Judged by members of the Editorial Board, the Article of the Year award is given on the basis of the following criteria:
- ability to communicate original insights about processes of education, drawing on sociological perspectives, with exceptional clarity;
- show potential for challenging and/or changing the way researchers conceive of an issue, study it and theorise possible insights;
- potential for making an original and lasting contribution to debate on social justice and education and/or innovative new theoretical and methodological scholarship in the ‘field’ of sociology of education.
The Award is decided by a working group of at least 5 members of the Editorial Board (selected afresh each year) and facilitated by one of the editors. The process of short-listing articles for further consideration begins in November each year (once the final issue has been published). The winner and runner-up papers are decided by mid-December by the working group, and announced before the end of the calendar year.