JLDHE Special Issue March 2027 - Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education

Open call for submissions to a Special Issue of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education

You are invited to submit a proposal for inclusion in a Special Issue of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education on the theme of reach, value, and impact of Learning Development (LD).

Deadlines

Closing date for proposals: 31st January 2026
Expected publication date: March 2027

JLDHE is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that provides a forum for researchers writing about educational practices and theoretical and methodological approaches to learning in higher education. This Special Issue of JLDHE invites global contributions to address the urgent, transnational challenge of quantifying, evaluating, and demonstrating the impact of Learning Development (LD).

The strategic value of LD provision in higher education is undeniable, particularly in supporting diverse student populations and addressing systemic inequalities of opportunity. Across the global higher education landscape, however, LD services frequently face critical challenges related to demonstrating their impact, securing sustainable institutional funding, and achieving recognition within national quality and excellence frameworks. In environments where institutions are pressured to evidence accountability and excellence, the absence of robust, measurable evidence of LD’s reach, value, and impact can place these essential services at risk. This challenge is acutely felt in contexts like the UK, where LD’s contribution is often overlooked in critical reporting documents such as Access and Participation Plans (APP) (Office for Students, 2025a) and submissions to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) (Office for Students, 2025b), Research Excellence Framework (REF) (2025), or Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) (Research England, 2025), but the underlying struggle to quantify and communicate value is a shared transnational experience. 

This Special Issue invites contributions from researchers and practitioners across all international higher education systems to share their experience and perspectives. We seek to curate a collection of articles that move beyond local case studies to offer transferable frameworks and methodologies for how LD reach, value, and impact can be strategically measured, evaluated, and demonstrated to influence policy, funding, and equity mandates globally.

Theme 1: Defining and conceptualising Learning Development (LD) impact

1. How should the concepts of ‘reach’, ‘value’, and ‘impact’ be defined and operationalised within the specific context of LD in diverse international higher education systems?
2. What transferable frameworks or metrics can be used to capture the value of LD?
3. How can the value and impact of LD be understood particularly for students from under-represented or disadvantaged backgrounds?

Theme 2: Methodologies for evaluating and measuring LD success

4. What are the robust and scalable methodological approaches (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) for evaluating, monitoring, and capturing the impact of diverse LD delivery models?
5. How can LD practitioners be effectively supported, upskilled, and resourced to undertake high-quality evaluation and research that provides credible evidence of their practice’s reach, value, and impact?

Theme 3: Strategic integration and institutional demonstration of LD impact

6. What strategies and forms of evidence are most effective for integrating LD contributions into national or institutional equity mandates (e.g., the UK’s APP, or comparable widening participation strategies globally) to demonstrate impact on reducing inequalities of opportunity and enhancing student outcomes?
7. How can evidence of LD provision provide compelling narratives for institutional quality assurance and excellence submissions (e.g., the UK’s TEF, or similar national or regional teaching quality audits), and what lessons can be drawn from previous omissions across HE systems?
8. Beyond formalised quality audits (such as the UK’s REF or KEF), what are the strategic opportunities (in institutional funding/strategy cycles or research/impact exercises) for demonstrating and advocating for the reach, value, and critical role of LD in global higher education?

Potential Contributors

We are particularly keen to ensure methodological rigour and therefore ask that all contributing authors work in accordance with TASO’s monitoring and evaluation framework. The Editorial Board are also inviting influential sector bodies and associations to share their perspectives in this Special Issue.

Potential contributors could include, but are not limited to: 

Third space practitioners including Learning Developers, Librarians, and Learning Technologists.

Academics and researchers.

Professional Services colleagues in areas such as employability, widening participation, access and outreach, and technology.

Graduate and postgraduate teaching assistants.

Co-authored submissions between staff and students.

Before submitting your proposal to JLDHE, please familiarise yourself with the field of LD to ensure that your work responds to its specific context, rather than a generic understanding of learning development. The Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) offers a range of relevant resources.

Proposal Format

Interested contributors are invited to complete the online Expression of Interest form (see below). The form will ask for a proposal of up to 300 words, including a rationale and theme, a proposed structure and approach/method, and submission type.

Proposals could be for contributions in the following forms:

Research papers (including empirical studies and theoretical perspectives and frameworks) – up to 5,000 words.

Case studies (including practical applications and strategies) – up to 3,000 words.

Opinion pieces (including policy implications and recommendations) – up to 2,000 words.

Brief communications (including cross-cultural and international perspectives) – up to 1,000 words.

Special Issue Timeline

31st January 2026: Proposal submission deadline
28th February 2026: JLDHE Editorial Board decisions shared
1st June 2026: Full article drafts to be submitted
Summer 2026: Peer-review period
Autumn 2026: Revision period
March 2027: Special Issue publication

Proposals will be reviewed by the JLDHE Editorial Board. Successful authors will be invited to develop their proposal into a full submission. All manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review. Contributing authors to the Special Issue will be expected to review at least one submission.

Please submit your proposal via the expression of interest form below.

Contact

If you would like to discuss an idea for a proposal, please contact steve.briggs@beds.ac.uk, c.mcdonald@mmu.ac.uk, or alicja.syska@plymouth.ac.uk.

Expression of Interest Form

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Which theme will your article address?(Required)

Theme 1: Defining and conceptualising Learning Development (LD) impact

Theme 2: Methodologies for evaluating and measuring LD success

Theme 3: Strategic integration and institutional demonstration of LD impact

What is your planned submission type?(Required)

Research paper

Case study

Opinion piece

Brief communication

Your proposal (up to 300 words and including a rationale and theme, a proposed structure and approach/method).(Required)

If accepted, I confirm I will act as a JLDHE peer reviewer.

Yes

Thank you – and we look forward to receiving your proposals.

JLDHE Editorial Board

References

Office for Students. (2025a). Access and participation plans. Office for Students. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/apps

Office for Students. (2025b). About the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). Office for Students. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-providers/quality-and-standards/about-the-tef

Research England. (2025). Knowledge exchange framework. UK Research and Innovation. https://kef.ac.uk

Research Excellence Framework. (2025). REF2029 homepage. REF. https://2029.ref.ac.uk