Thematic Issue Policy

THEMATIC ISSUE POLICY

Pedagogical Perspective (PedPer)

ISSN: 2822-4841 | DOI Prefix: 10.29329

Quick Summary

Pedagogical Perspective (PedPer) (eISSN: 2822-4841) publishes Thematic Issues (TIs) to provide a scholarly platform for research on current, emerging, and field-specific topics in education. The purpose of TIs is to support in-depth academic discussion, strengthen interdisciplinary dialogue, and highlight critical themes aligned with the journal’s Aim & Scope.

PedPer may publish up to one Thematic Issue per year, unless otherwise decided by the Editorial Board. The publication of Thematic Issues does not replace or delay regular issues; PedPer’s biannual publication schedule (March and October) is maintained regardless of TI activity.

1) Scope and Eligibility

Proposed TI topics must fall within PedPer’s Aim & Scope and meet the journal’s quality and ethical standards.
All TI manuscripts must comply with PedPer’s Author Guidelines, Peer Review Policy, and Publication Ethics & Malpractice
TI topics should address timely, significant, and clearly defined research themes that are of interest to PedPer’s international readership.

2) How to Propose a Thematic Issue

TI proposals may be submitted in two ways:

Editorial Board–initiated proposals — Members of the Editorial Board may prepare and submit a TI proposal.
Researcher-initiated proposals — External researchers or research groups may submit a TI proposal to the journal.

All proposals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) and the Editorial Board for academic relevance, feasibility, alignment with the journal’s scope, and overall quality. The Editorial Board makes the final decision on TI approval and the appointment of Guest Editor(s).

3) Required Components of a TI Proposal

A TI proposal should include:

Proposed title and theme
Rationale and relevance to current scholarship
Scope (topics/questions to be covered)
Proposed Guest Editor(s) with short bios, institutional affiliations, ORCID iDs, and a statement of relevant expertise
A draft timeline (CFP date, submission deadline, review window, publication target)
A statement on ethics, peer review, conflicts of interest, and citation integrity
An indication of how the TI will attract contributions from diverse national and institutional contexts

4) Call for Papers (CFP)

Guest Editor(s) prepare the Call for Papers (CFP) in accordance with PedPer policies and in coordination with the Editorial Office. The CFP must include:

Title and theme of the TI
Scope and rationale
Key deadlines and timeline
Article types accepted and word limits (as applicable)
Submission instructions (via PedPer’s OJS submission system)
Contact information (Guest Editor(s) + journal contact)

The CFP is published on the journal website and may be disseminated through academic networks, mailing lists, and professional associations to ensure broad international reach.

5) Thematic Issue Workflow

Step 1 – Expression of Interest / Proposal Stage (optional)

If PedPer uses an initial screening stage (e.g., extended abstracts), the CFP must clearly state the format and criteria.

Step 2 – Full Manuscript Submission (mandatory)

All manuscripts intended for a TI must be submitted via PedPer’s OJS system (not by email) to ensure traceability and auditability.

Step 3 – Editorial Screening

The Editorial Office/EIC conducts an initial check for scope, basic quality, completeness, and ethics compliance (including iThenticate similarity screening).

Step 4 – External Double-Blind Peer Review

All TI manuscripts undergo external, double-blind peer review in line with PedPer’s Peer Review Policy and are evaluated by at least two independent reviewers. There is no reduction or modification of review standards for Thematic Issues.

Step 5 – Decision and Revisions

Guest Editor(s) may recommend decisions based on reviewer reports; however, the final decision authority remains with the Editor-in-Chief (or a delegated independent editor when conflicts exist).

Step 6 – Production and Publication

After acceptance, the Editorial Office manages copyediting, language proofreading (via Paperpal by Editage — see Language Policy), layout, DOI assignment, and publication.

