About the Journal
Focus and Scope
The International Journal of Research and Community Empowerment (IJoRCE) is a scholarly journal dedicated to advancing research and scholarly discussion related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Education, particularly in the fields of Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Education, and Community Services. IJoRCE welcomes scholarly works situated in local, national, regional, and international contexts, provided that they offer clear academic contributions and insights relevant to the broader scholarly community. The journal particularly encourages contextually grounded research that connects local knowledge, practices, challenges, and innovations with broader educational, societal, and sustainable-development perspectives.
The scope of IJoRCE includes, but is not limited to:
- SDGs and Sustainability Education
Education for sustainable development, SDGs integration in curriculum and learning, sustainability literacy, environmental and climate education, global citizenship education, and educational practices that support sustainable development. - Natural Sciences and Science Education for the SDGs
Physics, chemistry, biology, environmental science, science education, STEM/STEAM education, scientific literacy, scientific reasoning, science learning, and applications of science and technology related to education and sustainable development. - Social Sciences and Social Education for the SDGs
Social science education, civic and citizenship education, economics education, political and digital literacy, social inclusion, equity, culture, governance, social behaviour, and other societal dimensions related to education and sustainable development. - Teaching, Learning, and Educational Innovation for the SDGs
Curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, teacher education, professional development, educational technology, digital learning, artificial intelligence in education, career and vocational education, and other innovations that contribute to SDGs-related education and sustainable development. - Local Knowledge, Culture, and Sustainability
Local wisdom, indigenous and traditional knowledge, ethnoscience, ethnophysics, ethnopedagogy, culturally responsive education, language and cultural studies, cultural heritage, and related approaches that connect local contexts with education, community development, and sustainability. - Community Engagement and Empowerment for the SDGs
Community education, community-based learning, service learning, university–community collaboration, capacity building, social innovation, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and inclusion, sustainable livelihoods, corporate social responsibility, and other community empowerment initiatives related to sustainable development. - Policy, Leadership, and Institutional Development for the SDGs
Educational and social policies, leadership, governance, institutional strategies, partnerships, organizational development, health and well-being initiatives, and institutional practices that contribute to education, community empowerment, and sustainable development.
IJoRCE particularly welcomes studies focusing on a specific institution, community, cultural setting, or geographical location when the study demonstrates clear scholarly significance and connects its findings or implications to broader educational, societal, community, or sustainable-development perspectives.
Manuscripts addressing Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Education, or Community Services without a clear and meaningful relationship to SDGs Education or sustainable development may be considered outside the scope of IJoRCE.
IJoRCE accepts Original Research Articles, Review Articles (including Systematic Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses), and Comments and Criticism. The Comments and Criticism section forms part of the journal's post-publication policy and provides a forum for scholarly comments, critical responses, and academic discussions concerning articles previously published in IJoRCE. Authors of the Original Article may be invited to submit an Author Response, which will be published within the same section.
Peer Review Process
All manuscripts submitted to the International Journal of Research and Community Empowerment (IJoRCE) follow a six-stage editorial workflow consisting of Submission, Initial Check, Peer Review, Final Check, Editing & Proofreading, and Publication.
During the Initial Check, the Editorial Team verifies the manuscript's relevance to the journal's Focus and Scope, compliance with submission requirements, completeness of required components, and similarity screening. Manuscripts that do not meet the initial requirements may be returned to the Authors for revision or rejected before peer review. Manuscripts that pass this stage proceed to peer review.
IJoRCE applies a double-blind peer-review process. Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two or three independent Peer Reviewers with expertise relevant to the subject of the manuscript. Additional Reviewers may be appointed where necessary.
Peer Reviewers are selected primarily based on relevant subject expertise, recent scholarly publication records, methodological competence, institutional independence, and absence of relevant Conflicts of Interest. Preference may also be given to Reviewers with a verifiable scholarly profile, such as a Scopus Author ID, Web of Science Researcher Profile, ORCID, or Google Scholar profile, or who have previously served as a First Author or Corresponding Author of an article published in IJoRCE. These supporting criteria do not replace the primary requirements of expertise, competence, and independence.
