Special issue - Information literacy and Generation Alpha: Preparing children and young people for the 2030s and beyond

2026-09-24

‘Generational Alpha’ are defined as those born between approximately 2010 and 2024 (McCrindle, 2008). In 2027, they will be aged between 2 and 17 years old. This generation of children and young people face a markedly different information landscape than previous generations. The growth of social media; the development of Artificial Intelligence; and the expansion of content produced outside traditional content providers such as book publishers or conventional media outlets are just some of the changes to the information landscape that impact on the ways in which today’s children and young people make sense of the world. At the same time, societal trends such as greater awareness of the importance of mental health; increasing concern about global warming and other environmental issues; and trends in employment all have the potential to impact on young people’s need for, and use of, information.

The Journal of Information Literacy (JIL) welcomes submissions exploring how information literacy is adapting to prepare children and young people (from pre-school/early years up to the age of 18) for a rapidly changing world. How can information literacy adapt to the changes experienced by children and young people and better prepare them for adulthood in the 2030s and beyond?

We welcome submissions that consider the role of information literacy, either within formal education or beyond, in relation to a range of topics. These include, but are not limited to:

·         young people’s use of AI to find information and/or produce content

·         changes to employment patterns, e.g. increasing number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs)

·         growing concern about young people’s use of social media, from governments and wider society

·         changes to the format, structure or length of information young people consume e.g. more video content

·         information provided directly by individual creators (including young people) rather than traditional publishers/media

·         greater awareness of young people’s mental health concerns

·         increased engagement with issues relating to the environment, climate change, net zero etc amongst young people.

If you would like to discuss whether your proposal meets the scope for this special issue, please contact Sarah McNicol (sarahmcnicol22 [at] gmail.com).

Deadline for full papers: 1st June 2027 

Special issue publication date: December 2027

  • General guidelines: The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
  • Submission procedure: Manuscripts should be submitted via the JIL website
  • Submission types: We welcome both research articles and project reports. Research articles offer a scholarly investigation into an aspect of IL. They follow a double-anonymous peer review process, meaning that articles are read by at least two reviewers who have no knowledge of the author’s identity. Articles for peer review should be between 3,000 and 8,000 words excluding references. Please see our Submission Guidelines for more information. 
    Project reports focus on projects, resources or similar initiatives. They should show how a project or initiative advances our thinking about IL or showcases innovative practices. Project reports should be between 1,000 and 5,000 words. Please see our Submission Guidelines for more information. 
  • References: Referencing should be in APA style

Open Access Policy: The Journal of Information Literacy is an open access title and authors retain copyright in their articles and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike Licence