A Perspective on Journal Operation
The questions: Who should the JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION serve? and How best can it do this? are of continuine" concern to the editors.. ~ublishers and many . readers. Perhaps if we summarize here some of the major goals and policies that lie behind editorial decisions, and some of the realities and dilemmas that must he dealt with in producine a hook once a month, those interested might gain a hette;perspective for addressing these and other important questions and for helping us improve what we do. The primary goal of the JOURNAL from its beginning has been to provide chemistry teachers with information, ideas and materials for improving and updating their background and their understanding of the science, and for helping them in their teaching and in their effectiveness in developing the talents of students. In essence, this is to be not only a "living textbook of chemistw". as one of the earlv editors described it, but a perpetual and dependable learning source for chemists who teach. Among other important goals are: providing an outlet, not available throueh other publications, for authurs of papers on chemical education, and serving as a source of continuing education for chemists outside academe. In seeking these goals, editors have recognized that the JOURNAL must serve a variety of individuals in quite dissimilar iobs and situations. Ohviouslv then. there is a need to maintaln balance among the kinds oimanuscripts puhlished so that erouos of subscribers can be accommodated. -. ~ - - various - ~ ~ The matter of boalaice is second only to the quality of manuscripts as the most critical of all editorial considerations. No editor has been satisfied with his efforts to maintain the kind of balance readers have requested, largely because the number and content of good manuscripts received are never in harmony with the desires and expectations of various reader groups. Nearly all manuscripts published fall into one of five categories: 1) reviews of chemical topics; 2) descriptions of course or curriculum revision or innovation; 3) teaching methods including experiments, demonstrations, apparatus and equipment; 4) history and philosophy; 5) applications of chemical knowledee. A manuscript in anv of these cateeories might lie oriented';owanl certain reade;jiruul)i such as second;ir\, school or lower di\isim d e r e teachers or thoir in >in\. of the-several subdivisions of che&try. Good manuscripts illustrating applications of chemical knowledge and reviews of chemical topics written for secondary school teachers are the hardest to come by. Those on highly specialized topics, and any that would he of interest only to narrow groups of specialists are difficult to justify. The current policy here is that review manuscripts on subject matter suitable for first year graduate level courses and below will he considered for publication, hut those representing greater specialization than this should he suhmitted elsewhere. [See: THIS JOURNAL, 50, 657(1973)]. Because it has been difficult to get manuscripts directed toward certain groups or interests of readers, continuing monthly features were begun. Regular readers are familiar with: "Tested Demonstrations," "Safety in the Chemical Laboratory," "High School Forum," "Chemical Instrumentations," and others. Reader survey cards returned during the past year show that 50%of those returning cards regularly read ~~
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six or more features. Hieh school teachers alwavs have asked for more help from the ~ U R N A than L it hasbeen able to provide. ~ o b e v e r , startinem~this Fall. eroun. of readers ~, five new features for this will appear on a regular basis. They will complement the continuine. "Hieh School Forum." "Chemical Princi~les ~evisited,"a ser& of substantive reviews of principles taight in hieh school courses. will alternate monthlv with "View From"My Classroom" series of personal accounts of experiences, strategies and philosophies in teaching chemistry by respected high school teachers. "Ideas From Everywhere" and "Classroom Mechanics" will alternate monthly and provide information and ideas that can he used immediately in the chemistrv classroom. "Chem I Supplement'' consists of factual he used in class or posted materia~bnrelevant topics that on bulletin hoards to increase student interest in chemistry. "High School Forum" will continue to provide a medium for secondary school teachers to share ideas and techniques. T h e interests of colleee level teachers have broadened sienificantly in the past t e i years, and the JOURNAL has trieb to reflect this in its reeular articles and features. Applications .. of educational technology to chemistry instruction, especially in television and computers, have received much more attention on our pages. ~ikewise,applications of learning theory, better formulation of educational objectives, and evaluations of teaching effectiveness have been the subjects of numerous oapers and debates. These hroadened interests have been iepresented without detraction from the essential goal of the JOURNAL-helping to keep teachers current in chemistry. Reader survevs d&e the ~ a svear t show that more than 70 percent of those replying find 20 percent or more of the articles directed a t colleee teachers useful to them. The first of two series of invited papers for college teachers begins in this issue. "The Status of General Chemistry" is a sequence of eight papers describing the nature of general chemistry instruction in large universities, liberal arts colleges and two year institutions. A new series of a t least sixteen Resource Papers will begin early in 1978. Among the topics of these papers are: Atmospheric Chemistry, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, . . Oraanic Conductors and Semiconductors, pilase Transier (.kalviis. Pr:tctical Statistical Thc.rmd\nnmics. Chemical Hasis of Memory. As with most professional publications, inflation, increasing costs and declining advertising revenues have severely restricted publication options. The total cost to publish a journal page is now more than double what it was in 1968. Advertising revenue. which accounts for over half the JOURNAL'S income, h i s dropped I
