Editorial Policies

Overview

The International Journal of TESOL & Education (IJTE) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of editorial integrity, transparency, and scholarly quality. The policies below apply to all manuscripts submitted to the journal. Authors are expected to read and comply with these policies before submitting. Failure to do so may result in rejection at any stage of the editorial process, including after acceptance.

  1. Scope and Manuscript Suitability

IJTE welcomes original research contributions in the fields of TESOL, applied linguistics, language education, and related disciplines, including but not limited to: Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), m-learning and e-learning, curriculum development, teacher education, educational technology, pedagogies and language teaching, translation and interpretation, cultural studies in education, and quality assurance in education.

All submitted manuscripts must fall clearly within the journal's scope. Manuscripts that do not align with IJTE's stated scope will be desk-rejected without peer review. Authors who are uncertain whether their work is suitable are welcome to contact the Editorial Team before submitting.

  1. Originality and Exclusive Submission

Submitted manuscripts must be original works that have not been previously published, in whole or in part, in any journal, book, conference proceedings, or other publication venue. Manuscripts must not be under simultaneous review at any other journal or publication outlet at the time of submission to IJTE.

Conference abstracts or posters derived from the submitted work are permitted and do not need to be declared, provided that the submitted manuscript represents a substantially expanded and developed version of the conference presentation.

If an author submits a closely related manuscript to another journal while their submission to IJTE is under review, they must notify the IJTE Editorial Team immediately and provide a copy of the related manuscript along with details of its current status. The Editorial Team will assess whether the two submissions constitute redundant publication and will determine an appropriate course of action.

IJTE reserves the right to reject a manuscript at any stage — including after acceptance — if it becomes apparent that the work has been previously published, is under consideration elsewhere, or violates the journal's publication policies.

  1. Authorship

3.1 Authorship Criteria

Authorship must be restricted to individuals who have made a genuine and substantial intellectual contribution to the work. All named authors must satisfy all four of the following criteria:

  1. Made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
  2. Drafted the manuscript or critically revised it for important intellectual content;
  3. Approved the final version submitted for publication; and
  4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including the accuracy and integrity of any part of the study.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all four criteria (e.g., those who provided technical assistance, data collection support, or administrative help) should be acknowledged in an Acknowledgements section rather than listed as authors.

3.2 Author Contributions

All manuscripts must include an Author Contributions statement identifying each named author's specific role in the study. This statement should appear at the end of the manuscript, before the References section. The CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) framework is recommended. Example:

Author A: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft. Author B: Data Collection, Formal Analysis, Writing – Review & Editing. Author C: Supervision, Funding Acquisition.

3.3 Author Identification and ORCID

All authors are strongly encouraged to include their ORCID iD at the time of submission. ORCID iDs provide a persistent, verifiable digital identifier that unambiguously links authors to their published work, supporting the transparency and discoverability of research. Authors who do not yet have an ORCID iD may register for one free of charge at orcid.org. Providing an ORCID iD also assists the Editorial Team in verifying authors' publication records and disciplinary expertise.

3.4 Affiliations

Each author's institutional affiliation must be clearly stated in the manuscript. The listed affiliation should be the institution where the majority of the work was conducted. If an author has subsequently relocated, their current address may be additionally noted. Affiliations must include the full institutional name, city, and country. Affiliations will not be updated or changed after publication.

3.5 Role of the Corresponding Author

One author must be designated as the Corresponding Author, who takes responsibility for all communication with the journal on behalf of all co-authors. By submitting the manuscript, the corresponding author confirms that:

  • All listed authors have been informed of and have approved the submission, including the full content, author list, author order, and author contribution statements;
  • They have the authority to act on behalf of all co-authors throughout the submission, peer review, revision, and publication process;
  • All required disclosures, declarations, and data transparency statements are complete and accurate;
  • Any re-use of previously published material has been disclosed, and necessary permissions have been obtained.

Communication responsibilities during submission and proofing may be delegated to a Contact or Submitting Author, provided the Corresponding Author is clearly identified in the manuscript.

3.6 Changes to Authorship

Any changes to the author list — including additions, deletions, or changes to the order of authors — after submission must be approved by all listed authors and communicated to the Editorial Team in writing, with a clear explanation of the reason for the change. Author changes are not permitted after acceptance without exceptional justification.

3.7 Authorship Disputes

IJTE is not in a position to investigate or adjudicate authorship disputes. In the event of a dispute arising during peer review or after publication, authors will be asked to resolve the matter among themselves. If resolution cannot be reached, the journal reserves the right to withdraw the manuscript from the editorial process or, in the case of a published article, to refer the matter to the relevant authors' institutions.

  1. Peer Review

IJTE operates a double-blind peer review process. All manuscripts that pass initial desk review for scope, quality, and compliance with submission requirements are sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers. Reviewers and authors remain anonymous to each other throughout the process.

The Editor-in-Chief or Managing Editor is responsible for all final publication decisions, taking into account the manuscript's scholarly merit, methodological rigor, reviewers' recommendations, and all applicable ethical and legal standards. The Editor-in-Chief may consult additional editors or reviewers when making a determination.

Authors are encouraged to review the Review Form to understand the criteria against which manuscripts are evaluated.

 

  1. Editorial Decisions

Possible outcomes following peer review are:

  • Accept — the manuscript is accepted for publication, possibly with minor typographical corrections;
  • Minor revision — the manuscript requires small revisions that do not necessitate further review;
  • Major revision — the manuscript requires substantial revisions and will be re-evaluated by the reviewers;
  • Reject — the manuscript does not meet the journal's standards for publication.

Revised manuscripts must be submitted together with a completed Revision Form documenting how each reviewer comment has been addressed. Revised submissions without this form will not be processed.

IJTE reserves the right to decline publication of a manuscript at any stage — including after acceptance — if it becomes apparent that there are serious problems with the scholarly content, ethical conduct of the research, or violations of IJTE's publication policies.

  1. Ethical Standards

All research published in IJTE must have been designed and conducted in accordance with applicable ethical principles for educational research. For studies involving human participants, authors must confirm that appropriate ethics review and informed consent procedures were followed. Full details of IJTE's ethics requirements are provided on the Ethics and Malpractice page and in the Guides for Authors.

  1. Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclosures must be made at the time of submission using the Conflicts of Interest Statement form and must also be included in the "Compliance with Ethical Standards" section of the manuscript. If there are no conflicts of interest, this must be stated explicitly.

  1. Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Policy

IJTE is committed to correcting the scholarly record promptly and transparently. In the event of errors or misconduct identified after publication:

  • Corrections will be issued for minor errors that do not affect the integrity of the findings.
  • Retractions will be issued where the findings are demonstrated to be false due to data fabrication, falsification, or error; where the work has been published elsewhere without appropriate disclosure; or where the study involves plagiarism or serious ethical violations.
  • Expressions of concern may be issued where an investigation is ongoing.

All corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern will be published openly on the journal's website and linked to the original article. Authors are required to cooperate fully with the Editorial Team in any post-publication investigation.

  1. Appeals

Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision may submit a written appeal to the Editor-in-Chief at the journal's contact address. The appeal must clearly state the grounds for the challenge and provide a point-by-point response to the reviewers' and editors' comments. Appeals based solely on disagreement with the editorial decision, without new scientific or substantive arguments, will not be considered. The Editor-in-Chief's decision on an appeal is final.

For further information on any of these policies, please contact the Editorial Team via the Contact page.