Author Guidelines

1. General Submission Requirements

The manuscript should be an original research paper which sufficiently contributes novelty to Education and Learning. Authors are requested to submit their papers electronically by using the Melior : Jurnal Riset Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran Indonesia online submission procedure. The corresponding author should also provide statement that the manuscript is not concurrently being under consideration for publication elsewhere. The Editors will ignore submissions that do not follow these procedures.

Authors are required to comply with the following submission requirements:

Manuscripts that do not comply with these requirements may be returned to the authors for correction before proceeding to editorial evaluation.

2. Types of Manuscripts

The journal accepts the following categories of scholarly manuscripts:

3. Manuscript Structure

All manuscripts must be organized systematically to ensure clarity, coherence, and scientific consistency.

3.1 Title

• The manuscript title must contain no more than 16 words.
• The title must accurately reflect the research focus, principal variables or concepts, and scope of the study.
• Titles should be concise, informative, specific, and academically appropriate.
• Avoid unnecessary abbreviations, ambiguous expressions, and overly general terminology.
• Use sentence case, capitalizing only the first word, proper nouns, and other terms requiring capitalization.

3.2 Author Information and Affiliations

The manuscript must include the following author information:

• Full names of all contributing authors.
• Institutional affiliations, including department or faculty, institution, city, and country.
• Valid email addresses for all authors.
• Identification of the corresponding author.
• ORCID identifiers, where available.

Author information must be accurate and consistent with the metadata entered into the journal's submission system.

3.3 Abstract

For original research articles, the abstract should address:

1. Background or Research Problem: Briefly explain the educational issue or research gap.
2. Research Objective: State the primary purpose of the study.
3. Methodology: Identify the research design, participants or data sources, data collection procedures, and analytical approach.
4. Main Findings: Present the most significant research findings.
5. Conclusion and Implications: Explain the contribution of the findings to educational theory, policy, or practice.

For review articles, the abstract should describe the review objective, literature selection procedures, analytical approach, principal findings, and implications.

The abstract must be written as a single paragraph without citations, tables, figures, or unnecessary abbreviations.

3.4 Keywords

• Provide 3–6 keywords or key phrases.
• Keywords must represent the central concepts, research variables, methodology, or educational context.
• Use specific and academically recognized terminology.
• Avoid unnecessarily repeating words already appearing in the manuscript title.
• Separate keywords using semicolons.

3.5 Introduction

The introduction must establish the scientific and educational significance of the study through a logical and evidence-based argument.

It should include:

1. Research Background: Describe the broader educational context and the importance of the issue being investigated.
2. Research Problem: Identify the specific educational challenge, theoretical issue, or empirical phenomenon.
3. Previous Research: Critically discuss relevant findings from earlier studies.
4. Research Gap: Clearly explain the limitations, inconsistencies, or unanswered questions in existing research.
5. Novelty and Contribution: Identify the original contribution of the proposed study.
6. Research Objectives: State the objectives, research questions, or hypotheses.

The introduction should demonstrate why the study is necessary and how it contributes to advancing knowledge in education and learning.

3.6 Literature Review

The literature review should critically examine relevant theoretical perspectives, conceptual frameworks, and previous empirical findings.

Authors should:

• Explain key concepts and theoretical foundations.
• Compare and synthesize findings from relevant scholarly publications.
• Identify consistencies, contradictions, and limitations in existing research.
• Establish the conceptual or theoretical framework guiding the study.
• Demonstrate the relationship between the literature and the research objectives.

The literature review must be analytical rather than merely descriptive.

Where appropriate, the literature review may be integrated into the introduction, provided that the theoretical foundations and research gap remain clearly articulated.

3.7 Methodology

The methodology section must provide sufficient information to enable readers to evaluate the scientific rigor, validity, reliability, and reproducibility or trustworthiness of the research.

The section should explain:

1. Research Design: Describe the methodological approach and justify its suitability for addressing the research objectives.
2. Research Setting and Participants: Identify the research location, population, sample, participants, or data sources.
3. Sampling Procedures: Explain the sampling strategy and selection criteria, where applicable.
4. Research Instruments: Describe the instruments, measurement tools, observation protocols, interview guides, or other data collection instruments.
5. Data Collection: Explain the procedures and stages of data collection.
6. Data Analysis: Describe the statistical, thematic, interpretative, or other analytical techniques employed.
7. Research Ethics: Explain relevant ethical safeguards, including informed consent, confidentiality, and institutional ethical approval where applicable.

For review articles, authors must explain the literature search strategy, databases, inclusion and exclusion criteria, screening procedures, and methods of synthesis or analysis.

