Call for Abstract

2025-05-19

The Ethiopian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities invites potential authors to submit abstracts for the Special Issue which will be dedicated to publishing academic papers and reflections on practice from the practitioners on Asset-Based and Community-led Development in Ethiopia.

Guest Editors for the Special Issue are (1) WassieKebede of Addis Ababa University and (2) Wellington Sousa of Coady Institute, St. Francis Xavier University.

Potential contributors to the special issue shall be practitioners, community development leaders, and academics. A collaborative approach among practitioners, community development leaders and academics to publish joint articles is highly encouraged.

Guidelines to submit abstracts

Potential authors shall submit abstracts as academic papers or reflections on practice. Separate guidelines to prepare abstracts and fulfilled papers in each stream are presented below.

  1. Abstracts for academic papers

Abstracts under the category (academic paper) shall comprise the following components.

  1. A cover page including the title of the paper, authors’ name, and institutional affiliation (name, contact address). Please also include a short biographical note for each author (maximum 150 words).

The abstract content (items 2–8 below) should begin on the next page:

  1. Title of the paper
  2. Study type: Whether the paper is empirical studies, interpretive analyses, ethnographic accounts, historical and philosophical reflections, and hermeneutic inquiries into the application and evolution of ABCD in the Ethiopian context.
  3. Purpose/objective of the study: Briefly describe the purpose of the study conducted.
  4. Method: Describe the method/s applied to conduct the study.This could include qualitative, quantitative, mixed, meta data analysis, systematic literature review, etc. Population and sample covered in the study can be described under the method section.
  5. Key findings/results: Briefly describe key findings of the study. If the study is not yet completed, authors can describe this section as “under progress.” However, preliminary findings should be provided.
  6. Conclusion/implications. Provide key concluding statements and/or implications of the study.
  7. Add five to six keywords.

The abstract should be between 250-500 words, excluding references. All writing styles (formatting, font size, etc.) should follow the Ethiopian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities’ guideline. Please go to https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ejossahto access the Journal’s guidelines.

  1. Abstracts for papers on Reflections on Practice

Papers regarding Reflection on Practice will focus on how practitioners have adapted and applied ABCD principles in local contexts, often in ways that are not captured in formal academic literature. Abstracts on reflection on practice shall compose the following components.

  1. A cover page including the title of the paper, authors’ name, and institutional affiliation (name, contact address). Please also include a short biographical note for each author (maximum 150 words).

The abstract content (items 2–7 below) should begin on the next page:

  1. Title of the Reflection on Practice
  2. Areas of practice: This includes the target population, types of project engagement, and period/year of engagement.
  3. Level of ABCD implementation: This includes the extent to which asset-based community-led development is introduced to the community project. Whether it is at educational level, training level, testing of ABCD model, or integration of ABCD to other types of community development approaches, etc.
  4. Authors’ reflection: This includes, what are the key changes documented at community level in terms of knowledge, life changing circumstances, changes in philosophy of life due to participation/exposure to ABCD as a new development model.
  5. Challenges and opportunities: What are the challenges experienced, and opportunities anticipated in the community of practice due to the adoption of ABCD as a new development model or its integration into the existing intervention approaches.
  6. Conclusion: Provide concluding remarks based on the field experiences as experts in the field. 

The abstract should be between 250-500 words, excluding references (if applicable). All writing styles (formatting, font size, etc.) should follow the Ethiopian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities’ guideline. Please go to https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ejossah  to access the Journal’s guidelines.

 

N.B:

  1. Articles categorized under the academic and reflection papers shall evolve through time. Potential authors who may not have yet developed the full papers are encouraged to prepare and submit abstracts. Upon successful selection of the abstracts, those authors with this status shall work closely with the Guest Editors to guide them in the process of preparing full papers.
  2. Please submit your abstract as a Word document through the following link: [https://ejol.aau.edu.et/index.php/EJOSSAH/about/submissions] by June 30, 2025. If you like to send as an email attachment, please use wassiek7@gmail.com and cc wsousa@stfx.ca

 

Q&A Information Session

To support potential contributors in preparing their abstracts and understanding the expectations of the Special Issue, a Q&A session will be held via Zoom on June 16, 2025. This session will provide an opportunity to:

  • Clarify the submission guidelines for both academic papers and reflections on practice
  • Discuss the thematic focus of the Special Issue
  • Answer any questions about the abstract review process and next steps

We encourage all interested authors (whether practitioners, community leaders, or academics) to attend the Q&A, please express your interest by sending an email to: [wassiek7@gmail.com and cc [wsousa@stfx.ca] not later than June 10, 2025. Zoom link and meeting details will be shared with those who register.