About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The Journal of Learning for Development, a Scopus-indexed journal, provides a forum for the publication of research with a focus on innovation in learning, in particular but not exclusively, open and distance learning (ODL), and its contribution to development. If the research is not directly about ODL, then we encourage authors to consider submitting research on equity, access and success using technology-enabled learning. Content includes interventions that change social and/or economic relations, especially in terms of improving equity.

JL4D publishes research articles, book reviews and reports from the field from researchers, scholars and practitioners, and seeks to engage a broad audience across that spectrum. It aims to encourage contributors starting their careers, as well as to publish the work of established and senior scholars from the Commonwealth and beyond.

Peer Review Process

  • Review process: All submissions to JL4D are peer reviewed. JL4D uses a two-stage process. Submissions are initially reviewed internally by one or more associate editors to ensure the submission aligns with the focus/scope of the journal, the paper is formatted according to the author guidelines, and that it is methodologically sound. Where the submission is appropriate but needs some further editing, feedback is provided on how the paper can be improved for better alignment and adherence to the journal’s requirements. Revised submissions are again reviewed internally before being subjected to a plagiarism software check and then, if appropriate, sent for external peer review. The two-stage process ensures that reviewers receive only submissions which are of appropriate focus and quality and the initial feedback and revision process also supports developing emergent researchers.
  • Type of peer review: JL4D uses a double-blind external peer review process. Prior to being sent for external review, submissions are checked to ensure that no author information is shared. Authors and reviewers are assured of anonymity, and this contributes to improved transparency, and accountability of both the reviewers and the authors.
  • Final decision: The final decision on whether to accept, reject, or request further revisions for each submission is made by the Chief Editor in consultation with the wider editorial team during regular online team meetings. Decisions are based on the recommendations and comments from the external reviewers and an editorial judgement based on the quality, originality, relevance, and significance of the submission. The decision is communicated by email from within the journal platform. Reasons are provided in the event of a rejection or a request for further revisions. Appeals or complaints from authors who disagree with the decision are initially addressed by a designated associate editor but elevated to the Chief Editor or the wider editorial team for discussion if not resolved. The decision of the Chief Editor is final.

    The review process will typically take about two months but may take longer depending on the availability of suitable reviewers. The editor will inform contributors of the acceptance or rejection of the manuscript.

Publication Frequency

The Journal of Learning for Development is published three times in a year ( March, July and November). Submissions will be published after peer-review and copyediting.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. By making all articles available under a CC-BY-SA license, the Journal of Learning for Development allows its authors to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Readers can copy and distribute the published work in any medium and format; remix, transform, and build upon the work as long as the original author (s) and the Journal of Learning for Development are attributed, and the derivative is released under CC-BY-SA license.

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

The Journal of Learning for Development (JL4D) is a peer-reviewed journal, published three times annually by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), and is committed to the highest standard of publication ethics and best practice.

JL4D does not tolerate any form of publishing malpractices, such as fabrication, falsification, manipulation, plagiarism, duplication, salami-slicing, citation manipulation, identity fraud, or impersonation. All submissions are subject to plagiarism detection software and verifying author identities where these are in doubt. Engaging in such malpractices will result in rejection, or retraction and the authors being barred from any subsequent submissions.

The journal’s statement on Publication Ethics and Malpractice is informed by the following documents of the Committee on Public Ethics (COPE):

This document is based on a review of several Journal Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statements. JL4D applies these to all submissions and takes appropriate actions based on complaints in a transparent and open manner.

Definitions

Author: The definition of authorship follows the guidelines of the International Committee of the Medical Journal Editors:

“ (i) Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND

(ii) Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND

(iii) Final approval of the version to be published; AND

(iv) Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.”

Editor: mean Chief Editor, Associate Editors and Book Reviews Editor of JL4D.

Peer Reviewer: an expert requested by the Editor to review a manuscript submitted to JL4D and provide professional judgement on the quality and suitability for publication. 

Publisher: COL is the publisher of JL4D.

Use of AI: means use of any artificial intelligence tools for preparing the submission to JL4D.

Role of Authors

  • Authors are expected to adhere to ethical conduct and national and institution-specific ethical policies throughout the research.
  • Authorship: Authors should acknowledge the nature of the contributions of all individuals who have participated in the research or publication process. Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of their work, and that they have obtained all necessary permissions and approvals for their research. Multi-author teams should designate a corresponding author for all subsequent decision-making. Guidelines available at https://credit.niso.org/ may be useful to provide attribution of authorship.
  • Conflicts of interest: Authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence or bias the research or findings, such as financial, personal, or professional relationships. In resolving any conflicts JL4D is guided by the Committee on Public Ethics Guidelines (COPE).
  • Research ethics: JL4D expects authors to conduct their research in accordance with accepted ethical principles and standards, such as obtaining informed consent from human participants, protecting their privacy and confidentiality, and ensuring their welfare and safety. JL4D may require authors to provide proof of ethical approval documents or statements from relevant committees or authorities for their research. Some specific guidelines are provided below for consideration of the authors:
    • Where possible, ethical clearance or approval should be sought from a relevant research ethics committee or research ethics board.
    • Where students or staff from a particular institution are involved in the research, the relevant research data gatekeeper should be approached for permission to do the research prior to recruiting the research participants.
    • In the research process the benefits to the research participants should outweigh the risks.
    • Research participants should be recruited fairly and within the parameters set for the research being reported.
    • Participation in the research should be totally voluntary and only participants who willingly provide written informed consent may take part.
    • No undue remuneration should be provided to participants to avoid undue influence.
    • informed consent should be obtained from the participants.
    • The participants in a study should be allowed to withdraw from the research at any point without any penalty or disadvantage.
    • Throughout the research process confidentiality should be ensured and the privacy of participants be respected.
    • Authors are encouraged to share primary research data in a de-identified and accessible format through online repositories where possible. However, data may only be shared with the necessary ethical clearance and anonymisation.
    • All data should be securely stored electronically in a password-protected environment or in hard copy for a period of years acceptable to the relevant national or institutional standards.
    • The findings may be made available to the research participants after the research has been completed.
    • Authors commit to submitting original research and avoiding plagiarism.
    • Authors commit to the principles of research integrity as per the Singapore Statement on Research Integrity
  • Retractions and corrections: JL4D follows the COPE guidelinesfor retracting or correcting articles that contain errors, misconduct, or plagiarism. Expressions of concern, comments, and replies to published articles are considered initially by an associate editor and then elevated to the chief editor or the wider editorial team as appropriate. In exceptional circumstances, the issue might be referred to an external third party for advice. JL4D reserves the right to remove any publications from its website and its indexing databases, either temporarily until the issue has been resolved or permanently if not. Metadata will be retained and a statement added to explain why the content is no longer available.
  • Use of AI: Use of GenAI and AI assisted tools may be done only for improving the language of the work and should not replace the writing process.  Authors are responsible for all works submitted by them. The use of AI tools is permitted only as part of the research method where the nature of use is explained clearly with appropriate justification and citation. AI tools cannot be listed as author.

