Editorial Policies

Focus and Scope

Journal of Inclusive Education (JIE) is an international Journal of Faculty of Education, published by Allama Iqbal Open University Pakistan. The annual journal aims at offering a national and international platform for multidisciplinary professionals to exchange their ideas and explore the innovative practices on Inclusive Education. Key features of JIE include a strong commitment to quality research, promotion of researches and address the diversity in the current and future forms of inclusive education. Articles can be of original empirical research, literature and book reviews, critical and exploratory essays, case studies, policy reviews etc. focusing on issues related to all aspects of inclusive education.

Vision
Peer-reviewed Journal of Inclusive Education is a strategic forum for multidisciplinary dialogues among researchers, policy makers, administrators, parents and all stakeholders of inclusive education.

Mission
JIE, a pre-eminent voice of inclusive education practitioners, support the sharing of experiences, practices, innovations and creativity in the areas of exclusion, inclusion, early childhood education, elementary and secondary classrooms, action researches to accommodate a person with special needs.

Topics of interest
JIE lays special emphasis on

Theoretical understanding of the nature of inclusive education
National and international Policies on inclusive education
Issues related to equality, accessibility and social inclusion
Impact of reforms in policy, legislation and practice models on school system
Curriculum and instruction strategies to include diversity in the classroom
Forms and variation in inclusive education
Case studies of diversified nature
The dilemmas and tensions associated with inclusion
Leadership issues in achieving targets of education
Teachers’ training and adaptation issues of inclusive education
Contemporary Inclusive educational practice
Global trends of inclusive education
Assessment and evaluation of initiatives of inclusive education
Adult and continuous education
Non-formal education and open schooling
Functional literacy development initiatives
Technologies for adaptation of curriculum and practices
Special education needs
Disability studies
Curriculum and instruction adaptations
Student exclusion and disengagement
Issues related to curriculum, pedagogy, community-involvement and diverse learners for implementing inclusive education

 

Section Policies

Articles

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed
 

Peer Review Process

Peer Review Policy and Process
JIE follows a double blind peer reviewing policy. All submissions are reviewed internally and externally.

Initial Screening: Initial screening for the suitability of the article for publication in JIE is carried out by the associate editors and subsequently the manuscript is sent for blind reviewing. Each article is reviewed by one local professional and one international professional. Authors are informed about the comments or suggestions of the reviewers and are required to revise their paper in the specific time.

Regretting after initial review: A large number of submissions are rejected without being sent out for external peer review on the grounds of priority, insufficient originality, scientific flaws, lack of interest to the readers or the absence of scope of the journal. Usually an immediate decision is taken on such papers. Intial internal review process usually takes maximum 2-3 months.

Sending paper to reviewers: The remaining articles are assigned to an associate editor, who will send it to one local and one external reviewers selected from a list of experts/reviewers. The paper may also be sent to a specialist statistical reviewer if the paper demands such expertise. Once the reviews have been received the editor/associate editor/assistant editor makes a decision to accept or reject a manuscript, or to request revisions from the author in response to the reviewers’ comments. The peer review process usually takes 2-3 months.

Research articles authored by a member of a journal’s editorial team are independently submitted and peer reviewed by any member other than the author. The editor/associate editor/assistant editor/member editorial board/reviewer will have no input or influence on the peer review process or publication decision for their own article. The review process generally takes 04 to 08 months.

Selection of Peer Reviewers
Selection of reviewers is of greater significance for publishing a high quality papers. JIE selects reviewers keeping their expertise, reputation, experience and qualification in mind. The editorial board discourages using those reviewers who do not give potential feedback and specific comments or are slow, non serious or biased in any sense. JIE gets reviewers’ consent before sending them papers to them for review.

Research articles authored by a member of a journal’s editorial team are independently peer reviewed; an editor must have no input or influence on the peer review process or publication decision for their own article.

The KEY for final recommendations as per AIOU policy is as follows:

Scope Newness and Applicability: 30%
Citation/ Quality of references: 20%
Grammar and Style: 10%
Contents/ all components and organization: 40%
The reviewers submit the confidential comments to the editorial board, if any and arrive at one of the following recommendations.

Accept, without revision
Accept, after minor revisions suggested
Accept, after major revisions suggested
Reject, not fit for publication
Moreover the reviewer intimate that after the revision, he/ she either wants to read the article again or leave it up to the editor to decide.

