in education Volume 31, Number 1, 2026 Winter (Special Issue)

Editorial

Kathleen Nolan and Valerie Triggs, University of Regina

Welcome to the first issue of in education for 2026, and a most unique Special Issue of the journal. In this issue, we are pleased to present The Story of Blackout: Neuroqueer Identities and Arts-Based Pedagogy in Education, guest edited by Connie Morrison from Memorial University. When we distributed a call for special issue proposals some months ago, we never expected to now be introducing this richly diverse and creative collection of research articles and essays, all stemming from the Blackout youth theatre project and from the Equity Collective for Hope and Opportunity (ECHO) Lab Collective’s scholarship and partnership work in support of the project in St. John’s, NL.

As Editors-in-Chief of in education, we have learned so much through working with Connie Morrison and the other highly dedicated and creative scholars in this issue. The essays and articles in this issue bring to life for the reader how a group of neurodiverse LGBTQ2SIA+ students were brought together to create a musical. As Connie shares in her editorial, by including contributions from both community educators and university academics, the issue offers a powerful account of the theatre project and its impact on the community.

As always, we wish to thank in education’s managing editor, Marzieh Mosavarzadeh, for being readily available throughout, from copyediting and formatting the manuscripts to publishing this special issue. We extend our deepest appreciation to Connie, as well as all essay and article authors in this issue, for providing in education with this wonderful opportunity to publish their story.