6) Guest Editors: Roles, Responsibilities, and Oversight

Guest Editor(s) must:

Ensure all manuscripts align with PedPer’s Aim & Scope and quality expectations;
Follow PedPer’s Publication Ethics & Malpractice policy and maintain confidentiality;
Declare and manage conflicts of interest; manuscripts involving a COI must be handled by an independent editor (see COI Statement);
Avoid any action that could compromise review integrity (including reviewer manipulation, coercive citation requests, or preferential treatment of any submission);
Actively encourage submissions from diverse national, institutional, and disciplinary contexts to ensure that the TI reflects PedPer’s commitment to international reach.

Editorial oversight: The EIC/Editorial Office oversees TI workflows and may intervene when ethical or procedural concerns arise. The EIC retains ultimate editorial authority over all acceptance/rejection decisions in Thematic Issues.

7) Guest Editor Editorial (Introduction)

Guest Editor(s) are expected to prepare an editorial or introduction for the Thematic Issue. This editorial should:

Provide an overview of the theme and its significance to the field;
Summarise how the included articles contribute to the theme;
Identify gaps, emerging questions, or directions for future research.

The editorial is reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief before publication to ensure consistency with the journal’s editorial standards. Guest Editor editorials are not peer-reviewed in the same manner as research articles but must meet the journal’s standards for scholarly quality and ethical compliance.

8) Citation Integrity (No Coercive Citations)

Guest Editor(s) must not require or pressure authors to cite:

The Guest Editor(s)’ own work,
PedPer, or
Any associated journals,

unless academically necessary and directly relevant to the manuscript. Coercive or irrelevant citation requests are prohibited and constitute a violation of publication ethics.

9) Guest Editor Submissions to the TI

Guest Editor(s) may submit manuscripts to the TI under the following safeguards:

Guest Editor–authored manuscripts must not exceed 25% of the total number of articles in the TI (excluding the editorial/introduction).
Such manuscripts are handled by an independent editor (e.g., the EIC or a designated Associate Editor) and undergo external, double-blind peer review under the same standards as all other submissions.
Guest Editor(s) have no access to reviewer identities, reviewer reports, or editorial correspondence for their own manuscripts.

10) Quality Standards and Rejection Rates

PedPer applies the same scholarly quality standards to Thematic Issues as to regular issues. Specifically:

There is no guaranteed acceptance for any manuscript submitted to a TI. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s standards for originality, methodological rigor, and ethical compliance will be rejected, regardless of the Guest Editor’s recommendation.
The Editor-in-Chief monitors the overall acceptance rate for each TI to ensure it is consistent with the journal’s general standards. An unusually high acceptance rate for a TI will be reviewed and may trigger additional editorial scrutiny.
If the number of accepted manuscripts is insufficient to constitute a coherent thematic issue, the EIC may decide to publish the accepted articles as part of a regular issue or to postpone/cancel the TI.

11) Author Diversity and Endogamy

To maintain PedPer’s commitment to international reach and editorial diversity — which are key criteria for international indexing bodies — the following expectations apply to Thematic Issues:

TI submissions should reflect a range of national, institutional, and disciplinary backgrounds. Guest Editors are expected to disseminate the CFP broadly to attract diverse contributions.
A TI should not be dominated by authors from a single institution, department, or research group. Where institutional concentration is observed, the Editor-in-Chief may request additional external submissions or take other steps to ensure diversity.
Submissions from the Guest Editor(s)’ own institution are subject to the same peer review and editorial independence requirements as all other submissions (see Section 9).

12) TI Postponement or Cancellation

The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to postpone or cancel a Thematic Issue if:

An insufficient number of manuscripts are submitted or accepted after peer review;
Serious ethical, procedural, or quality concerns arise that cannot be resolved;
The Guest Editor(s) fail to fulfil their responsibilities or comply with PedPer’s policies;
External circumstances (e.g., delays beyond the planned timeline) make timely publication impracticable.

In such cases, manuscripts that have already been accepted may be published as part of a regular issue (with the authors’ consent) or returned to the authors for submission elsewhere.

13) Policy Compliance

All submissions to Thematic Issues are subject to PedPer’s: