The Architecture of Well-Being: Bridging Social Policy, Schooling, and Society
A Special Issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102) belonging to the section "Education and Psychology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2027 | Viewed by 24
Editors
Interests: black/vulnerable populations; education; housing; criminal/juvenile justice; school-to-prison pipeline; carceral logics; education reform; urban development/housing policy; policy change; marginalized groups; policy process
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue explores the critical intersections of education, public policy, and human flourishing. In the current sociopolitical moment marked by increased political polarization and intense attacks on education and marginalized communities, it is crucial that scholarship explores well-being not as an individual project but a structural outcome shaped by institutions and governance. By treating well-being as a deliberate “architecture,” this Special Issue examines how systemic frameworks, social policies, and educational environments co-construct the conditions necessary for individuals and communities to thrive.
We invite interdisciplinary contributions that bridge the gap between theory, policy, and practice. We are particularly interested in scholarship that explores the impact of welfare and social equity policies on student mental health, the role of schools and communities as hubs for resilience, innovative frameworks that prioritize holistic development over rigid academic metrics, the role of cross-sector collaborations to address educational and social inequality, and critical analysis of social policies used to promote well-being and social mobility. We especially welcome empirical studies, comparative policy analyses, and conceptual papers that use critical frameworks to challenge traditional definitions of well-being. We are particularly interested in scholarship that leverages Black Critical Theory, Critical Race Theory, Black Feminist Thought, Critical Policy Analysis, and other frameworks that deliberately interrogate power structures. Ultimately, this collection will provide policymakers, educators, and social scientists with actionable insights to dismantle systemic barriers. Through this collection, we will show how aligning social policy with educational practice is a necessary approach to design robust interventions to elevate collective well-being for generations to come.
Dr. DeMarcus A. Jenkins
Dr. Allante Moon
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- social policy
- well-being
- social welfare
- mental health
- schools
- society
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