Guidelines for the Submission and Review of Special Issue Editorial Proposals for Bulletin of Educational Research (BER)
Dates of Revision
May 3, 2021
May 2, 2022
November 7, 2025
1. To promote academic and practical development in education and to deepen the inquiry and dialogue on important educational issues, the Bulletin of Educational Research (hereinafter referred to as "BER") has established these Guidelines for the Submission and Review of Special Issue Editorial Proposals.
2. The language of the special issue must be Chinese or English. All relevant regulations and review procedures for submission shall comply with the BER's "Author Guidelines" and "Review Guidelines."
3. BER welcomes scholars and experts to form teams to collaboratively plan the special issue. The number of papers projected to be submitted by the team must be six or more. Once the special issue theme is announced, submissions from other academics outside the original team are also welcome.
4. Applicants submitting a special issue proposal must submit a "Special Issue Editorial Proposal" via mail or email to BER. The proposal should include the following items:
(I) Credentials of the Guest Editor(s): This should include the name(s), affiliation(s) and title(s), research field(s), important publications within the past five years, and special achievements of the special issue guest editor(s). The special issue should ideally have one to two guest editors.
(II) Special Issue Theme: The theme should be innovative, significant, and align with the BER's scope (curriculum and instruction, educational policy and administration, educational philosophy and history, sociology of education). The educational stage focused on is not restricted.
(III) Special Issue Concept: Please explain the importance and innovativeness of the special issue theme within 2,000 characters. This should also include the planned sub-themes and their interrelationships, and the expected theoretical or practical contributions of the special issue.
(IV) Individual Paper Topics: Please list the topic of each paper, the names, affiliations, and titles of the authors, keywords (5-7), and an abstract (within 1,500 Chinese characters or 700 English words).
(V) Credentials of the Paper Authors: This should include the name(s), affiliation(s) and title(s), research field(s), important publications within the past five years, and special achievements of each author.
5. The key focus points for the review of the "Special Issue Editorial Proposal" include: (1) The importance and innovativeness of the special issue theme; (2) The importance, innovativeness, and relevance of each paper topic to the special issue theme; (3) The academic performance of the special issue guest editor(s); (4) The academic performance of each paper author; (5) The structural integrity, logic, and clarity of the overall special issue framework; and (6) The academic or practical contribution of the special issue.
6. Once the "Special Issue Editorial Proposal" is approved by the BER's Editorial Board, the special issue writing team must submit the full manuscripts within six months of the approval date. Should more time be required for submission, the special issue guest editor must submit a formal application to the BER, and the extension will only be granted upon the BER's consent.
7. The publication date of the special issue will be arranged by the Editorial Board, generally aiming for ten months after the approval of the Special Issue Editorial Proposal to facilitate submissions from all parties.
8. Each paper in the special issue will undergo independent review. Authors may not request the BER to accept publication or withdraw a manuscript based on the review results of other papers in the special issue. If the number of "Special Issue Papers" that pass the review is less than three, the Editorial Committee may decide to cancel the special issue, and the accepted manuscripts will be published as "General Papers."
9. The special issue guest editor(s) may attend the Editorial Board meeting to discuss the review results, but the final decision remains subject to the resolution of the Editorial Board.
10. These Guidelines will be implemented after approval by the Editorial Board of BER, and revisions will also follow the same process.
