About EENET

Guidelines on preparing articles for the “Enabling Education” newsletter

What should I write about?

• You can choose to write about any issue related to education and inclusion issues, so long as you have experience in that subject area.
• Articles which give practical advice to other teachers, parents, policy-makers, etc, are particularly popular with readers.
• We also need articles which focus on policy issues.
• Currently we would like to see more articles on:
• gender issues in relation to inclusive education
• inclusive education in refugee/emergency situations
• educational inclusion in relation to HIV/AIDS
• inclusive education in the early years
• adult or continuing education
• inclusive practices in secondary and higher education.
• Browse our previous newsletters – this will give you an idea of the style of writing we prefer and the type of issues people have already written about.
• If you want to write about a subject we have already covered in a previous newsletter, try to find a new angle or offer some different ideas on the subject.
• We prefer not to have articles that are just case studies of individual people. try to focus on ‘the wider picture’ – for instance, what is happening at school level, district level, national, regional or even international level. Feel free to use short case example and quotations from other people to help illustrate your article.

When should I submit my article?

• Usually we publish the newsletter around May or June. We therefore aim to edit and discuss articles with authors most between January and April.
• However, you can send an article to EENET at any time. If there is a long time before the next newsletter is due, there are two options:
  • we can file your article ready for publishing in the newsletter (if it is suitable)
  • we will offer you the chance to put the article on the website.

How much should I write?

• Approximate maximum word length:
  • 1 page with a small photo - 600 words
  • 1 page without a photo - 700 words
  • 2 page spread with a small photo - 1100 words
  • 2 page spread without a photo - 1300 words

Please note that most articles are one page, unless we specifically ask you for a two page article.

• If you submit an article that is too long we may ask you to shorten it. Alternatively we can edit it ourselves and seek your approval before publishing it.
• If you write an article that is the correct length, we may still ask for some changes or clarification, if we feel we can help you to improve your article.

How should I present the article?

• If you have access to a computer, your article should be submitted electronically, by email or on floppy disk, as a Word file.
  • Use  Arial font, size 12pt, with the text aligned on the left (ie, not justified).
  • Headings and sub-headings should be in bold, and in lower case, not block capitals.
• Articles may also be submitted on paper – typed or hand-written –  if you do not have access to a computer.
• You can send us your article on audio tape, as long as the sound quality is good enough for a transcription to be done.
• Please be aware that hard copy or audio taped articles should be submitted as early as possible to allow us time to scan, type or transcribe the documents prior to editing.
• Ideally articles should be submitted in English.
• If English is not your first language, you may write the article in your preferred language. However, please note that EENET cannot afford to pay translators. We rely on volunteer translators. This means that we may not always be able to translate your article quickly. There are also many languages for which we currently have no volunteer translators.
• Write a short paragraph of bibliographic information at the end of your article. Tell us who you work for, what your position is, what your background is, etc. See the previous newsletters for examples.

Important points to consider

Writing style

• Newsletter article are short, so keep background information (about your country, organisation, project, etc) to a minimum. You can direct the reader to one or two key documents that provide additional information. Remember to tell readers where they can obtain these documents.
• Do not use too many acronyms and abbreviations and make sure you explain them the first time they appear in the text.
• Avoid using a complex, academic style of writing. “Enabling Education” is aimed at non-academic readers. Many of our readers speak English as their second or third language.
• Break the article into small sections. You could use sub-headings, quotations from other people, a text box, a diagram, etc, to break up the text.

Photographs (optional)

• We may be able to print one or two photographs with your story if there is space.
• You can send us original hard copies by post, or you can email digital photos to us. Digital photos should be as high resolution as possible.
• Please clearly label the photographs so that we know who they are from, what they are showing, when/where they were taken, etc.
• If you send us photos of people, please make sure that these people have given their full permission for their image to be printed. This is particularly important if you are sending us photographs of children (you may need to seek permission from their parents/guardians as well).
• EENET reserves the right to decide whether a photo is suitable. Feel free to contact us to discuss our policy with regard to choosing photos.
• Please tell us if you want us to send your printed photographs back to you.

Using case studies and naming people

• If you include a short case study, or if you name an individual in your article, please make sure you seek the permission of that person before sending us your article.
• You could also consider changing the names of any individuals you write about, to protect their identity.
• EENET will not print articles or photographs if we are worried that any individuals have not given their full permission.

Will my article definitely be published?

We are not able to publish everything we receive, although we do our best.

Subject matter
EENET needs to ensure that “Enabling Education” contains interesting articles that correspond with our overall beliefs about inclusive education. Sometimes, therefore, we have to reject articles which we think contain inappropriate subject material. For instance, we may reject an article if it does not closely discuss inclusive education issues, or if it presents an argument that is totally contrary to EENET’s beliefs about inclusion.

Quality of the writing
EENET publishes articles that are well-written and easy-to-read and understand. However, if you are not a confident or experienced writer, don’t be put off! If you have an interesting story to tell, EENET can help you with writing an article. We can give you advice on how to improve your article, what additional information to include, etc.

Publishing on the website
If your article is good, but we have no space in the newsletter, then we may be able to put it in the website instead. The website has been accessed by people in 190 countries, so it is a good way of sharing your work. Website articles can be longer than newsletter articles, but should still aim to follow the guidelines provided in this document.

What criteria has EENET set for the overall content of the newsletter?

• Some, but not all, issues of the newsletter have a specific theme. We will advertise in advance if the next newsletter needs articles on a particular topic.
• In each newsletter we aim to cover at least one new subject and one new country that has not been covered in a previous newsletter.
• Most newsletters have a policy page, and some news/articles of interest to parents and teacher educators.
• We aim to include young people’s voices in each newsletter.
• When selecting articles, we check what countries and subjects have already been featured in previous newsletters. We try to keep a balance between regions and subjects.
• We ensure that photographs/graphics are well spread throughout the newsletter.

To submit your articles or to ask any questions, contact:

Ingrid Lewis
EENET Co-ordinator
EENET – The Enabling Education Network
c/o Educational Support and Inclusion
School of Education
University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9PL
UK

Tel: +44 (0)161 275 3711
Fax: +44 (0)161 2753548

Email: info@eenet.org.uk

To see examples of previous newsletters, visit our website www.eenet.org.uk or ask EENET to send you some printed copies.

08/01/2007