In Part 1 of this two-part blog post, I surveyed the landscape of journal peer review in educational research and underscored the importance of involving junior researchers. Am I suggesting that everyone can be a journal peer reviewer? No, people need training. Am I devaluing the contributions of expert reviewers? No, what I am suggesting is a reallocation or expansion of their expertise to train the next generation of peer reviewers. We, as an academic community, need to provide opportunities to doctoral students and early career researchers to grow and blossom as journal peer reviewers. In my experience, serving as peer reviewers is the best way for junior researchers to gain hands-on experience and an insider’s perspective to peer review.
Creating pedagogic moments in journal peer review: Some suggestions
First, doctoral students and early career researchers could be invited to sit on journal editorial boards. I know some journals offer ‘internships’ to junior researchers, providing them with the opportunity to review for the journal. Language Teaching published by Cambridge University Press, for example, has an annual essay writing competition opened to doctoral students and early career researchers. The winner is offered a place on the editorial board of the journal for a year, providing them with hands-on experience of peer reviewing.
