Editor Authorship and Peer Review Policy

At the International Journal of Current Educational Studies (IJCES), we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of transparency, fairness, and integrity in the peer review process. In accordance with international publishing ethics (COPE guidelines), the journal has adopted the following policy to safeguard the impartiality of the double-blind review process when a member of the editorial team submits a manuscript or is involved as a reviewer.

1. Editor Authorship Policy

Editorial Board members are permitted to submit their scholarly work to IJCES. However, to prevent any conflict of interest and ensure a fair evaluation:

  • Submission Handling: Manuscripts submitted by an editor (including the Editor-in-Chief, associate editors, or editorial board members) will be assigned to a guest editor or an external handling editor who is not affiliated with the IJCES editorial team and has no conflict of interest with the author.

  • Anonymity and Double-Blind Review: The standard double-blind review process will be strictly applied. The handling editor ensures that the identity of the author is concealed from reviewers and vice versa, and that reviewers are selected independently.

  • Restricted System Access: The submitting editor will not have any access to the manuscript’s review process or communications during its evaluation. Editorial system privileges will be temporarily restricted for that specific submission.

  • Final Decision: The final editorial decision will be made solely by the guest or external handling editor, who will act independently and free from influence by the submitting editor.

2. Editorial Member as Reviewer

In cases where an editorial board member is invited to serve as a reviewer for a manuscript:

  • They must declare any potential conflicts of interest before accepting the invitation.

  • If there is a conflict (e.g., prior collaboration, institutional affiliation, or personal relationship with the author), the editorial board member must decline the review.

  • Reviews provided by editorial members will be subject to the same standards of confidentiality and objectivity as those provided by external reviewers.

3. Transparency and Oversight

The editorial office keeps records of all submissions involving editorial team members and conducts periodic reviews of these cases to ensure compliance with this policy. Any concerns or violations can be reported anonymously through our contact page and will be handled in accordance with IJCES’s ethical guidelines.

This policy aims to promote accountability and trust in the editorial and review processes of IJCES, reaffirming our dedication to ethical publication practices.