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Emerging Perspectives 
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Forward 

Dr. Nancy Arthur 

Professor and Associate Dean Research, Werklund School of Education  

University of Calgary 

It is my pleasure to introduce the inaugural issue of Emerging Perspectives: 

Interdisciplinary Graduate Research in Education and Psychology.  This journal 

was conceptualized to support graduate students to participate in a culture of 

research through interdisciplinary collaboration.  That idea prompted discussion 

between graduate students in the Werklund School of Education about the 

importance of knowledge mobilization and publishing in professional journals.  

Many students enter a graduate program with little information about the 

publishing process and the importance of publishing their scholarly work.  Rather 

than viewing academic publishing as an exception for graduate students, I invite the 

readership to consider knowledge mobilization, in forms such as academic 

publishing, to be a responsibility associated with conducting research. Yet, many 

graduate students feel shy or intimidated about the process, mostly due to lack of 

experience or mentorship. 

Launching a new journal takes both courage and leadership. The courage 

part involved stepping into unknown territory to shape new directions. The 

leadership part, in this case, involved a few individuals who developed an idea, 

who expended the effort to bring together colleagues that shared in the vision, who 

consulted and sought mentorship about how to get started, and who sustained the 

momentum necessary to move this initiative forward.  The idea of a graduate 

student journal was nurtured to offer graduate students with more opportunities to 

submit manuscripts through a blind, peer-reviewed process.  This would not have 

been possible without supporting graduate students to learn about the operations 

and functions of producing an international journal.  As a result, the basic idea has 

transformed into the first issue of an international and interdisciplinary journal 

focused on graduate student research. 

 This journal is unique in several ways. First, the journal has been developed 

by a dedicated group of graduate students who, beyond minimal encouragement 

and resources, have taken the idea forward in a process that they have designed and 

implemented. Second, the journal was grounded in education in a broad manner, 

through recognition of the many streams that comprise educational research. The 

title of the journal connotes the strong connections between education and 



Arthur / Emerging Perspectives (2017) i-ii                   ii 

 

psychology that inform the aims of the journal. As a result, Emerging Perspectives 

is interdisciplinary in scope, offering an important forum for the exchange of 

scholarly perspectives.  

 I want to applaud the Editors and editorial team who embraced the vision for 

the journal and who mobilized other people to develop Emerging Perspectives. I 

also want to encourage other graduate students to get involved through submitting 

articles or learning about ways to support the journal as a reviewer or future 

member of the editorial team. These are the kinds of experiences that stretch your 

learning, help you to expand your professional skills, and contribute to the culture 

of research.  I look forward to seeing the future growth of this important initiative 

to showcase the scholarly writing of graduate students.