Journal of Inclusive Education
Peer Review form/ Checklist
REVIEWER:__________________________

AFFILIATED WITH INSTITUTION/ UNIVERSITY: ____________________________________________________________

COUNTRY:____________________________



TITLE

Is the title appropriate? If the title does not clearly or adequately describe the intent of the study, suggest alternate language for the title.
ABSTRACT

Are the Background and Objectives clear and consistent with what is already known about this topic?
Are the Objectives achievable given the data used by the authors?
Are the study population/sample and outcome measures consistent with the objectives?
Do the Results match the outcome measures? All outcome measures that are reported in the Abstract Results should be defined clearly and succinctly in the Abstract Methods.
Is the Conclusion supported by the Results, and does it match the Objectives?
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS

Is the problem described clearly in light of what is already known about the study topic?
Do the authors justify the need for this study, and does this research address that need?
LITERATURE REVIEW

Is the literature relevant and comprehensive?
Are the references accurate and in agreement with the statements made in the manuscript?
Are the references primary or secondary? The references should generally be the original studies rather than narrative or other reviews or journal supplements.
Does the literature cited highlight the objectives of the study?
METHODS

Is the design of study consistent with its aims and scope?
Are the study population/sample and outcome measures consistent with the Objectives?
Is the sample representative of the population in question?
Is the method of selecting the sample clearly described?
Are the reliability and validity of instruments mentioned?
For experimental research:

Is a randomized control group used? If not, is there an adequate comparison group (a group that is equivalent to the study group of interest except for the key independent variable or intervention)?
Are there potentially confounding factors that might affect study outcomes? Has the design controlled for them? If not, are study results invalidated or can the problem be addressed with a Limitation?
Are the methods described clearly and in sufficient detail to permit a knowledgeable reader to replicate the study?
Are the inclusion and exclusion criteria presented clearly, and can you determine how many subjects were excluded for each criterion?
RESULTS

Do the authors describe the key findings in the text and rely upon the tables and figures to present less important data?
Are the findings presented in the results both statistically significant and substantively meaningful?
Is the description of the results consistent with the study methodology (e.g., authors refer to the specific group, time period, or other key details in describing the study findings, so that readers understand the findings clearly)?
To what populations are the results generalizable? Does the data presentation accurately reflect those populations, or does it over-extend?
For experimental research:

Are the study group characteristics quantified clearly (generally Table 1), including the use of statistical analysis and P values to show differences between subgroups?
Does the primary data table (generally Table 2) show the key outcome measures with the results of statistical analysis reported for each of the between-group differences?
TABLES AND FIGURES

Are the tables and figures understandable without reading the manuscript?
DISCUSSION

Does the discussion briefly review the principal findings of the current study?
Is the reader informed about how these study results compare qualitatively and quantitatively with the results of other similar and relevant studies?
If applicable, do the authors provide possible explanations why the results of the present study do not comport with findings from other relevant studies?
Do the authors describe the implications of their findings? If so, are the implications consistent with the study sample, methods, and results, or do the authors “stretch” the results beyond what the study actually found?
After reading the discussion, does the manuscript pass the “So what” test?
Does the discussion critique and discuss the methodology used?
LIMITATIONS

What other factors or variables could explain the findings and are these factors and variables addressed by the authors?
CONCLUSION

Does the conclusion succinctly but completely sum up the key take away points of the study?
Does the conclusion match the objective?
LITERATURE CITED

Are the literature cited of high quality/standard reflecting online, traceable and reputable databases?
Is their utilization of references from previous articles published in JIE?
OTHER CRITERIA

INTEREST AND READABILITY:

Can he manuscript capture and hold the reader’s attention?
Will the paper contribute to newness in study area?
ORDER AND LOGIC:

Is the central idea clear and supported?
Is the organization orderly?
Does the manuscript flow smoothly and logically, with the sentences, paragraphs, and sections fitting together and carrying the reader forward comfortably?
CLARITY AND ACCURACY:

Is the syntax correct and appropriate?

Are the technical terms defined clearly, and is jargon minimized or absent?

LENGTH

Is the content of the paper of sufficient interest, to justify its length?

The KEY for final recommendations as per AIOU policy is as follows:
Scope, Newness and Applicability: 30%
Citation/ Quality of references: 20%
Grammar and Style: 10%
Contents/ all components and organization: 40%
Please submit the confidential comments to the editorial board, if make one of the following recommendations.

Accept, without revision
Accept, after minor revisions suggested.
Accept, after major revisions suggested.
Reject, not fit for publication.
Moreover kindly intimate us that after the revision, you either wants to read the article again or leave it up to the editor to decide.

Signature: ——————-

 

Publication Frequency

JIE is published annually since 2017.

 

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.

 

Publication Ethics

Journal of Inclusive Education follows the publication ethics and malpractice policies as outlined by AIOU and HEC. JIE believes that authors must follow the publication ethics and malpractices policies as laid down by AIOU, and HEC. In case of any breach of policy rules are found, the editorial team reserves the right to take legal action/ penalty accordingly.

Plagiarism Policy
As per HEC policy, plagiarism will not be accepted in any journal of the Faculty of Education. With the submission author is required to declare the originality of his/her work, properly citing or copying previous publications. If plagiarism is detected during the peer review process, the manuscript may be rejected. If the plagiarism is detected after publication, the publisher has the right to issue a correction or retract the paper.

 

Indexing & Abstracting

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