½¿É«µ¼º½

Professional Inquiry author guidelines

Authors who are invited by the editors to contribute to Professional Inquiry into Teacher Education and Development should refer to these author guidelines on: types of article published in the magazine; formatting and technical requirements; and author rights and responsibilities.

Types of article

Professional Inquiry will publish three different types of article.

Professional inquiry articles from teacher educators/practitioner researchers

Articles that critically evaluate innovative practice in initial teacher education and the professional development of experienced teachers and educators. Teacher educators/practitioner researchers submitting articles are required to position their study in relation to previously published theory and research. They will describe their evaluation methods and ethical controls, provide a level of transparency into their data analysis, and identify questions arising and implications for practice. To accompany articles, the magazine welcomes digital images, including where appropriate and relevant, diagrams, charts, photographs and illustrations. The magazine will also welcome relevant open access video of practice, for example classroom video clips, related to the article where the authors have explicitly established ethical and copyright issues. With the permission of the author, the videos will be hosted on the ½¿É«µ¼º½ YouTube channel and linked to the corresponding article.

Impact-focused articles from educational researchers

Professional Inquiry will also publish impact-focused articles from researchers into teacher education and development. It is not a research journal in the traditional sense; the focus is on implications for practice. Researchers are invited to submit articles that provide a concise summary of their own empirical research, position it in relation to previous studies and a theoretical framework, but then focus more heavily on the questions arising and implications for practice. Alternatively, articles by educational researchers are also welcome that focus on practical advice for teacher educators involved in close-to-practice research or professional inquiry. These articles may consider issues of methodology, ethics, dissemination or impact.Ìý For those who have published research journal papers elsewhere, this is an opportunity to write something more accessible and applied to stimulate thinking and impact the practice of teacher educators as the end users of their research.

Articles from professional educators based in other fields

Professional educators in professions such as Social Work, Nursing, Allied Health Professions, Medicine and Policing, and wider fields such as Business and Engineering, are invited to submit scholarly articles that have implications directly for teacher education and development or for professional inquiry as an approach to professional learning and leadership of change. Although coming from a range of professional educators, these articles will be primarily relevant for teacher educators and researchers into teacher education and development.

Formatting and technical requirements

Audience

• Professional inquiry includes practice and research firmly situated in different national and institutional contexts, but authors should take care to address an international audience of teacher educators.

Length and writing style

• The article must be a minimum length of 2,000 words and a maximum length of 2,500 words including the list of references.
• Complex ideas should be discussed in Plain English with prudent use of first-person pronouns.
• Overuse of local terminology, acronyms or minor details should be avoided. Authors should not assume readers’ familiarity with specific education systems or regional/national contexts.
• Standard UK spelling and punctuation should be used throughout.
• Subheadings may be used to break up text and offer signposting to readers.

Citations and references

• Only a limited number of key references should be cited and authors should aim to include at least some open access sources.
• The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (‘APA style’) should be followed for citations and references. See for common reference examples.
• The reference list should only include texts that are cited in the article and should include all forms of publication including websites. Entries should be listed in alphabetical order by first author’s surname.

Photos, diagrams, tables and illustrations

• Up to three photos, diagrams, tables or illustrations are permitted with each article. At initial submission, they can simply be embedded within the Word file. Videos should be submitted as separate files.
• At final submission, all photos, diagrams and illustrations must be supplied as separate image files at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi at the size they should appear.
• Each photo, diagram, table and illustration must have a caption and be cited in the text.
• All necessary permissions must be cleared ahead of first submission, and credit lines must be supplied. This includes permission from identifiable people (or their parents/carers in the case of children), institutions, schools and workplaces.

Permissions

• Authors should avoid including any third-party material that falls outside the remit of . If you would like to reproduce any such material in your contribution, you will be responsible for clearing the necessary permissions from the copyright holder. A template permissions form is available on request. Copies of permissions correspondence must be shared at final submission.

Professional Inquiry articles template

A concise title that makes clear the focus, and if possible, hints at the main findings. Maximum of 120 characters with spaces.

Author names and affiliations.

An overview of up to 75 words that summarises the article.

Introduction: The issue or problem, the context of the inquiry, the area of practice involved, the research question.

Relevant Literature: Positioning the inquiry within a critical consideration of relevant literature.

Evaluation Methods: A description and rationale for data generation methods and the approach to data analysis. An explicit explanation of ethical risks and how you controlled them.

Findings: A transparent explanation of evaluative data analysis and findings.

Conclusions: Positioning the findings in relation to the literature and highlighting the arising questions and possible implications for practice. Some discussion of areas for further inquiry.

Impact articles or articles from other fields may vary in structure. The editors will be available to answer author queries about this.Ìý

Author rights and responsibilities

Professional Inquiry is an annual magazine published by the British Educational Research Association (½¿É«µ¼º½) Teacher Education Advancement Network (TEAN). By submitting an article to Professional Inquiry, all named authors are agreeing to the following terms.

Permissions: The author agrees to license their article under and grants ½¿É«µ¼º½ a non-exclusive licence to publish the article in the magazine, in all revisions, forms and media, throughout the world and in all languages, for the full legal term of copyright and all renewals, revivals and extensions thereof. The copyright of the article remains the property of the author. The author retains the right to reuse the article in its published form, in whole or in part, without revision or modification, provided that acknowledgement to prior publication in Professional Inquiry is made explicit.

Originality: Articles submitted to Professional Inquiry must be original and not previously published elsewhere. Drafts of articles which can only be accessed on individual/personal websites will be regarded as unpublished. The author should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the author has used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted, and all necessary permissions cleared.

Copyediting and typesetting: The article will be copyedited and typeset in line with the magazine’s style to ensure consistency of presentation across the publication. The author must respond to copyediting queries and review typeset proofs of the article within one week of receipt. ½¿É«µ¼º½ will consult the author on the design of the article in the typeset proofs (including any visual material and photography), but ½¿É«µ¼º½â€™s decision on all design matters is final. If the author is unable to review the proofs by the agreed deadline, ½¿É«µ¼º½ reserves the right to proceed to publication without further input from the author.

Artificial intelligence: If the author chooses to use artificial intelligence (AI) to support the creation of their article, they must adhere to the ½¿É«µ¼º½ AI Statement. The corresponding author must complete and return an AI declaration form at first submission stage to indicate whether AI tools were used and, if so, for what purpose.

Accuracy: The author is fully responsible for verifying the accuracy, validity and originality of all content within their submission, including content produced or assisted by AI, and for ensuring AI has not misattributed any citations or fabricated any references.

Privacy: The author agrees to any data relevant to their submission being shared with the magazine’s co-editors, reviewers and ½¿É«µ¼º½. The author consents to ½¿É«µ¼º½ storing any data relevant to their submission and for ½¿É«µ¼º½ to publish their name, affiliation, biography and photograph alongside their article in the magazine. ½¿É«µ¼º½â€™s full privacy policy is availableÌýhere.