CONVERGENCE Style Sheet

General Directions

CONVERGENCE is the quarterly journal of the International Council for Adult Education, with readers in over 80 countries. Because of our international distribution, we attempt to select articles of interest to a broad audience of practitioners, field-workers, planners, trainers, teachers, researchers and administrators.

In addressing issues, practices and developments in adult education, CONVERGENCE provides a forum for a discussion and exchange of experiences and ideas. Articles are accepted in English, French and Spanish.

Points to Remember

v                       We prefer to receive a letter of enquiry describing the content of the proposed article, its treatment and why you believe it is suitable for CONVERGENCE. Our experience has been that those who read the journal regularly are more likely to have a good sense of an appropriate article. The enquiry letter also helps us to judge if a similar subject or the same region has appeared in a recent issue—we attempt to maintain a balance among subject matter and regions of the world.

v                       An article may be about a particular country, programme or activity, but the interpretation, description and analysis should be of interest and generally applicable to the work of colleagues in other countries. Papers written for another purpose (e.g., a local audience, a course of study, part of a thesis) are usually unsuitable.

v                       Put yourself in the position of a colleague in another part of the world and ask: Does this article include what I would wish to know about another country or programme? Is the context clear? Have unfamiliar abbreviations, references or concepts been used?

v                       Heavily statistical research reports are not accepted. Interpret data, results and conclusions in terms of practical application and lessons learned.

v                       Since CONVERGENCE is part of ICAE’s Information and Communications Programme, no payment is made to authors of articles or book reviews. Authors receive a copy of the issue in which their work appears and reviewers may keep the book that they review.

Style and Presentation

CONVERGENCE follows The Chicago Manual of Style (13^th or 14^th editions) for formatting references and notes; consult the most recent issue if you do not have access to this manual. Writing should be informal, without jargon or convoluted sentences. Keep footnotes and references to a minimum. Tables and graphs are considered only when they depict essential information that cannot be described adequately in the text.

Commonwealth (Oxford UK) spelling should be followed—centre (not center), programme (not program), criticize (not critcise), co-operate (not cooperate) per cent (not percent). Numbers ten and under are spelt out; 11 and over use numerals.

Review Process and Response from the Editor: Articles are sent out to international reviewers; please expect a delay of three to six months for a response.

Requirements

Submission: Authors with access to PC computers and word processing software are asked to submit floppy disks of their work. WordPerfect is preferred. Authors may also transmit their articles in ASCII format via e-mail attachment.

Length: At least two copies of each typed, double-spaced article should be forwarded to the editor. Feature articles should be no longer than 5000 words; information reports, up to 800 words; book reviews, 600-1000 words.

Abstract: Upon acceptance, an abstract of 150-200 words is requested for translation into other languages. It should summarize clearly the points of the article. Book reviews do not require an abstract.

Author’s information: Include the title, position, place of work and a background explaining your affiliation with the subject or country you are writing about. Include your address, fax and telephone numbers and e-mail address.

For more information, contact:

CONVERGENCE Phyllis Cunningham, Editor, International Council for Adult Education, CAHE Department, Northern Illinois University , DeKalb, IL 60115,USA.  815.753.1448, Fax. 815.753.9309