An Editor's Top Ten Wish List

I would like to take this opportunity to do three things. First, I want to briefly update you on how the journal is doing. Second, I want to introduce you to a new section of the journal that you will see in this issue and possibly some future issues. And last, I would like to talk to you about a serious shortage in the kinds of research studies that practicing professional school counselors need and what we should do about it. I will briefly discuss a process and make specific suggestions in outlining a Top Ten Wish List for increasing certain types of studies that could add much to our field. Professional School Counseling is in very good shape. We are receiving many good manuscripts that address a wide range of issues important to the training and practice of school counselors. With the invaluable assistance of Kathleen Rakestraw, managing editor, our turnaround time on manuscripts is approximately 3 months (from initial submission, through the editorial review, and to a decision letter from the editor). Our acceptance rate is close to 25% on all submitted manuscripts. I have really tried to make a special effort to work with practicing school counselors who submit manuscripts. We have four special issues in various stages of completion. I would like to thank the members of our Editorial Board who consistently provide an invaluable service to the journal and assistance to mc in malting Professional School Counseling a very high-quality, scholarly publication. In this issue you will find a new section to our journal. I have titled it Extended Discussion. One of the difficulties with journals is that articles often are unrelated to each other. One author may present a provocative idea or set of findings and the next article goes off in an unrelated direction. One strategy for increasing the coherence of the journal for readers and pushing our field to take a more in-depth look at critical issues is to have an extended discussion in the journal about topics of paramount importance for professional school counselors. In this issue of the journal, Bemak, Chung, and Siroskey-Sabdo present a strategy for providing group counseling services to African American girls who are at risk for dropping out of high school. After receiving this submission, I felt that we would all benefit from having an extended discussion on this topic. I then asked several of your colleagues to read this paper and write a critical reaction to it. I tried to give them the latitude that would allow them to add their own unique perspective to this topic. After receiving these critiques, I sent them to Dr. Bemak and his colleagues. They then wrote a reaction to the critiques. I hope that what you find is a coherent discussion of a critical issue that our profession faces. As you will see, the authors do not agree. This, I think, is a good thing. It introduces debate and discussion into the journal about a fundamental problem of practice that school counselors face. I hope that in this small way, Professional School Counseling would serve as a forum for discussions that position school counselors to be part of the solution to the critical challenges facing our ever-diversifying pluralistic democracy. AN EDITOR'S TOP TEN WISH LIST Having now reviewed all of the manuscripts submitted to Professional School Counseling over the past year, I would like to draw your attention to both a serious and significant gap in the knowledge base that practicing school counselors need and a shortage in the kinds of studies that could be of real assistance to them. I present this to you as nay Top Ten Wish List that we could work together to realize. 10. Moratorium We should call for a temporary moratorium on articles that only expound on what practicing school counselors ought to be doing. Speaking for myself, it is relatively easy to sit in my faculty office and generate a manuscript that sounds good, has an internal logic to it, and makes suggestions for counselor practice that from a university perspective seem reasonable. …