About the Journal
A Journal With Roots in the Field.
The Journal of Special Education at Buttonwood Farms is a peer-reviewed scholarly publication dedicated to advancing research, practice, and policy that improve education and services for individuals with disabilities. It serves as a forum where empirical investigation, theoretical inquiry, and applied practice converge to inform how educators, school psychologists, clinicians, researchers, administrators, and families support diverse learners.
Published by Buttonwood Farms, Inc. under ISSN 0022-4669, the journal has a heritage in special education scholarship reaching back decades, appearing on a quarterly schedule across the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter of the academic year. With this revitalization, we renew that founding commitment: to bridge research and practice, to elevate the voices of those who study and serve individuals with disabilities, and to advance the field toward more effective, equitable, and inclusive education for every learner.
Our Commitment
Scholarly rigor, real-world relevance.
We honor the journal’s heritage by holding fast to scholarly rigor while remaining responsive to the urgent, real-world questions facing the special education community today.
Publication Record
Title — Journal of Special Education at Buttonwood Farms
Publisher — Buttonwood Farms, Inc.
ISSN — 0022-4669
Frequency — Quarterly
Issues — Spring · Summer · Fall · Winter
Editorial Office — [current address]
Aims & Scope
What the journal welcomes.
The journal welcomes multidisciplinary contributions across the full breadth of special education and related services, with particular priority given to work that is empirically grounded and carries explicit implications for practice. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
01
Evidence-Based Interventions Across Disability Categories
02
Assessment, Identification & Eligibility
03
Inclusive Education & Universal Design for Learning
04
IEPs, Functional Behavioral Assessment & Transition Planning
05
Early Childhood Special Education
06
Learning Disabilities, ASD, EBD & Low-Incidence Disabilities
07
Family Engagement & Culturally Responsive Practice
08
Teacher Preparation & Professional Development
09
Law, Policy & IDEA Compliance
10
Equity, Disproportionality & Outcomes for Underserved Learners
We particularly encourage work that illuminates practice in diverse and under-represented settings. Manuscripts falling outside this scope may be returned without full review.
What We Publish
Scholarship in Six Formats.
01
Empirical Research
Original quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies with explicit implications for the practice of special education.
02
Reviews
Scholarly and systematic reviews that synthesize the literature, evaluate the state of evidence, and identify gaps and future directions.
03
Brief Reports
Concise accounts of promising interventions, instruments, pilot studies, or replications that merit timely dissemination.
04
Theoretical & Conceptual
Papers that develop, refine, or critique the frameworks, models, and constructs central to the discipline.
05
Practice-Oriented
Articles translating research evidence into actionable strategies for classrooms, clinics, and service-delivery settings.
06
Reviews of Resources
Evaluations of new books, assessments, and instruments relevant to researchers and practitioners.
Manuscripts are initially screened for appropriateness of content, adherence to APA style, clarity and readability, methodological rigor, and the strength and explicitness of their implications for practice.
Standards
Peer Review & Publication Ethics.
01
Double-Anonymized Review
Author and reviewer identities are withheld from one another throughout review. Each submission deemed appropriate in scope is evaluated by independent expert reviewers who assess the significance of the contribution, the soundness of the methodology, the validity of the conclusions, and the clarity of the presentation.
Editorial decisions are guided by the quality and integrity of the work rather than the direction of its findings; well-designed studies reporting null or unexpected results are welcome. We are committed to constructive, developmental review — feedback that is timely, substantive, and respectful — and the editor-in-chief holds final responsibility for all decisions.
02
Guided by COPE
The journal follows the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We expect all submissions to reflect original work, to acknowledge sources and contributors appropriately, to disclose conflicts of interest and funding, and to adhere to ethical standards for research involving human participants — particularly given the vulnerable populations central to our field.
Allegations of misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, and redundant publication, are investigated in accordance with COPE guidance. Corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions are issued promptly and linked to the original article to maintain the integrity of the published record.
Submit
Submit Your Research.
We invite authors at every career stage — established researchers, early-career scholars, doctoral candidates, and practitioner-researchers alike — to share their work. Whether you are reporting a multi-year study, synthesizing a body of literature, introducing an innovative approach, or offering a fresh theoretical perspective, we encourage you to submit. In brief, before submitting:
01
Format to APA 7th Edition
Prepare the manuscript — citations, references, headings, tables, and figures — per the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition).
02
Submit an Editable File
Provide the manuscript in an editable word-processing format such as Microsoft Word.
03
Anonymize for Review
Remove all identifying information from the main manuscript and supply author names, affiliations, and contact details on a separate title page.
04
Include an Abstract & Keywords
Add a 150–250 word abstract and 4–6 keywords, and ensure every in-text citation appears in the reference list.
05
Confirm Permissions & Ethics
Obtain permission to reproduce previously published material, and confirm that research involving human participants received appropriate IRB/ethics approval and informed consent.
Ready to Submit?
We welcome manuscripts from researchers, educators, and practitioners at every career stage.