Authors are encouraged to recommend at least three and up to five prospective Reviewers with relevant expertise by completing the journal's optional Reviewer Recommendation. Recommended Reviewers must be independent of the Authors and free from relevant Conflicts of Interest. The Editorial Team retains full discretion in Reviewer selection and is not obligated to use Reviewers recommended by the Authors.
Peer Reviewers assess manuscripts based on their originality and scholarly contribution, methodological soundness, adequacy of evidence, quality of analysis and interpretation, clarity of presentation, and relevance to the journal's Focus and Scope. All manuscripts and review materials must be treated confidentially, and Reviewers must comply with the journal's Publication Ethics, Conflict of Interest, and Generative AI policies.
When revision is requested, Authors must revise the manuscript and submit the journal's Author(s) Response Form, explaining how the Editor and Reviewer comments have been addressed. The revised manuscript may be reassessed by the Editor and/or returned to the Peer Reviewers where necessary.
After the required revisions have been completed, the manuscript undergoes a Final Check to determine whether the Reviewer comments have been adequately addressed and whether the manuscript complies with the journal's scientific, editorial, ethical, and submission requirements. Additional revision or further peer review may be requested where necessary.
The Editor makes the final editorial decision after considering the Peer Reviewers' reports, the Authors' revisions, the scholarly quality of the manuscript, and applicable editorial and ethical requirements. Reviewer recommendations are advisory. The Publisher does not interfere with editorial decisions, which remain the responsibility of the Editorial Team.
Accepted manuscripts proceed to Editing & Proofreading, followed by Author approval of the galley proof. Articles may subsequently be published as Article in Press before assignment to a scheduled issue.
Manuscripts processed through Fast-Track Review remain subject to the same peer-review and editorial standards. Fast-Track Review does not guarantee acceptance, publication, or any particular editorial decision.
Content Not Subject to Standard Peer Review
Not all published content is subject to the standard double-blind peer-review process. Editorial Remarks, Editorial Notes, Forewords, or other introductory content published as part of an issue are normally reviewed and approved internally by the Editor and do not undergo external peer review.
Editorial and post-publication notices, including Correction, Erratum, Corrigendum, Expression of Concern, Retraction, Article Removal, and Article Replacement notices, may instead undergo appropriate editorial, research-integrity, technical, legal, or independent expert assessment, depending on the nature of the case.
Comments and Criticism and Author Response may undergo peer review where they contain substantive scholarly arguments, new data, analyses, methodological assessments, or technical claims.
Publication Frequency
The International Journal of Research and Community Empowerment (IJoRCE) is published by PT Mitra Edukasi dan Publikasi and is issued twice a year, in February and August, with approximately 7–10 articles published in each issue.
Articles that have been accepted and completed the production process may be published as Article in Press before assignment to a scheduled issue. Article in Press publication does not alter the regular publication frequency of IJoRCE.
Anti-Plagiarism and Similarity Policy
All manuscripts submitted to the International Journal of Research and Community Empowerment (IJoRCE) must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by another journal or publisher. Authors are responsible for the originality, authenticity, and integrity of their submitted manuscripts.
All submitted manuscripts may be screened using similarity-checking software, such as Turnitin and/or iThenticate, as part of the editorial assessment.
A similarity score is used as a screening tool and does not, by itself, constitute evidence of plagiarism. Similarity reports are evaluated by the Editorial Team by considering the source, nature, context, extent, and distribution of the overlapping material, including legitimate quotations, references, methodological descriptions, preprints, repositories, and other previously disseminated material.
IJoRCE does not determine plagiarism solely on the basis of a fixed similarity percentage. Where inappropriate or unexplained overlap is identified, the Editorial Team may request clarification or revision, reject the manuscript, or take other appropriate editorial action in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and, where applicable, the Research Misconduct and Post-Publication Policy .
Reference Management Software
Authors submitting manuscripts to the International Journal of Research and Community Empowerment (IJoRCE) are encouraged to use reference management software, such as Mendeley, EndNote, or Zotero, to support the accuracy and consistency of citations and references. IJoRCE uses the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style.
