Educational & Child Psychology

These guidelines are provided to assist Authors, Referees and Editors. Compliance in all respects is appreciated.

Manuscripts are accepted for consideration on the understanding that they consist of the authors’ original unpublished work that is not being submitted for consideration elsewhere.

The Abstract

All papers should include an Abstract (of not more than 250 words) and up to five ‘keywords’. The Abstract must be structured and presented under subheadings that indicate:

• Aim(s)
• Method/Rationale
• Findings
• Limitations
• Conclusions

Length

The main body of text in papers should usually be 3500–5000 words in length although papers outside this range may be considered at the Editor’s discretion.

Authors must indicate the word length of papers with and without the reference section, excluding any tables or figures.

Any one issue of the publication will usually consist of a maximum of eight papers.

Referees’ comments and Editors’ judgement of the balance and salience of papers will determine which papers are finally selected for publication.

Style

Overall, the presentation of papers should conform to the British Psychological Society’s Style Guide. Non-discriminatory language should be used throughout.

Spelling should be anglicised when appropriate. Text should be concise and written for an international readership of applied psychologists.

Abbreviations, acronyms and unfamiliar specialist terms should be explained in the text at least once.

Referencing should follow the current Society formats. For example:

• Black-Hawkins, K., Florian, L. & Rouse, M. (2007). Achievement and inclusion in schools. London: Routledge/Falmer.
• Woolfolk-Hoy, A. & Weinstein, C.S. (2006). Student and teacher perspectives on classroom management. In C.M. Evertson & C.S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of classroom management (pp.181–219) London: LEA.
• Jordan, A., Schwartz, E. & McGhie-Richmond, D. (2009). Preparing teachers for inclusive classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 525–542.
• The Editorial Board reserve the right to amend text to achieve conformity with Educational & Child Psychology’saims and style.

Manuscripts

An electronic copy should be sent to the Editor for a specific issue, by emailed attachment (in MS Word or rich text format). We are unable to consider papers that are not submitted for a specific issue. Graphs, pictures or diagrams, etc., must be submitted in a format suitable for printing in black-and-white.

The cover page must provide the full title of the paper, all authorial details and address (postal and email). The body of the paper, starting on page 2, should include the title and abstract, but omit any detail by which the author(s) may be identified. Text should be in at least 12 point Times New Roman and double-spaced.

The submission must confirm that all authors approve the submission and that the paper is their original work and not under consideration elsewhere. Manuscripts that do not conform to these requirements will be returned to the author(s).

Refereeing

All papers are usually read by two referees in addition to the Editor. The refereeing process is anonymous. It is important, therefore, that all submissions conform to the above guidelines. The referees’ comments will, at the Editor’s discretion, be passed to the authors.

The Editorial Board is always pleased to consider suggestions for themed editions. Anyone wishing to propose a theme and to assist as a ‘Guest Editor’ should contact the General Editor, Dr Fraser Lauchlan.

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