Work: Transforming Practice, Education and Research, and the Journal of Social Work Education will share tips for planning, preparing and submitting manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals that focus on implications for practice and teaching in social work.

This partnership session provides information and tips for planning, preparing, submitting, and reviewing manuscripts from the Editor-in-Chiefs from three social work journals. They will share emerging publication considerations, such as use of journal article reporting standards (JARS) and other checklists, bias-free language, and ways to increase awareness and rigor when discussing anti-racist social work practice and education. In addition, structured guidance for responding to the peer review process will be shared. Specific recommendations will be shared about how authors might write implications for social work practitioners and educators.

Families in Society (FIS) focuses on micro and macro practice that fosters whole-person well-being and helps individuals, families, and communities to thrive. At FIS we are interested in making social work practice better. Of particular interest are manuscripts on critical examinations on the state of the art, the strengths and challenges of professional practice, the adequacy of formal education, the limitations of social policy, and future needs. How can a true integration of data, theory, and practice—i.e., translational knowledge—be achieved? In addition FIS has a Practice Note option which typically introduces a new or innovative approach to working with individuals, families, and communities which may or may not have already been systematically validated via empirical analysis. The purpose of a Practice Note is to support rapid communication in the field about promising practices or lessons learned, and to stimulate or respond to ongoing discussion and research of such approaches.

Studies in Clinical Social Work: Transforming Practice, Education and Research (SCSW) was founded in 1931 as Smith College Studies in Social Work. SCSW has contributed significantly to the development of clinical knowledge, having published manuscripts by a wide range of influential social work thinkers and practitioners. With a new journal title implemented in 2024, SCSW has a renewed commitment to publishing critical work that reflects implications for clinicians and educators. The Editor-in-Chief will discuss how to write implications for promoting racial and social justice within a clinical process as well as advancing practice with individuals, families, and small groups in oppressed and marginalized communities.

The Journal of Social Work Education (JSWE), established in 1900, is the official journal for the Council of Social Work Education, with a focus on publishing high quality manuscripts focused on trends, innovations and issues relevant to social work education at the undergraduate, master’s and postgraduate levels. The purpose of JSWE is to support discourse among social work educators to improve the practice of teaching and its alignment with our professional values and current practice competencies. Emerging ideas and innovations might be submitted as a teaching or field note, while strong conceptual or empirical studies are encouraged that will move the field vertically with regard to well-informed arguments and evidence to improve the teaching of social work. Less robust pilot studies focused on social work education that are innovative might be submitted as a research note. The JSWE Editor-In-Chief will share emerging issues and possibilities in social work education.