Submitting articles to the Journal

Each edition of the journal consists of a section of main articles followed by sections devoted to innovative practice, discussion pieces and book reviews.

Submissions to the journal are welcomed from academics, practitioners and professionals in the fields of education, sociology, community development, social policy and related disciplines, and must fulfil the following criteria.

• Articles must directly address the core interests of the journal; i.e. access, widening participation and lifelong learning.
• Work should be contextualised in order to make it understandable to an international audience (e.g. avoid acronyms and nation specific policy assumptions. Explain all in full.)
• Articles should provide a clear theoretical rationale for the work discussed, including references to the relevant literature, rather than providing just a descriptive account.
• Innovative Practice articles can be descriptive as well as maintaining critical reflection, and include coverage of problems encountered, solutions found and impact in a specific project.
• Articles will be considered for publication only if they have not been published, submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere; any exceptions to this should be clearly indicated at the time of submission.
• A brief abstract must be submitted along with the article highlighting the key issues and focus points of the article. The wordcount for each article does not include the references or the abstract. 
• Key words for the article (maximum of 6 keywords) should be included in the submission to allow a more specialised peer reviewer to be selected.

Contributors are encouraged to contact the editors by email  in advance of writing an article to ensure what they intend to write meets these criteria and is relevant.

We are pleased to accept completed book reviews, offers to undertake book reviews and books to review.

Specifications for articles for the main section

Each article will be reviewed by the editors and sent to a number of referees for blind peer-review. Articles will be accepted or rejected, or revisions suggested, based on their recommendations. Articles should be between 4000 and 6000 words (excluding references and abstracts) and associated abstracts should be between 100 and 200 words in length. Articles longer than 6000 words will be returned to the author. Authors' details must include a full international contact address, telephone number and e-mail address.

Specifications for articles for the Innovative Practice section

Submissions to this section of the journal should report institutional interventions which have been evaluated. Submissions will be peer-reviewed by the editors and are selected for their contribution to innovative practice. The articles should be between 1500 and 3000 words in length (excluding abstracts and references). Associated abstracts should be between 100 and 200 words in length. Authors' details must include a full international contact address, telephone number and e-mail address.

Specifications for articles for the Research Methods section

Submissions to this section of the journal will be peer-reviewed by the editors and are selected for their contribution to the analysis and development of research methodology in the fields of widening participation and lifelong learning. The articles should be between 1000 and 2000 words in length (excluding abstracts and references) and should focus on a significant methodological issue or problem which has been encountered within the research process. Research method articles should be clearly marked as such. Authors' details must include a full international contact address, telephone number and e-mail address.

Specifications for articles for the Research Notes and Updates section

These provide an opportunity to present interim and final research findings in a quick and accessible way to inform practitioners and researchers in the widening participation and lifelong learning fields. Research notes and updates are shorter than articles and concentrate on describing the research design and detailing the findings. If you have undertaken data collection about a widening participation or lifelong learning issue which you think would be useful to share with others, please consdier submitting it as a research note. The articles should be between 1000 and 2000 words in length (excluding references and abstracts). 

Specifications for articles for the Discussion Piece section

Submissions to this section of the journal should offer more theoretical or abstract discussions of issues related to widening participation and lifelong learning. Submissions will be peer reviewed by the editors and are selected for their contribution to promoting discussion amongst academics in higher education. The articles should be between 1000 and 2000 words in length (excluding references and abstracts). Associated abstracts should be between 100 and 200 words in length. Authors' details must include a full international contact address, telephone number and e-mail address.

Copyright

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources.

It is a condition of publication that the authors assign copyright of their articles to The Open University. This enables The Open University, as publishers of the journal, to ensure full copyright protection and to provide the widest possible readership in print and electronic formats as appropriate.

A copy of the licence to publish form can be accessed using the link below. 

Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning - Licence to Publish (pdf document)

Submitting material for consideration in the journal

A template for submissions of main section, innovative practice and discussion piece articles can be accessed using the link below.  

Click here to download a Microsoft Word template for articles

When you are ready to submit your article onto ePress (our paper management system) please click here and follow the instructions.  Note: you should have your co-author details to hand as these will be required. Additionally, please ensure you make it clear the type of article you are submitting - this should be noted in the submission letter.