About the Journal
The History of PALAESTRA
PALAESTRA is an ancient Greek word meaning sport school or gymnasium. It is pronounced pa-les´-tra. The Greeks of the time enjoyed debates - exchanging ideas in their forums. Similarly, our PALAESTRA is meant to be a forum for critical debate and the exchange of knowledge.
Our PALAESTRA, first issued in the fall of 1984, was published quarterly by PALAESTRA in cooperation with United States Paralympics, a division of the United States Olympic Committee, and with the Adapted Physical Activity Council of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. More recently, Sagamore Venture Publishing has stepped in to assume publication rights. Regardless, the journal’s scope has remained the same, covering topics at the intersection of disability and physical activity, recreation, sport and/or physical education.
Journal Scope
The focus of PALAESTRA is centered broadly on adapted physical activity scholarship, and includes: practical applications for teaching and learning, coaching, and leading; development and application of theoretical and conceptual frameworks; implications and applications of rigorous and ethical scientific research; administration, supervision, and management; professional preparation and in-service education; innovative ideas and practices; embodied knowledge of disabled individuals across a variety of physical activity contexts; and professional issues and trends.
PALAESTRA's Mission Statement
The purpose of PALAESTRA is to communicate national and international scholarship related to the intersection of disability and physical activity, recreation, sport and/or physical education, with particular emphasis on elevating the experiences of disabled people and those with aligned interests.
A Note on Language Use
Like other multidisciplinary and international journals in the field, PALAESTRA is accepting of a wide range of language around disability, if it is both respectful and consistent with the theoretical, epistemological, and disciplinary perspective(s) of the manuscript. This includes identity-first language (e.g., disabled people) and person-first language (e.g., person with a disability), among other variations. In instances where authors are using disability-related discourse that is not commonly published in PALAESTRA, we welcome the use of footnotes explaining language choice to help educate our reviewers and readers. Such respectful language entails acknowledging the humanity and diversity of those whom we write about: for example, not referring to a person as their diagnosis (e.g., “a CP,” or “an asthmatic”) and not using potentially derogatory or tragic language (e.g., “cripple,” “confined to a wheelchair,” or “suffering from paralysis”) unless there is a compelling and explicit justification for doing so (e.g., quoting historical sources, quoting individuals’ self-descriptions). Ultimately, the expectation for authors is to defer to the preferences of the people about whom they write. Language is symbolic, and thus it is crucial that disabled individuals have ownership over their own representation.
Journal Management and Publication Ethics
1. Editorial Board
The Editorial Board of PALAESTRA is composed of recognized experts in the field of adapted physical activity. Its composition is intentional, with consideration to the diverse range of topics covered in the journal and its multinational readership. The full names and affiliations of the Board are provided on the journal’s website.
2. Authors’ Responsibilities
No fees are charged to authors for submissions or inclusion in the journal.
All authors are obligated to participate in a rigorous peer review process and must have significantly contributed to the submitted manuscript. Authors are forbidden to publish the same manuscript in more than one journal and must acknowledge that the submitted work is original to them. When warranted, authors must provide retractions or corrections of mistakes.
3. Editors' Responsibilities
Editors are considered the stewards of journals. Most guide the journal's direction and build a strong management team. Editors must also consider and balance the interests of many stakeholders, which include members of the Editorial Board, reviewers, authors, and the reading audience. Accordingly, they have a duty to create a space for efficient, equitable, and timely reviews of submitted manuscripts and to maintain high standards of scholarly rigor.
4. Peer Review Process
A double-anonymized review process is rigorously followed. Manuscripts are reviewed by members of the editorial board and/or other professional specialists representing all topical areas covered by PALAESTRA. Manuscripts are passed along for review and consideration on the condition they have not been published previously, submitted simultaneously, or accepted for publication elsewhere. Further, all submissions should meet the journal’s guidelines to ensure a standard of quality before they can be sent out for review. Submissions that do not conform to these guidelines are at risk to be unsubmitted and sent back to their authors.
5. Publication Ethics
The publisher and editors shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of manuscripts where misconduct has occurred. In the event that a journal’s publisher or editors are made aware of any allegation of such misconduct, they shall deal with the allegations appropriately. As soon as is reasonably possible, the journal will make retractions and/or corrections to articles when needed.
6. Copyright and Access
Copyright and licensing information for the journal should be directed to Sagamore-Venture at 3611 N. Staley Road, Ste. B, Champaign, IL 61822 or by email at periodicals@sagamorepub.com. The journal and individual articles are available to readers through Sagamore-Venture’s website or through EBSCO.
7. Archiving
A journal’s plan for electronic backup and preservation of access to the journal content in the event a journal is no longer published shall be clearly indicated.
8. Ownership and Management
The journal is owned, published, and copyrighted by Sagamore-Venture LLC.
9. Publishing Schedule
PALAESTRA is published quarterly.