Policies
Editorial Policies
- Research Papers
- Practitioner Papers
- Features
- Peer Review Process
- Open-Access Policy
- Rights for Authors
- General Terms and Conditions
Research Papers
JPER's Research section publishes original empirical studies and theoretical papers related to prison education and the reentry process. JPER embraces interdisciplinary scholarship and accepts manuscripts from all applicable fields, including but not limited to: education, criminology, psychology, arts and humanities, linguistics, law, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, culture studies, public policy, spirituality and religion, and mental/behavioral health. All submissions should align with internationally recognized ethical standards for research and apply procedures that assure voluntary and informed consent for subject participation. A variety of research methodologies are welcome. Submissions will undergo a blind review by three peers. To be considered for publication, manuscripts should address important issues, have strong theoretical frameworks, employ sound methods, offer new and relevant insights, and be well written.
Research papers are:
--Formal research papers with conventional requirements for peer review
--No more than 12,000 words
--Judged by quality of writing, coherence of ideas, significance and relevance to the field, and rigor of design
Practitioner Papers
Practitioner papers are, by definition, works that capture the experiences of prison educators. All sides of prison education practice, such as the day-to-day experiences of a teacher, the impact of policy on instruction, discussions of ethical challenges, reflections on best practices, and experiences related to visual and written arts will all be considered.
Although submissions should follow APA 6th edition guidelines when appropriate, there may be some practitioner submissions for which this requirement does not apply.
Publishing non-English language articles: On occasion, the editor may invite an author to submit a version written in their native language as a complementary document to the English version. However, the journal does not provide a translation service and it is the author’s responsibility to submit both versions to a publishable standard.
It is strongly suggested that practitioners work closely with the editor assigned to practitioner paper selection in order to ensure the highest quality publication.
Practitioner papers are:
--Brief, less formal, and reviewed by one reviewer
--Seen as a forum for those working in prison education
--No more than 2,500 words
--Judged by quality of writing, coherence of ideas, and significance and relevance to the field
Features
The Journal of Prison Education and Reentry has recurring features including: messages to and from editors and the president of the EPEA, historical vignettes, and book reviews. These are selected by the lead editor of the journal.
Because features are commissioned by the editorial staff, authors should not choose to submit to the Features section unless they have discussed it in advance with the lead editor.
Peer Review Process
The researcher-written articles in this journal undergo rigorous peer review prior to being published. After an author submits a research piece, all identifying information is removed before being forwarded to the Associate Editor of Research. The editor assigns the article to two to three members of the editorial board whose areas of expertise match the content of the article. The board members will return the article with their recommendations to the Associate Editor, who decides to reject, accept, or ask for revisions to the article.
Open Access Policy
The Journal of Prison Education and Reentry is an open access journal. Articles are free and available to all readers as soon as they are published. Authors do not pay to have their work published and they retain copyright on all of their work at all times under Creative Commons licensing.
Rights for Authors and VCU Scholars Compass
As described in our submission agreement (the Submission Agreement), in consideration for publication of the article, the authors agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. For more information, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
General Terms and Conditions of Use
Users of the VCU Scholars Compass website and/or software agree not to misuse the VCU Scholars Compass service or software in any way.
The failure of VCU Scholars Compass to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between VCU Scholars Compass and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article.