Vol. 8(1) Spring 01

From the Editor

These are exciting times for the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) and the Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education. This is the first issue of Volume 8 of the Journal. While it is still a “new” Journal compared to other scholarly publications in agricultural and extension education, it has been a very successful start. The Journal’s success has followed the growth and expansion of its parent organization, AIAEE. The organization will hold another successful conference this spring at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA and just one year from now the organization will hold its second meeting outside the United States, when it travels to South Africa in the spring of 2002.

Yet, as both the Journal and AIAEE has grown over the past few years, there is still a great potential for additional expansion. This past year has seen a drop in the number of papers submitted for publication to the Journal. This comes even as the Editorial Board decided to eliminate the submission fee. Unfortunately, this did not result in an increase in submissions. Even with the increasing pressure to conduct scholarly research and publish in peer-reviewed journals, the submissions to the Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education lags behind expectations.

It is with this background, that I pose a challenge to all AIAEE members. I would encourage each AIAEE member in 2001 to do two things. First, I would like all AIAEE members to submit at least one scholarly article, either a feature-research paper, a commentary article, or an innovative idea or book review for the Tools for the Profession section. Secondly, I would like each member to give a copy of the Journal (back issues are available) to a friend, colleague, graduate student, etc. and encourage them to join AIAEE and submit an article for publication to the Journal. As an Editor, I would like to receive from 50 to 75 articles in 2001 for possible publication in the Journal.

In addition to more submissions, the Journal is in desperate need of people willing to review papers submitted for publication. As Editor, I try to spread the articles among my list of reviewers so no one person is asked to read too many papers per year. However, I must continually ask a handful of people to review articles because the list of reviewers is shrinking. Therefore, I ask that if you have a spare hour or two and would like to keep current about the latest research and scholarly writing in international agricultural and extension education, please volunteer to serve as a reviewer for the Journal.

If you accept these challenges, the information you need is included in this issue of the Journal. Information on submitting manuscripts for publication is included on the inside front and back covers of this issue. I’ve also enclosed a copy of the subscription form and peer reviewer form in the back of the issue. Please consider submitting a manuscript and volunteering to serve as a peer reviewer. The Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education and the AIAEE can only continue to grow and prosper if scholars are willing to participate in these important activities.