Survey of Publication Outlets in Early Childhood Education: Descriptive Data, Review Processes, and Advice to Authors

Abstract

Publishing outlets in the field of early childhood vary widely in terms of emphasis on theory, practice, and research as they relate to the care and education of the very young; these outlets also have different readerships (i.e., primarily for teachers, the teachers of their teachers, or the fellow scholars/researchers). Included in the mixture of publications in the early childhood field are two broad categories: (1) professional magazines that are intended primarily for an audience of practitioners and (2) journals that are intended primarily for college students, teacher education faculty, and researchers. This article begins with a discussion of the extrinsic and intrinsic benefits of publishing for the early childhood professional as well as some of the impediments to scholarship in the field. It then surveys 24 different publishing outlets in early childhood education and provides descriptive data on each magazine or journal. Next, it explains the anonymous peer review process that is used to evaluate journal articles. The article concludes with practical advice to authors seeking to publish in the early childhood field.