3.8 Results

The results section must present research findings objectively, systematically, and in accordance with the stated research objectives.

Authors should:

• Organize findings according to research questions, hypotheses, or analytical themes.
• Present relevant quantitative or qualitative evidence.
• Use tables, figures, diagrams, or other visual representations when they improve clarity.
• Report statistical findings accurately, including relevant indicators where appropriate.
• Avoid unnecessary duplication between narrative explanations and tables or figures.
• Ensure that all findings are supported by the collected and analyzed data.

For qualitative research, findings should be supported by appropriate empirical evidence, such as participant quotations, observational records, or documentary data.

3.9 Discussion

The discussion must provide a critical interpretation of the findings and explain their significance within the broader context of educational scholarship.

Authors should:

1. Interpret the principal findings in relation to the research objectives.
2. Compare findings with relevant previous studies.
3. Explain similarities, differences, or contradictions with existing research.
4. Discuss theoretical, methodological, and contextual explanations.
5. Highlight the originality and scientific contribution of the findings.
6. Explain implications for educational practice, curriculum development, teaching strategies, educational policy, or future research.
7. Acknowledge relevant limitations of the study.

The discussion should demonstrate critical reasoning and scholarly synthesis rather than simply repeating the results.

3.10 Conclusion and Suggestions

The conclusion must directly address the research objectives and summarize the most important contributions of the study.

It should include:

• A concise synthesis of the principal findings.
• Theoretical and practical contributions to education and learning.
• Implications for educational stakeholders, where relevant.
• Recommendations for future research or educational practice.

Conclusions must be supported by the reported findings and should not introduce new data or unsupported claims.

Suggestions should be specific, realistic, and directly derived from the research findings.

3.11 Acknowledgments

Authors may acknowledge individuals, institutions, or organizations that provided financial, technical, administrative, or scholarly assistance but do not meet the criteria for authorship.

Funding sources and grant identification numbers should be disclosed where applicable.

3.12 References

All references must follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (APA 7th Edition).

The following requirements apply:

• Manuscripts should include approximately 20–25 relevant scholarly references, with a minimum of 15 references.
• At least 80% of references should preferably come from peer-reviewed journal articles and other primary scholarly sources.
• Authors are encouraged to prioritize literature published within the previous five years, while retaining foundational publications essential to the theoretical framework.
• References must be relevant to the research topic and support the scientific arguments presented.
• Every reference listed must be cited in the manuscript, and every in-text citation must appear in the reference list.
• Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) should be provided as active hyperlinks whenever available.
• Authors are strongly encouraged to use reference management software such as Mendeley or Zotero.

4. Manuscript Formatting Requirements

Manuscripts must be prepared using Microsoft Word and formatted according to the official journal template.

Additional formatting requirements:

1. Manuscripts must use consistent paragraph formatting throughout the document.
2. Main section headings should be numbered sequentially, such as 1. Introduction, 2. Methodology, and 3. Results.
3. Subsections should follow a hierarchical numbering system, such as 2.1 Research Design and 2.2 Research Participants, where applicable.
4. The title, abstract, keywords, author information, and references should follow the official journal template.
5. Avoid unnecessary footnotes, decorative formatting, and excessive use of abbreviations.
6. All abbreviations must be defined when first introduced, except commonly recognized scientific abbreviations.

5. Tables, Figures, and Equations

5.1 Tables

Tables must be presented clearly and consistently.

• Number tables consecutively according to their appearance in the manuscript.
• Place the table number and title above each table.
• Use concise, informative titles.
• Use horizontal lines only where necessary; avoid vertical borders.
• Provide explanatory notes and sources below the table when applicable.
• Refer to every table in the main text.
• Ensure tables remain editable and are not unnecessarily submitted as images.

5.2 Figures

Figures, charts, diagrams, and illustrations must be relevant, legible, and professionally prepared.

• Number figures consecutively.
• Place the figure number and title below each figure, in accordance with the journal template.
• Provide sources or attribution when required.
• Ensure that all visual elements are readable.
• Refer to each figure in the manuscript text.
• Authors must obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted materials when required.

5.3 Equations

Mathematical equations and formulas must be presented clearly and numbered sequentially using Arabic numerals in parentheses, such as (1), (2), and (3).

Equation numbers should be aligned to the right margin.

All symbols and variables must be defined when first introduced.

5.4 Statistical and Software Outputs

Raw statistical outputs copied directly from software applications should not be inserted into the manuscript.

Results from applications such as SPSS, AMOS, SmartPLS, R, or other analytical software must be summarized and presented in appropriately formatted tables or figures.

