Publication Ethics

Journal of Education, Psychology and Inclusion (JEPI) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, editorial integrity, and responsible scholarly communication. The journal expects all participants in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff, to act honestly, transparently, and professionally in the submission, review, editing, and publication of scholarly work. This statement is guided by recognized best-practice frameworks in scholarly publishing.

Authors submitting to JEPI are expected to ensure that their work is original, accurately presented, properly referenced, and not under consideration elsewhere unless clearly disclosed to the journal. Authorship should reflect genuine scholarly contribution, and all listed authors should approve the submitted version of the manuscript. Authors should disclose relevant competing interests, sources of support, and any ethical approvals or permissions required for the conduct and reporting of the work. ICMJE recommends transparent disclosure of both financial and non-financial relationships and activities because perceived conflicts can affect trust just as much as actual conflicts.

Reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts objectively, confidentially, and in a timely manner. They should disclose any competing interest that may affect impartial judgment and should decline a review invitation where such a conflict exists. Reviewers must not use unpublished material obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage. These expectations are consistent with the wider principle that all participants in peer review and publication should disclose relevant relationships and activities when performing their roles.

Editors are responsible for making editorial decisions on the basis of scholarly merit, originality, relevance to the journal’s scope, clarity, methodological soundness, and ethical integrity. Editorial decisions should not be influenced by the personal characteristics, institutional affiliations, nationality, or beliefs of authors. The principles of transparency and best practice state that editorial decisions should be based on scholarly merit and that journals should avoid exclusionary or misleading practices. Editors should also recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a competing interest exists.

The journal treats allegations of misconduct seriously. Concerns may include plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, data fabrication or falsification, inappropriate authorship, citation manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research practice, or other forms of scholarly misconduct. The transparency principles specifically state that journals should outline how they will handle allegations of misconduct and should protect the integrity of the scholarly literature when such concerns arise.

Where ethical concerns are identified before publication, the journal may seek clarification from the author, request revision, pause editorial consideration, or reject the manuscript, depending on the seriousness of the issue. Where necessary, the journal may request supporting documentation or communicate with the relevant institution or authority. The aim of this process is not only to address misconduct where it exists, but also to ensure fairness, confidentiality, and due editorial consideration.

Where serious problems are identified after publication, JEPI may issue a correction, editorial note, expression of concern, or retraction, as appropriate. ICMJE states that honest errors require correction when detected, that correction notices should clearly describe the changes and cite the original publication, and that serious errors invalidating results or conclusions may require retraction.

JEPI is committed to preserving trust in the scholarly record through transparent editorial practice, appropriate policy disclosure, and proportionate action when ethical concerns arise. The journal’s policies on peer review, plagiarism, competing interests, copyright and licensing, open access, and privacy should be read together with this statement. This integrated approach is consistent with the publication-ethics and journal-practices framework described in the international transparency principles.