Authors submitting manuscripts for publication in JL4D are expected to ensure that their submission presents:

  • An original and accurate account of the intent, methods, findings, discussions and implications.
  • Comprehensive coverage within the scope of the work.
  • Objective and logically derived interpretations.
  • Appropriate acknowledgements and citations to previous works.
  • Appropriate acknowledgement of use of AI/GenerativeAI at any stage of the development of the work through the inclusion of an AI usage statement on submission, explaining what was used and how it was used and that the author takes full responsibility for ensuring that the content is accurate, unbiased and does not transgress any copyright or other legal restriction. The statement will normally be included in the Methods section of the published version and appropriately referenced.
  • An undertaking that it is not concurrently submitted to other journals for publication and is not a duplicate or variant of a previously published work (exceptions being an improved version of a conference paper).
  • Authorship and attribution as per the authorship criteria.
  • Clear disclosure of conflict of interests, if any, on the manuscript.
  • Sources of all direct financial support (including grant number or reference number, if any).
  • Authors acknowledge that
    • Plagiarism is an unethical behaviour and is unacceptable
    • Appropriate institutional approvals are taken for research including human subjects.
    • Participating in the peer review process is mandatory, and they will cooperate with the editors in a timely manner to provide clarifications required.
    • Accepted manuscripts will be published in JL4D with CC BY-SA license, and therefore, the authors have copyrights (or copyright clearance) for all materials submitted as part of the manuscript.

Role of Reviewers

Reviewers, who are registered on the Journal and are assigned a manuscript for review have the following roles and responsibilities, and agree to abide by these while providing consent to review a submission:

  • Respond to the review request in a timely manner.
  • Treat all mails and manuscripts as confidential documents that are not discussed with anyone other than the Chief Editor of JL4D.
  • Reviewers who decline review due to conflict of interest or otherwise will also maintain confidentiality of the process.
  • Assess the manuscript objectively as per the review guidelines.
  • Provide detailed comments to assist the authors to revise their work, and may also advise on other suitable outlets for publication, if a work is not suitable for the scope of JL4D.
  • Identify missing citations/ acknowledgments, logical as well as typographical errors, and notify Editors of substantial similarity to published works, if any. Reviewers are advised not to undertake plagiarism detection at their end.
  • Undertake not to make use of AI/Generative AI tools during the review process.

Role of Editors

The Editorial Review Board of JL4D provides oversight of the quality of the journal and reviews submissions within their areas of expertise. The Chief Editor, Associate Editors and Book Reviews Editor form the Editorial Team for JL4D, and are responsible for:

  • Maintaining confidentiality of the peer review and publication process for all submitted manuscripts.
  • Disclosing their conflict of interests, if any, on a manuscript and recuse themselves from handling the submission for the review process.
  • Assessing the suitability of the manuscript for JL4D in the most objective manner considering its relevance to the scope of the journal.
  • Selecting the most appropriate peer reviewers for assessing the quality and appropriateness of the manuscript.
  • Making publication decisions based on the comments of the reviewers and guided by the submission policies of JL4D.
  • Ensuring that all manuscripts submitted to JL4D are treated fairly without prejudice to authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, citizenship, religious belief, political philosophy or institutional affiliation.
  • Maintaining highest standard of editorial independence, confidentiality and integrity in publication decisions.
  • Editing the accepted manuscript for language and maintaining the style and format of the publication.
  • Checking for similarity for each publication before peer review to ensure that the publication is free from copyright infringement and plagiarism.
  • Investigating ethical concerns and taking appropriate action, including retractions, when found correct.

Role of the Publisher

As publisher of JL4D, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) commits to the following:

  • Chief Editor of the Journal receives complete editorial independence to maintain credibility of the journal.
  • Release the issues of the journals on Open Access with a CC BY-SA license.
  • In addition to the online journal site also preserve papers in COL’s institutional repository.
  • Handle transparently, complaints regarding unethical behaviour of editors or editorial misconduct, if any.
  • Provide support to maintain and continue publication of the journal, as well as indexing of the journals in multiple channels and databases.

Article Processing Charges

The Journal of Learning for Development does not levy article processing charges or any other submission fees for authors. Sponsored by the Commonwealth of Learning, it is committed to publish quality works from the Commonwealth countries and beyond within the scope of the Journal and provide free and open access to the maximum users.

Publisher contact details: