About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The McGill Journal of Education (MJE) is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, open access, bilingual scholarly journal published three times a year. Embracing a broad conception of education, the MJE is dedicated to connecting educational research, theory, policy and practice by inviting thoughtful and critical submissions from scholars and practitioners working in diverse areas of education and learning in Quebec, Canada and internationally. These include formal, non-formal, informal, or incidental forms of teaching and learning; from preschool to adult education; in a range of social settings within and outside of school, and community/popular education contexts. The journal welcomes critical discussion and debate on issues in education through its regular and guest themed issues. Recent themes have included such topics as: Canadian education, Quebec education, Indigenous education, evolution education, mentoring, learning in social action, schools and the courts, student engagement, young people and media, and narrative. A primary goal of the MJE is to open spaces for the exchange of ideas across disciplinary boundaries and among diverse audiences (academic, practitioner, broader public). For this purpose, the journal will feature avenues for peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed (editorial) publications and discussion forums; the journal also publishes book reviews. Another of its major goals is to provide a window on developments in education and learning in the Quebec context as well as throughout Francophonie by encouraging English- and French-language submissions. MJE is also committed to supporting the work of emerging scholars.

The views expressed by contributors to the MJE do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, the Editorial and Review Boards, or McGill University. Authors are responsible for following normal standards of scholarship and for ensuring that whenever the research involves human subjects, the appropriate consents are obtained from such subjects and all approvals are obtained from the appropriate ethics review board.

Peer Review Process

The MJE engages in a (double blind) peer review process.

Two blind peer reviews are sought for each submission the editorial team deems suitable to the MJE.

Reviewers are asked to provide assessments that: (a) stimulate the process of revision, thereby facilitating better articles and an earlier publication date, (b) provides the editor, faced with conflicting recommendations, with a basis for making an informed decision, and (c) provides feedback to authors which can contribute to their professional development.

They are encouraged to attend to the submission as follows:

  1. Content – Does the manuscript make a significant contribution to education? Does the manuscript clearly describe the purpose, problem statement and/or research question/s? Is the manuscript contextually situated in relevant research? Does the cited literature provide a compelling rationale for this work? Are the references cited appropriate and up to date?
  2. Argument / Methodology – Is the methodology/argument well developed and clearly explained? Does it appropriately address the problem/research questions? If it is an empirical study, are the research setting, participants, and data collection tools adequately explained? Are the data analyses techniques appropriate? Are the findings clearly articulated and relevant to the research questions/problem? Are the claims logically constructed and well supported by the data/literature?
  3. Writing – Is the manuscript clearly organized, concise, and accessible to the broader education community? Has it been thoroughly edited for grammar, spelling, and punctuation? Do the references follow the APA 7 citation style?
  4. Overall evaluation of the manuscript - Identify any errors of fact, faulty logic, and/or ways in which the organization might be improved.

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.

Please visit the McGill University Library website for more information about Open Access initiatives at McGill.

Guest Editor Policy

Prospective Guest Editors are invited to contact the MJE editorial team and request the Journal’s Guidelines for Special Issues. These guidelines outline the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of Guest Editors throughout the preparation of special issues. Central to these, Guest Editors are expected to follow the guidelines and protocols established by the MJE and for the MJE through its OJS [Open Journal System]. Guest Editors need to issue an open call for submissions, follow the same standards for quality submissions (e.g., by using the Reviewer Form), follow a (double blind) peer review process, and adhere to the roles and responsibilities of Guest “Consulting” Co-Editors outlined in MJE’s Workflow (available once a guest editorship is approved). Guest Editors should prepare for a two-year time frame between their initial contact with the MJE until final publication. Finally, Guest Editors are responsible for the entire process of bringing their special issue to publication, this includes:

  • Ensuring the quality of submissions in terms of content, style, coherence with APA 7 and MJE formatting requirements, and line-by-line copyediting; 
  • Identifying reviewers, collecting reviews, reminding reviewers (e.g., if a review is late), and rendering a decision; 
  • Preparing a 2-page editorial.