6. Citation and Referencing Style

The journal applies APA 7th Edition for in-text citations and reference lists.

6.1 In-Text Citations

Citations must follow the author–date system.

6.2 Reference List Examples

The following examples illustrate APA 7th Edition formatting. Placeholder names and publication details are provided for formatting purposes only and must be replaced with actual bibliographic information.

Authors should consult the official APA Style website for additional guidance:

https://apastyle.apa.org/

7. Research Ethics and Publication Integrity

The journal is committed to maintaining high standards of scholarly integrity and responsible academic publishing.

Authors must comply with the following principles:

7.1 Originality and Plagiarism

Manuscripts must represent original scholarly work.

All ideas, findings, data, quotations, and materials derived from other sources must be appropriately acknowledged.

Plagiarism, including unattributed copying, inappropriate paraphrasing, and the misleading reuse of previously published material, is prohibited.

Manuscripts may be screened using similarity-detection software. Similarity reports will be evaluated in context, considering the nature and location of matched content rather than relying exclusively on a numerical score.

7.2 Duplicate and Concurrent Submission

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously.

Submissions substantially overlapping with previously published work must disclose the relationship and clearly demonstrate their original contribution.

7.3 Data Integrity

Authors must report research findings accurately and transparently.

Fabrication, falsification, selective manipulation, or misrepresentation of research data is strictly prohibited.

Authors may be requested to provide supporting research information when necessary for editorial assessment, subject to applicable ethical and confidentiality requirements.

7.4 Authorship and Contributions

Authorship must accurately reflect substantial scholarly contributions.

All authors must approve the submitted manuscript and accept responsibility for their respective contributions.

Guest authorship, honorary authorship, and the exclusion of qualifying contributors are not acceptable.

7.5 Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.

7.6 Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving students, teachers, educational institutions, or other human participants must comply with applicable ethical requirements.

Authors should provide information regarding informed consent, confidentiality, participant protection, and ethical approval where required.

7.7 Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and scholarly content of manuscripts prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools.

Generative AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Any substantive use of generative AI in producing manuscript content, conducting analyses, or generating research materials must be transparently disclosed in accordance with the journal's applicable editorial policy.

AI-generated references, fabricated research data, and unverified scientific claims are not acceptable.

8. Manuscript Template

All authors are required to prepare their manuscripts using the official Pedagogi: Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran manuscript template.

The template provides the required formatting for titles, author affiliations, abstracts, headings, tables, figures, citations, and references.

Authors should carefully review the template before submitting their manuscripts.

Submissions that do not follow the prescribed template may be returned for technical revision.

9. Online Submission Procedure

Manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the journal's Online Submission System.

Authors should follow these procedures:

The corresponding author is responsible for monitoring the manuscript's progress and responding to editorial communications through the journal system.

10. Editorial Screening and Peer Review

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening before being considered for peer review.

10.1 Initial Editorial Screening

The editorial team evaluates manuscripts based on:

• Alignment with the journal's focus and scope.
• Originality and scholarly contribution.
• Compliance with manuscript formatting requirements.
• Clarity and quality of academic writing.
• Appropriateness of research methodology.
• Compliance with publication ethics.
• Relevance and quality of supporting references.

Manuscripts that do not satisfy the journal's preliminary requirements may be returned for correction or declined before external peer review.

10.2 Peer Review

Manuscripts that pass the initial screening proceed to the journal's peer-review process.

Reviewers evaluate the scientific quality, methodological rigor, originality, significance, clarity, and contribution of the manuscript to education and learning.

The editorial decision is informed by reviewer recommendations, the manuscript's scholarly merit, and the journal's editorial standards.

11. Revision and Resubmission

Authors receiving revision requests must carefully address the comments and recommendations provided by reviewers and editors.

Revised submissions should include:

1. A revised manuscript incorporating the requested improvements.
2. A clear response to reviewer and editor comments, where requested.
3. An explanation of any recommendations that have not been incorporated, supported by appropriate scholarly justification.

Revisions must be submitted through the journal's Online Submission System within the deadline specified by the editorial office.

Submitting a revised manuscript does not automatically guarantee acceptance.

12. Final Editorial Decision

The final decision regarding manuscript publication is made by the editorial team after considering the peer-review results, scientific quality, and compliance with the journal's publication standards.

Editorial decisions may include:

All editorial decisions will be communicated to the corresponding author through the journal's online system.

The final authority regarding manuscript acceptance and publication rests with the Editor-in-Chief or the designated editorial decision-maker.

13. Author Submission Checklist

Before submitting a manuscript, authors must ensure that:

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