1. Journal Focus

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Education (IJE) is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal dedicated to advancing knowledge in education through rigorous empirical, theoretical, methodological, and interdisciplinary research.

IJE provides a forum for scholarship that deepens understanding of teaching, learning, learners, educators, curriculum, assessment, educational institutions, educational systems, policy, leadership, technology, and educational development.

The journal welcomes studies from diverse geographical, cultural, institutional, and disciplinary contexts when they make a clear contribution to educational knowledge and are meaningful to readers beyond the immediate research setting.

2. Aims

The principal aim of IJE is to advance educational scholarship by publishing original and responsible research that contributes to educational theory, evidence, methodology, policy, or practice.

IJE seeks to:

• advance theoretical, empirical, methodological, and applied knowledge in education;
• promote meaningful interdisciplinary dialogue between education and other relevant fields;
• support rigorous research on teaching, learning, curriculum, assessment, educational leadership, policy, governance, and educational development;
• encourage responsible and evidence-informed educational innovation;
• address contemporary and emerging challenges affecting learners, educators, institutions, communities, and educational systems;
• support research with relevance beyond a single institution or immediate local setting; and
• strengthen scholarly exchange among researchers, educators, policymakers, educational leaders, and other stakeholders in education.

3. Central Scope Principle

The presence of terms such as education, student, teacher, school, learning, or training does not by itself establish scope alignment.

A manuscript originating from psychology, economics, technology, management, health, sociology, culture, environmental studies, entrepreneurship, data science, or another discipline must demonstrate how its findings advance educational theory, research, policy, practice, or educational outcomes.

4. Core Scope

IJE considers research in the following interconnected areas of education:

5. Interdisciplinary Research

IJE particularly welcomes research that connects educational questions with theories, concepts, methods, or evidence from other disciplines. Such interdisciplinary engagement may involve psychology and behavioral sciences, sociology and anthropology, economics, entrepreneurship, management, technology, artificial intelligence, environmental studies, sustainability, health and well-being, communication, culture, indigenous knowledge, or data science.

However, the manuscript's principal scholarly contribution must remain demonstrably educational.

6. International and Contextual Relevance

IJE welcomes research conducted in local, national, regional, and international settings.

Context-specific studies are appropriate when authors clearly explain why the findings matter beyond the immediate institution, community, region, or country in which the research was conducted.

Authors are encouraged to connect local evidence with relevant international scholarship, theory, educational policy, or practice and to explain the transferability, comparative significance, or broader implications of their findings.

International relevance does not require multinational data. It requires a scholarly contribution that can inform educational understanding beyond the immediate study context.

7. Types of Scholarly Contributions

Subject to the journal's Author Guidelines, IJE may consider:

• original empirical research articles;
• quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies;
• experimental and quasi-experimental research;
• systematic reviews and meta-analyses;
• bibliometric and systematic-bibliometric studies;
• theoretical and conceptual articles;
• methodological studies; and
• other rigorous scholarly contributions aligned with the journal's educational scope.

Acceptance of a particular methodological approach or manuscript type does not imply automatic suitability. Manuscripts must demonstrate adequate scholarly rigor, transparency, originality, ethical compliance, and educational contribution.

8. Manuscripts Outside the Scope

IJE will normally not consider manuscripts whose principal scholarly contribution lies outside education.

Examples include:

• clinical, medical, or psychological studies without a substantive educational question, setting, intervention, process, or outcome;
• agricultural, environmental, ecological, cultural, tourism, business, economic, or entrepreneurship studies in which education or learning is incidental;
• general management, leadership, or organizational studies not situated meaningfully within educational institutions, systems, or educational policy;
• technology or artificial-intelligence studies that do not examine educational use, teaching, learning, learner development, educational outcomes, or educational systems;
• descriptive cultural, social, or community studies without a clearly developed educational or learning contribution;
• studies in which educational relevance appears only superficially in the title, abstract, discussion, or conclusion;
• purely descriptive manuscripts with insufficient analytical, theoretical, methodological, or scholarly contribution;
• manuscripts whose main purpose is commercial promotion, institutional advertising, advocacy without scholarly analysis, or product promotion; and
• manuscripts that do not meet the journal's ethical, methodological, editorial, or scholarly standards.

9. Editorial Scope Assessment

All submissions undergo an initial editorial assessment before external peer review.

Editors may decline a manuscript without external review when its principal research question, conceptual framing, methodology, analysis, outcomes, or scholarly contribution does not align with the stated aims and scope of IJE.

Scope decisions are based on the manuscript's substantive academic contribution rather than on the presence of particular keywords.

10. Guidance for Authors

Before submission, authors should review the journal's Aims & Scope, Author Guidelines, Publication Ethics, and recently published articles.

When the scope fit is potentially ambiguous, authors should ensure that the manuscript explicitly explains its contribution to educational theory, research, methodology, policy, leadership, teaching, learning, or practice.

The educational contribution should be evident throughout the manuscript rather than being introduced only as a concluding implication.