About the Journal
Transformative Social Work is a scholarly refereed journal designed to advance knowledge mobilization in the field of social work. Recognizing the intersectional identities of our global population, this journal takes a future-focused social justice perspective on theory, research, education, practice and policy. Transformative Social Work considers publishing as a pathway to transform societies and respond to human dynamics in a changing environment. The profession of social work urgently needs to transform social work research, practice and policy to meet local and global challenges associated with climate change and environmental degradation, social and health inequities, workplace issues, Indigenous reconciliation, and pressing social issues related to poverty and sustainable development. The journal offers a publishing space to consider ‘transforming social work’ through a critical and proactive social agenda, that considers equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization. The journal aims to advance theoretical understanding, interrogate policy, and inform practice, and welcomes submissions from all areas of social work. Transformative Social Work is an academic journal supported by the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary.
The journal publishes Canadian and international articles in English and French.
Transformative Social Work accepts four article types.
Original Manuscripts are full-length articles, which should be up to 7,000 words in length (not including notes and references).
Brief Notes of up to 2,000 words, on topics such as reports of research in progress, examples of unresolved problems, descriptions of policy, and current programs and hot issues that would be of interest to the international community. Book reviews may also be considered.
Voices from the Field welcomes submissions from practitioners and field educators about their experiences in the field which would be of interest to our audience. The aim of Voices from the Field is to enable practice issues, examples of promising, innovative and wise practice, grassroots initiatives, and training experiences to be shared with a wider audience. Articles can be up to 2000 words in length.
Letters to the Editor provide readers the opportunity to comment on issues covered in the journal or other points of interest to social workers (no longer than 2 pages and may or may not be published).
For all submissions, the relevance to or implication for social work must be made explicit.
Periodically, special issues of Transformative Social Work focus on specific topics.
Peer Review Policies
Transformative Social Work adheres to a rigorous double-anonymize reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties. The journal is committed to a rigorous peer review policy in which the identity of the reviewers and authors are always concealed from both parties. Once your paper has been assessed for suitability by the editor, it will then be double blind peer reviewed by independent, anonymous expert referees.
Reviewers will be experts in their fields and will be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. The editor will have the final decision on accepting a manuscript for publication.
Authorship
All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.
Acknowledgements
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.
Any acknowledgements should appear first at the end of your article prior to your Declaration of Conflicting Interests (if applicable), any notes and references.
Funding
Transformative Social Work requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.
The Transformative Social Work Journal Award is selected annually on a retrospective basis to the author(s) of the article judged to have made the most significant contribution to advancing the aims of the journal. Winning articles are recognized by the Faculty of Social Work.
