Author Guidelines

Journal of Educational Research and Development (JERD) — published by the Faculty of Education, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

The Journal of Educational Research and Development (JERD) is a broad-based, peer-reviewed, bi-yearly scholarly journal covering research, development and practice in all areas of education. The online version is freely accessible. In line with international indexing standards, including the Scopus content policy, JERD maintains clear editorial, ethical and quality requirements. Please read these guidelines before submitting.

1. Scope and Article Types

JERD welcomes original contributions relevant to an international readership across all fields of education:

• Full-length research articles, surveys and reports — 5,000 to 10,000 words.
• Book reviews — 500 to 1,000 words.

2. Ethical and Publication Policy

JERD is committed to publication ethics and research integrity, following the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). By submitting, authors confirm that:

• The work is original and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
• All co-authors have approved the manuscript and consented to its submission.
• All sources of data, ideas and text are properly cited, and written permission has been obtained for any previously published figures, tables or passages.
• Sources of financial support are acknowledged in the manuscript.

Cases of plagiarism, data falsification, redundant publication or authorship disputes are handled in accordance with COPE guidance and may result in rejection or retraction.

3. Plagiarism Policy

All manuscripts are screened for originality before review. Only manuscripts demonstrating at least 80% originality (a similarity index of 20% or below) are processed for peer review. Authors are encouraged to check their manuscripts using recognised software (e.g. Turnitin or iThenticate) prior to submission.

4. Use of Generative AI

Where generative AI or AI-assisted tools are used in preparing a manuscript, authors must briefly disclose the tool and how it was used. AI tools cannot be listed as authors, and authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity and originality of the work.

5. Peer Review

Every submission undergoes blind peer review by at least two experts in the field, followed by copy-editing. Manuscripts are assessed on originality, scholarly rigour, clarity and relevance to the journal’s scope. Before publication, the corresponding author receives a PDF proof for final checking; changes to content (new results, corrected values, title changes, etc.) are not permitted at proof stage without the approval of the Editor-in-Chief.

6. Document Formatting Guide

General layout

• File format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx).
• Language: clear, correct English.
• Page: A4.
• Font and spacing: Times New Roman, 12 pt, double-spaced throughout, including the abstract and references.

Manuscript structure

1. Title — concise and informative.
2. Author information — full names and affiliations of all authors; the corresponding author clearly identified.
3. Abstract — about 150 to 200 words summarising the study. No references.
4. Keywords — 4 to 5 keywords for indexing.
5. Introduction (background and purpose)
6. Methods, Materials and Procedures
7. Findings
8. Discussion
9. Conclusion
10. References

Appendices are discouraged but may be included where essential to understanding the manuscript.

Figures and tables

• Keep figures to a minimum and number them consecutively in the order cited.
• Prepare figures separately in a common image format (e.g. JPG, TIF, PNG) at good resolution.
• Do not duplicate data between text, tables and figures.

References

Follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 7th edition). Cite in text by author and year (surname and year of publication), and list all references, complete and alphabetically ordered, at the end. Ensure every in-text citation appears in the reference list and vice versa. For example:

Adeyemi, T. O., & Ibrahim, M. S. (2024). Formative assessment practices in Nigerian secondary schools. Journal of Educational Research and Development, 21(1), 33–47. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/jerd.2024.2101

7. Copyright

Accepted articles must be accompanied by a signed publication agreement transferring copyright to the publisher. Only original papers are accepted. Authors retain the right to use their own material for educational and research purposes.

8. Submission

Manuscripts are submitted online through the journal’s portal at https://abueducationjournals.com/jerd/. No paper versions are required. Accepted papers are published in the next available issue.

By submitting to JERD, authors agree to comply with the journal’s editorial, ethical and formatting requirements set out above.