About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The Journal of Learning for Development provides a forum for the publication of research with a focus on innovation in learning, in particular but not exclusively open and distance learning, and its contribution to development. 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

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Learning for Development (JL4D) go through blind review by at least two members of the editorial review board or invited reviewers with competence in the area.

The review process will take about two months. 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. 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.

Role of Authors

  • 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.
  • 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.

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, wherever required to ensure that 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.

Sponsors