Conflict of Interest Policy
The Journal of Education and Pedagogy (JEP) is committed to ensuring that all editorial and peer-review decisions are fair, objective, transparent, and free from inappropriate influence. All authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may influence their judgment or responsibilities.
A conflict of interest may arise when personal, professional, financial, academic, institutional, or other relationships could reasonably be perceived as influencing the objectivity or integrity of the research, peer-review process, or editorial decision-making.
1. Authors
Authors are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission.
Potential conflicts may include, but are not limited to:
- financial relationships or funding that could influence the research;
- employment or professional affiliations;
- personal or family relationships;
- academic or professional competition;
- intellectual property interests, including patents;
- institutional relationships; or
- other relationships or circumstances that may affect the objectivity of the research or its interpretation.
If no conflict of interest exists, authors should state:
Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to the publication of this article.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that all relevant conflicts of interest involving the co-authors are properly disclosed.
2. Reviewers
Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting an invitation to review a manuscript.
Reviewers should decline the invitation if they:
- have a personal or professional relationship with one or more of the authors;
- have recently collaborated with the authors;
- work at the same institution as an author;
- have a direct academic or professional competition with the authors;
- have a financial or other interest related to the research; or
- believe that their relationship with the manuscript or its authors could affect their impartiality.
Reviewers must not use information obtained during the peer-review process for personal, professional, or financial benefit.
If a conflict of interest becomes apparent after accepting a review assignment, the reviewer must immediately inform the Editorial Office and, where appropriate, withdraw from the review.
3. Editors and Editorial Team
Editors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence their editorial judgment.
An editor should not handle a manuscript when the editor:
- is an author or co-author of the manuscript;
- has a close personal or professional relationship with an author;
- has a significant academic or professional conflict with an author;
- has a financial interest related to the manuscript; or
- has another relationship that may compromise or appear to compromise impartiality.
In such circumstances, the manuscript will be assigned to another qualified editor who has no relevant conflict of interest.
Editorial decisions must be based on the manuscript's scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and compliance with the journal's publication standards, rather than on commercial, personal, institutional, or other competing interests.
4. Funding and Financial Interests
Authors must disclose sources of financial support for the research and any relevant financial interests that could influence the research or its interpretation.
Funding information should be included in the manuscript where applicable.
5. Management of Conflicts of Interest
When a conflict of interest is disclosed, the Editor-in-Chief will assess its nature and determine appropriate measures to protect the integrity of the editorial and peer-review process.
Possible actions include:
- assigning the manuscript to an alternative editor;
- assigning an alternative reviewer;
- requesting additional disclosure or clarification from the relevant individual;
- requiring a disclosure statement to be included in the published article; or
- taking other appropriate measures to ensure an impartial editorial decision.
Failure to disclose a significant conflict of interest may result in further investigation and appropriate editorial action in accordance with JEP's publication-ethics policies.
JEP treats conflict-of-interest disclosures confidentially and handles them in accordance with accepted standards of publication ethics.
The journal follows recognized publication-ethics principles and may refer to the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when managing conflicts of interest.