Publication Ethics Policy

The MJE is guided by the highest standards in publication ethics as outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in their Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.1

Authorship

The MJE requires that all contributions to the production of a manuscript are credited at the appropriate levels, whether in the form of authorship or acknowledgement. Authorship is defined by a significant level of contribution to the research (ie. involving one or more of the following: conceptualisation and design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of results, drafting and revisions).All declared co-authors are required to sign the MJE Copyright Transfer Agreement. Recognition of persons who have contributed to the research in less substantial ways can be done in the form of an acknowledgement. 

Conflicts of Interest

Authors are equally required to fully disclose any potential conflicts of interest, in which he/she may be benefitting financially or in kind for the publication of the submitted manuscript and which may be seen as potentially compromising the objectivity and integrity of the research (ie. personal relationships, employment, sponsorship, etc.). 

Editors (this includes guest editors) at the journal are also required to disclose potential conflicts of interest (ie. personal relationship with the author, direct financial gain from the research) so that the manuscript may be duly assigned to another editor within the editorial team. 

As the MJE practices a double-blind peer review process, it is imperative that reviewers disclose potential conflict of interest in cases where they are certain of the author’s identity. A new reviewer will be assigned by the editor managing the review process for the manuscript. Editors may also submit manuscripts to the journal, in which case the entire review process (to which the editor will not be privy), will be undertaken by another editor.

Any form of misconduct will be investigated according to the complaints and grievances procedure.

Research Ethics

The MJE expects the research upon which manuscript submissions are based to exhibit data integrity and to have obtained the appropriate ethical clearances (participant consent and institutional ethical approvals, ie. REBs, school boards, etc.). Any form of research misconduct, whether, for instance, data fabrication/falsification or inappropriate/unethical practices regarding research participants, will be investigated according to our complaints and grievances procedure.

Plagiarism and Originality of the Work

The MJE requires that all works external to the current manuscript be appropriately cited and that the manuscript does not contain any form of plagiarism (including self-plagiarism). The MJE adheres to the APA 6 definition of plagiarism and self-plagiarism: “Whereas plagiarism refers to the practice of claiming credit for the words, ideas, and concepts of others, self-plagiarism refers to the practice of presenting one's own previously published work as though it were new.”3 

Manuscripts under review or already published that contain instances of plagiarism (minor or major) will be reviewed by members of the editorial team and actions taken as follows. If a manuscript under review is found to contain minor instances (15% or less) of plagiarism, these instances will be flagged to authors. Failure to immediately correct these instances (via rewriting or with proper citation) will lead to automatic rejection. Manuscripts under review containing major instances (more than 15%) of plagiarized text will be automatically rejected. Published manuscripts that are found to contain instances of minor plagiarism will be flagged to authors, the concerned journal and/or publication, and associated affiliations (institutions, funding bodies, etc.) and failure to immediately correct these instances (via rewriting or with proper citation) will lead to automatic removal from the journal. Published manuscripts containing instances of major plagiarism will lead to removal from the publication. Authors associated with plagiarized manuscripts will not be allowed to submit new manuscripts to the journal.

The MJE does not accept simultaneous submissions. Manuscripts found to be simultaneously submitted to other journals will be immediately removed from consideration for publication.

Post-Publication Modifications

The MJE is able to issue a correction in the period following publication, as long as a new issue has not yet been published. Following this period, a post-publication erratum can be issued. In case of a very serious error, a retraction may be advised following a review by the Editorial Team in line with the complaints and grievances procedure.

Complaints and Grievances Procedure

Complaints and grievances concerning suspected misconduct regarding any of the above should be addressed by email to mje.education@mcgill.ca, whereupon the Editorial Team, or a subcommittee struck therefrom by the Editor-in-Chief, shall undertake a thorough review of the allegations brought forward and if deemed legitimate, authors will be contacted and asked to respond to the allegations. Depending on the gravity of the situation, an erratum may be issued or a retraction may be required.

  1. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (n.d).Principles of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing. Retrieved from https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines-new/principles-transparency-and-best-practice-scholarly-publishing
  2. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (2019). FACTSHEET: Authorship.Retrieved from https://www.elsevier.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/653884/Competing-Interests-factsheet-March-2019.pdf
  3. American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (p. 172)

Sources of Support

The McGill Journal of Education acknowledges the financial support of The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Education, McGill University.