Manuscripts of 4,000 to 5,000 words should be submitted as a file in a standard word-processing format to the appropriate editorial e-mail address. Everything, including endnotes, should be double spaced. To facilitate anonymous review by referees, the authorís name should not appear in the article; please include a separate cover sheet that contains the article title, an abstract of up to 100 words, the authorís name and full contact details, a single-sentence institutional affiliation, up to six keywords and phrases that describe the articleís focus, and a statement that the article is original and has not been published elsewhere. Contributors should retain copies of their files since the editors can take no responsibility in case of loss or damage. Acceptance of manuscripts is subject to the journalís peer review policy. Authors should bear in mind that they are addressing an international readership and either avoid or explain local jargon.
Citations must conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., 2nd printing or later). A full bibliography, including only those works cited, should appear at the end of the article. Endnotes should be numbered consecutively in the text. If specialized software is used to prepare the citations and bibliography, please convert all fields to editable text before submitting.
Peer Review Policy
In order to ensure the quality of articles published, the Journal of Education and Christian Belief requires that all submitted manuscripts be subjected to peer review. Published articles do not necessarily reflect the personal beliefs of the editors or reviewers.
Initial Manuscript Review
All submitted manuscripts are first evaluated by the editors. A manuscript may be rejected at this stage for any of the following reasons:
- it does not make a significant contribution to the field of Christian thinking about education;
- it will not be of interest to the journalís intended readership;
- it contains too many grammatical or stylistic infelicities; or
- it contains irremediable problems in methodology or interpretation.
Authors of manuscripts rejected after an initial review will be informed via e-mail within 3 weeks of receipt.
The Review Process
After passing the initial review, manuscripts are sent to two reviewers who are considered knowledgeable in the general topic of the manuscript. Personal information is stripped from the original manuscript (explicit first-person references within the body of the text that may betray the identity of the author are blanked when possible, but passages will not be rewritten in order to ensure anonymity). Review is double blind: only the editors know the identities of the author and reviewers.
Reviewers are given 8–10 weeks to choose one of the following options:
- publication with response (a deadline must be indicated);
- publication with revisions;
- resubmission with more substantial rewriting;
- submission to another journal (to be indicated); or
A third reviewer will be sought if an initial reviewer is able to identify the author or if the reviewersí recommendations are in significant conflict. In either case, a third reviewer will be selected for an additional, brief, double-blind review.
The editors will then collect comments from all reviewers and inform the author of the consensus. All comments, including those of the editor, will be passed on to the author in summary form. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the editor and author will decide on a deadline by which a final version must be submitted.