Author's Guidelines

1. Introduction

The current era is the era of scientific and technological advancements. The socio-economic developments of nations heavily rely on innovations in these areas. In this era, along with scientific knowledge, scientific skills, attitudes, and competence have become essential for all individuals.  Moreover, in order to deal with global challenges, scientific literacy has become indispensable for all. It is only possible when individuals are equipped with scientific knowledge, skills, and scientific attitudes through the teaching-learning process. Therefore there is a dire need to bring innovations in the conventional teaching and learning process in science education. In Pakistan, several types of research are being conducted for the improvement of science teaching and learning, however, no such platform related to the science education domain is available for the researchers and scholars where they can share their research articles and can be benefited from other’s research findings. Therefore Department of Science Education has planned to launch a unique research journal in the domain of science education which would focus on trends, issues, and problems of science education and will propose possible solutions for the problems and issues in science education. There is no article processing fee (APC). All articles are being processed and published free of cost.

THEMES

The JSE covers the following themes but not limited to:

  • Standard-based science curricula
  • Context-based science curricula
  • Scientific Literacy
  • Attitudes towards science
  • Scientific attitude
  • Informal Science learning
  • Assessment in science education
  • Innovations in practical work
  • Professional development of science teachers
  • Technology for science learning
  • Innovative teaching methodologies
  • Problems of learning science
  • Equity issues in science education
  • Philosophical perspectives of science education
  • The psychological impact of learning science
  • Developments in science education
  • Science education for sustainable development
  • Science education and under-represented groups
  • Nature of science
  • Trends in science education
  • Science education and learning difficulties
  • Quality issues in science education
  • Developments in science education
  • Learning environments for science learning
  • Guidance and counseling in science education
  • Science education and socio-economic developments
  • Science education and society
  • Plans, policies, and funding in science education

 2. General Instructions

  • Files should be saved in Word or PDF format.
  • APA Style of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA 6th edition) must be followed for the preparation of all manuscripts. The manuscript must not exceed more than 3500-8000 words excluding figure captions, tables, footnotes, references, and endnotes.
  • Manuscripts must be compiled in the following format: title page (including the title of the paper, the full name of authors); abstract; keywords; main text along with table/s with caption/s and figure caption/s; references; appendices (if any).
  • All manuscripts should be anonymous for the blind review process.
  • The title page must be sent separately indicating the title of the article, author’s name(s). The complete detail of every author must include their full names, affiliations, postal addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses on the cover page of the manuscript.
  • One author should be identified as the corresponding author. The corresponding author will provide detail of affiliation where the research was conducted. After submitting the manuscript, no change will be acceptable. A brief biographical note for each author is required while submitting the manuscript.
  • The maximum number of authors of an article can be three (03)
  • The abstract should be 200 to 250 words.
  • There should be 3-5 keywords in the article.
  • The authors are required to ensure that the article is free from any kind of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes.
  • All figures, tables, graphs/illustrations should be properly numbered. Incomplete and poorly structured articles will not be considered.
  • The authors are required to provide an undertaking that the research articles have neither been published nor under consideration for publication elsewhere.
  • Research papers/articles should be an original piece of work. There must be a novelty in the articles and must add something new to the existing body of knowledge.
  • Manuscripts will be reviewed by at least two approved editors/reviewers. This process may take 4-8 months.
  • If article/s will be approved by reviewers with major or minor revisions, the author/s will be required to revise the manuscript within a provided time.

3. Formatting

  • Margins: One inch on all sides except the left side with 1.5 inches.
  • Font size and Type: All text must be of 11-pt font with Time New Roman style.
  • Headings: Main Headings must be bold and typed in uppercase with 14 pt font. Subheadings must be bold in sentence case with 12 pt font.
  • Line Spacing:
    • Abstract: Single spaced and centered
    • Main Paper: Double-space throughout the paper, including the title page, abstract, main paper, footnotes, tables, figures, references, and appendixes.
  • Spacing after Punctuation: Space once after commas, colon, and semicolons within sentences. Insert two spaces after the full stop or any other punctuation mark.
  • Alignment: Flush left (creating uneven right margin)
  • Paragraph Indentation: 5-7 spaces.
  • Pagination: The page number appears one inch from the right edge of the paper on the first line of every page.
  • Running Head: The running head is a short title that appears at the top of the pages of a paper or published article. The running head is typed flush left at the top of all pages. The running head should not exceed 50 characters, including punctuation and spacing.
  • Referencing: Sources cited to appear in parentheses after each reference (direct or otherwise), giving the author’s name (unless mentioned in the text), year of publication, and page number(s) in the case of direct quotes. Enclose quotes of 40 or fewer words in double quotation marks in the text; indent quotes longer than 40 words in block format; page numbers must be given. List all sources alphabetically at the end of the manuscript under the heading References using APA style.
  • Footnotes are not allowed, and the use of endnotes is discouraged; however, necessary brief explanatory notes, numbered consecutively and marked in the text with superscript numeral may appear before the References under the heading Notes; citations in notes follow the same format.
  • Tables and Figures: must be embedded within the manuscript file. Proper captions must be provided as per APA style for tables and figures.
  • Picture Quality: The high-quality figure format is required. Please be sure that all scanned and imported material is scanned at the appropriate resolution: 1200 dpi for line art and 600 dpi for gray scale.
  • Graphics: Mathematical symbols should be clearly marked. Number the tables and figures with Arabic numerals. Prepare tables using tabs without vertical lines; provide figures, charts, and diagrams in camera-ready form.
  • The soft copy of the article complete in all respect and all correspondence regarding contribution to the Journal and other information should email: editor.jse@aiou.edu.pk 

4. Section of Research Article

Research articles should be innovative in nature and address exclusively the problems and issues of science education domain. The article should have following sections:

  1. Title Page (must be sent separately)
  2. Main Paper (must be sent separately having following sections in it)
  1. Introduction
  2. Literature Review
  3. Methodology
  • Research Design
  • Population
  • Sample
  • Sampling Technique
  • Instrument
  • Detail of intervention(if any)
  • Data Analysis Technique(s)
  1. Results
  2. Discussion
  3. Conclusions
  4. Recommendations
  5. Acknowledgement (If any)
  6. References

5. Plagiarism Policy

As per policy of  Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan, plagiarism will not be accepted in any research article. While submitting the research paper, author is required to declare the originality of his/her work, properly citing or copying previous publications. If plagiarism is detected during the peer review process, the manuscript may be rejected.  If the plagiarism is detected after publication, the publisher has the right to issue a correction or retract the paper.

6. Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers or editorial board have to identify every situation, which could potentially affect the impartial review and publication process.

7. Open Access Policy

Open Access is an unrestricted online model that allows the distribution of research papers through the internet to everyone in the global community with no price restraint. Thus, all articles published under open access can be accessed by anyone with internet access. All articles published by the Journal of the Faculty of Education will be freely accessible online to the global community.

Important Note: Authors are required to agree to the Author’s Declaration confirming that the work as submitted has not been published or accepted for publication, nor is being considered for publication elsewhere, either in whole or substantial part; the work is original and all necessary acknowledgements have been made; all authors and relevant institutions have read the submitted version of the manuscript and approve its submission; all persons entitled to authorship have been so included.

The Editor

Journal of Science Education
Faculty of Education, ICT Building,
Allama Iqbal Open University,
Islamabad,Pakistan.