Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission file is in DOC, DOCX, RTF, or ODT document file format.
  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor). No part of the manuscript is plagiarized (including self-plagiarized) and if found to be, the text will be subject to the disciplinary actions elaborated in the Plagiarism Policy.
  • The manuscript adheres to the maximum word count for the type of submission (article, book review, etc.). The abstract (counted apart) contains a maximum of 120 words. No citations appear in the abstract.
  • All URL addresses in the text (e.g., http://mje.mcgill.ca/) are activated and ready to click.
  • IF SUBMITTED FOR PEER-REVIEW (e.g., Articles, Review essays), the text has had the authors' names removed. If an author is cited, "Author" and year (e.g., Author, 2013) appear as intext citation and bibliography entry (do not include any other bibliographic information, e.g., title or co-authors). Authors names must also been removed from the document's Properties, which in Microsoft Word is found in the File menu. Please follow instructions the instructions founds at the Upload Submission stage.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal. In particular, citations and references follow the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA Publication Manual). Instructions on proper APA reference list formatting can be found here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
  • All charts, figures, graphics, tables etc. appear in their proper place in the text and are formatted to fit within a journal page (maximum 4.25" x 7.25" or 10.75 cm x 18.40 cm) using 8pt font. Charts, figures, graphics, tables which are not legible at this size cannot be included in the published version. 
  • Date of submission is shown in upper right corner of the first page of the manuscript. If the manuscript is a revision of the original submission, "Revised" and the date of the revised submission is indicated in the upper right corner of the first page of the revised manuscript. If the manuscript is intended for a special issue, please indicate on the upper right corner of the first page of the manuscript the name of the issue for which it is to be considered.

Author Guidelines

Founded in 1966, the McGill Journal of Education is now an online, open-access journal that supports thoughtful and critical discussion of issues related to education, broadly-conceived, to include formal, non-formal, informal and incidental forms of teaching and learning in a range of social settings. The MJE aims to engage academic readership, as well as practitioners and broader publics.

The journal publishes scholarly submissions which undergo (double blind) peer-review, accepts forms of editorially-reviewed (non-peer reviewed) material (see below), and serves as a medium for interactive forums, discussions, dialogues and interviews. The MJE welcomes the use of multimedia such as podcasts and videos in both peer-review and editorial-review submissions.

Since we anticipate a broader readership, we encourage authors to imagine a well-informed, interested, but possibly non-specialist reader. That means that a little more background might be necessary and key terms should be carefully if briefly defined where appropriate. We accept English and French articles in the form of theoretical essays, descriptive reports of research, reviews of books, and commentaries on current educational issues and policies. Please note that authors may only submit one manuscript at a time.

BLIND-REVIEW PREPARATION

As noted, articles meeting our criteria for peer-reviewed contributions will be sent for (double blind) peer review. Authors’ names must not appear anywhere on the manuscript or in the file properties of the manuscripts.

ONLINE SUBMISSION PROCESS

All submissions must be sent using the online on the MJE website (see above). As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines. Please note that all submissions require you to register as an author at http://mje.mcgill.ca/user/register and follow the manuscript submission steps. The MJE does not charge any submission fees. If you have problems please contact us at mje.education@mcgill.ca.

  • Peer-reviewed submissions should be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 120 words, which outline: a) a concise statement of the article's purpose; b) a brief explanation of the study's materials and methods; c) a summary of the study's results; d) conclusions supported by the investigation's results. Please include in the document 5-7 keywords to enhance the searchability of the article.
  • Manuscripts must be prepared according to the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (https://apastyle.apa.org/). Manuscripts that do not meet this requirement will be returned to the author.
  • Heading levels must be clearly indicated – FIRST LEVEL: UPPER CASE; Second level: Upper/lower case, italicized. Third level: Upper/lower case, italicized, underlined. Please limit manuscripts to three levels of headings.
  • All figures and tables must appear in their proper place within the text, and must not exceed our page size: 4.25᾿ x 7.25᾿ (10.75 cm x 18.4 cm), using 8pt font.
  • Use single quotation marks only for quotes within quotes, double quotes should be used in all other instances (e.g, scare quotes, special terms, etc.).
  • Peer reviewed manuscripts undergo a double blind review. Please remove any references to the author both in the body of the text and the reference list. Please remove identifying information from the file properties. (Steps on how to do this can be found by following the link "ENSURING A BLIND REVIEW" at "Step 3" of the 5 step submission process.
  • Submission date must be shown in upper right corner of the first page of the manuscript. If the manuscript is a revision of the original submission, "Revised" and the date of the revised submission must be shown in the upper right corner of the first page of the revised manuscript.
  • Reference lists must be complete, must correspond with every and only citation in the body of the text, and must comply with APA 7 requirements exactly. Submissions with incomplete or improperly formatted reference lists will be returned to authors. Instructions on proper APA reference list formatting can be found here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

PLAGIARISM POLICY

The MJE requires that all works external to the current manuscript be appropriately cited and that they do 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” (American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 172)

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.

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED

Articles

Peer-reviewed

Conventional journal articles (up to 8000 words including references, tables, appendices, etc. NOT INCLUDED IN WORD COUNT: Abstract [120 words max] and keywords). These are understood as original contributions to theory, practice and research likely to be of interest both to practitioners and researchers, and are expected to be of a high intellectual standard and well-written.

Review essays (4000-6000 words including references, tables, appendices, etc. NOT INCLUDED IN WORD COUNT: Abstract [120 words max] and keywords). These are overviews of particular literatures, particular theoretical traditions and so on, and are intended as expert introductions to their subject for the benefit of researchers and practitioners who are not yet familiar with the area.

