Submissions

We invite submissions that celebrate the successes, and challenges, of non-mainstream learning, and that help promote an understanding of how authentic alternative learning environments can inform educational policy. As well, we welcome articles that highlight the limitations of mainstream schooling.

The Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning publishes articles in a variety of scholarly forms; for example, review essays, discussions, book reviews, research notes. We encourage and support creative representational forms of work.

Length and Format

Articles should not exceed 7,000 words (including quotations, notes, and references); review essays, 2,000 words; discussions, 1,500 words; book reviews and research notes, 1,000 words. Articles are peer-reviewed, but book reviews and review essays are not. Authors are responsible for ethics approval for manuscripts by receiving approval from their own institutions. Ethics approval must be obtained for on-line articles, including music, visuals, or photographs, and proof of ethics approval should be provided to the Journal. The Journal’s style generally follows the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association; English spelling follows the most recent edition of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. Please include an abstract of approximately 100 words. All texts should be saved in Word (.doc or .docx), and images should be saved in JPG format, and should follow the above ethics guidelines. Depending on space, we reserve the right to select which images will be included.

In submitting a manuscript, authors affirm that the research is original and unpublished, is not in press or under consideration elsewhere, and will not be submitted elsewhere while under consideration by the Journal. This applies to evidence or data as well as form of argument.

In short, we are interested in articles that focus on the following:

  1. Unschooling or life learning (we are interested in any age group and not just school age children, for example)
  2. Learner centered democratic education
  3. Limitations of the mainstream educational system

Send submissions to Carlo Ricci (carlor@nipissingu.ca)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automated tools

As per the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), The Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning has the following policy regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automated tools:

Charges

The Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning does not have article processing charges (APCs).

The Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning does not have article submission charges.

Review Process for Papers

The paper submitted will be subjected to a double blind peer review. Submissions to the Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning (JUAL) undergo a structured, four-step review process to ensure academic rigor and quality.

  1. Initial Editorial Review

    The Editor-in-Chief reviews all incoming submissions. Manuscripts that align with the journal’s scope and meet basic quality standards are advanced to the next stage. Irrelevant or substandard submissions are rejected at this point.

  2. External Peer Review

    Deemed acceptable manuscripts are forwarded to at least two independent experts in the field. These peer reviewers critically evaluate the research methodology, significance, and contribution to the field, providing detailed feedback and recommendations.

  3. Proofreading and Author Revision

    Following a successful peer review, the Assistant Editor takes over the manuscript. They proofread the text and collaborate directly with the authors to implement necessary revisions, polish the writing, and finalize the edits.

  4. Editorial Board Approval

    The finalized manuscript is presented to the Editorial Board. The board reviews the paper one last time to grant formal, final approval for publication.

Book reviews are subject editorial review and follow steps 1, 3, and 4 above.

The timeline from submission to publication is approximately 12 months.

Open Access Statement

JUAL is an open access Journal based on the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing.

Definition of Open Access Publication

An Open Access Publication is one that meets the following two conditions:

  1. The author(s) and copyright holder(s) grant(s) to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, transmit and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works, in any digital medium for any responsible purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship, as well as the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal use.
  2. A complete version of the work and all supplemental materials, including a copy of the permission as stated above, in a suitable standard electronic format is deposited immediately upon initial publication in at least one online repository that is supported by an academic institution, scholarly society, government agency, or other well-established organization that seeks to enable open access, unrestricted distribution, interoperability, and long-term archiving. Released June 20, 2003 (http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/bethesda.htm)

License Statement

JUAL uses the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license.

Creative Common Licence

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND

This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/)

Copyright Statement

JUAL allows the author(s) to hold copyright without restrictions and to retain publishing rights without restrictions.