Notes from the Field

Editorially-reviewed

The MJE welcomes “Notes from the Field,” notes, shorter papers, or multimedia/photo essays concerning particular issues, themes, and challenges that may be of broad interest. These Notes should be between 1000 and 3000 words (including references, tables, appendices, etc. NOT INCLUDED IN WORD COUNT: Abstract [120 words max] and keywords). The purpose of the Notes is to provide timely information of interest to a wide range of MJE readers. “Field” here can refer to any area of educational practice, including teaching and learning in formal, non-formal, and informal contexts, as well as work that researchers and practitioners do “in the field.” Papers/essays that present perspectives on practice-related issues and that connect theory with practice are especially welcome. Although success stories and good practices are welcome, discussion of difficult lessons learned is also strongly encouraged (e.g., to help inform educational efforts and spread the word, or to spark dialogue about strategies, initiatives, and programs).

Currently published Notes from the Field includes the following types of works:

Reflections on Practice: These are papers/essays that draw on theory, where applicable, to relate authors’ experiences, self-reflections, and lessons learned as educational practitioners. These are intended to serve as a resource for other practitioners in the field.

Past examples: Deutsch(49-3), Morand (49-2), Reis (49-2), TAUE-AGSEM (48-3), Worthen (48-3), Fullerton (48-2), Itzkowitz (48-2), Yoder (48-2).

Reflections on the Research Process: These are papers/essays that draw on theory to relate authors’ experiences, self-reflections, and lessons learned as researchers. These are intended to serve as a resource for other researchers in the field.

Past examples: Bryant (49-1), Thompson (49-1).

Translations of Research: These are papers/essays that are written for the purpose of explaining research (in education or in fields related to education) to a broad, general audience of practitioners and researchers engaged in the all aspects of the field of education. These may be based on already published research.

Past examples: Masson et al, (49-2).

Policy Proposals and Scholarship-Activism: These are papers/essays that call for action, and are intended to encourage policy changes and/or scholarship-activism. 

Past examples: Carani et al. (49-2), Carter (49-1), Elayassa (48-3), Sinyai et al. (48-3).

Submissions will be judged on clarity of objectives, applicability and utility to educators, and creativity. In collaboration with the author(s), submissions will be edited for length and clarity.

Submissions to the “Notes from the Field” will undergo editorial review. If you are uncertain about whether your paper is suitable for this section, please contact the MJE (mje.education@mcgill.ca).

The MJE Forum

Editorially-reviewed

The MJE offers a forum to educational practitioners, researchers, and/or those involved in community/ies (e.g., activists, organizers, etc) interested in initiating conversations, dialogues, and debates around contemporary issues in education. The MJE Forum submission may take the form of a response or a moderated discussion / interview and incorporate multimedia (e.g., be a video or podcast):

1. Response: Responses to articles and materials published in MJE, whether solicited as part of a debate around a particular paper or submitted as a response to a previously-published paper. In the latter case, the author of the original paper will be given the opportunity to respond.

2. Moderated discussions / interviews: The discussions / interviews may focus on classroom practice, the intersection between social media and learning, informal community contexts, or any other topic of interest to MJE readers. They may be presented online in digital formats (e.g., blog, video, podcast). For example, a facilitated discussion or interview might focus on environmental education in Canada, with invited participation from activists, educational leaders, policy-makers, researchers, and/or teachers.

We welcome other Forum formats and contributions proposed by our readers. The MJE or MJE readers may initiate these discussions/interviews. Submissions to “The Forum” section will undergo editorial review. If you are interested in initiating or participating in a Forum, contact the MJE (mje.education@mcgill.ca).

Book Reviews

We invite individuals to write and submit book reviews for publication in the MJE. Reviews should be no longer than 1000 words in length. A good book review does more than summarize, it places the book in a larger context of scholarship. Ideally it describes the value and usefulness that the book might have for scholars, and practitioners. Your review should provide readers with an overview of the book, including basic content and structural organization, the recommended audience and scholarly aim(s) of the book, and how the author situates this work within the larger context of the area or field. The review should provide a critical commentary of the book, assessing its contribution to the field. When reviewing edited volumes, authors should provide a sense of the range of contributions in the collection. The review should be written in a language and style that is accessible to readers across various disciplines. Please cite book details at the start of your review, including: author(s)/editor(s), title, city of publication, publisher, year of publication, number of pages, price, ISBN number, For example:

Wayne Martino, Michael Kehler, & Marcus B. Weaver-Hightower (Eds.). The Problem with Boys’ Education: Beyond the Backlash. New York, NY: Routledge. (2009). 290 pp. $43.95 (paperback). (ISBN 978-1-56023-683-2).

Artistic and Creative Inquiries

Editorially-reviewed

The MJE / RSEM encourages the submission of editor-reviewed multi-modal forms of representation(s) of  arts-based research.

These offerings are placed in a section entitled Artistic and Creative Inquiries (ACI). The section offers scholars and practitioners the opportunity to share their educational research and/ or its processes in shorter pieces (3000 words) of an innovative and engaging format. Through songs, digital images, recorded videos of dance performances and plays, among others, ACI offer a means of expanding the form and function of arts-based and creative research.

Submissions should be accompanied by a 120-word description of the art-work and how it connects to research in the field of education.

Copyright Notice

The journal’s contents are licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Users may copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format provided they give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. Any permission requests not granted by this license may contact Copibec at https://www.copibec.ca/fr. 

Authors must transfer copyright of their article to MJE. Authors may use all or parts of their work in any future publication with the article's origin in MJE acknowledged in the customary manner.

A copy of our copyright agreement form  may be requested from mje.education@mcgill.ca

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