About this journal
Aims and scope
The International Journal of Lifelong Education provides a forum for debate on the principles and practice of lifelong, adult, continuing, recurrent and initial education and learning, whether in formal, institutional or informal settings. Common themes include social purpose in lifelong education, and sociological, policy and political studies of lifelong education.
The journal recognises that research into lifelong learning needs to focus on the relationships between schooling, later learning, active citizenship and personal fulfilment, as well as the relationship between schooling, employability and economic development. With this in mind, International Journal of Lifelong Education provides the context for an informed debate on the theory and practice of lifelong education in a variety of countries and settings.
Peer Review Policy:
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees.
Readership:
Practitioners and researchers in adult, continuing, lifelong, distance and non-formal education.
Journal metrics
Usage
- 182K annual downloads/views
Citation metrics
- 1.9 (2023) Impact Factor
- Q2 Impact Factor Best Quartile
- 2.0 (2023) 5 year IF
- 3.1 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
- Q2 CiteScore Best Quartile
- 1.265 (2023) SNIP
- 0.555 (2023) SJR
Speed/acceptance
- 43 days avg. from submission to first decision
- 61 days avg. from submission to first post-review decision
- 10 days avg. from acceptance to online publication
- 24% acceptance rate
Understanding and using journal metrics
Journal metrics can be a useful tool for readers, as well as for authors who are deciding where to submit their next manuscript for publication. However, any one metric only tells a part of the story of a journal’s quality and impact. Each metric has its limitations which means that it should never be considered in isolation, and metrics should be used to support and not replace qualitative review.
We strongly recommend that you always use a number of metrics, alongside other qualitative factors such as a journal’s aims & scope, its readership, and a review of past content published in the journal. In addition, a single article should always be assessed on its own merits and never based on the metrics of the journal it was published in.
For more details, please read the Author Services guide to understanding journal metrics.
Journal metrics in brief
Usage and acceptance rate data above are for the last full calendar year and are updated annually in February. Speed data is updated every six months, based on the prior six months. Citation metrics are updated annually mid-year. Please note that some journals do not display all of the following metrics (find out why).
- Usage: the total number of times articles in the journal were viewed by users of Taylor & Francis Online in the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest thousand.
Citation Metrics
- Impact Factor*: the average number of citations received by articles published in the journal within a two-year window. Only journals in the Clarivate Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) have an Impact Factor.
- Impact Factor Best Quartile*: the journal’s highest subject category ranking in the Journal Citation Reports. Q1 = 25% of journals with the highest Impact Factors.
- 5 Year Impact Factor*: the average number of citations received by articles in the journal within a five-year window.
- CiteScore (Scopus)†: the average number of citations received by articles in the journal over a four-year period.
- CiteScore Best Quartile†: the journal’s highest CiteScore ranking in a Scopus subject category. Q1 = 25% of journals with the highest CiteScores.
- SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper): the number of citations per paper in the journal, divided by citation potential in the field.
- SJR (Scimago Journal Rank): Average number of (weighted) citations in one year, divided by the number of articles published in the journal in the previous three years.
Speed/acceptance
- From submission to first decision: the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the journal to receive a first decision. Based on manuscripts receiving a first decision in the last six months.
- From submission to first post-review decision: the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the journal to receive a first decision if it is sent out for peer review. Based on manuscripts receiving a post-review first decision in the last six months.
- From acceptance to online publication: the average (median) number of days from acceptance of a manuscript to online publication of the Version of Record. Based on articles published in the last six months.
- Acceptance rate: articles accepted for publication by the journal in the previous calendar year as percentage of all papers receiving a final decision.
For more details on the data above, please read the Author Services guide to understanding journal metrics.
*Copyright: Journal Citation Reports®, Clarivate Analytics
†Copyright: CiteScore™, Scopus
Editorial board
Editor in chief:
Marcella Milana - University of Verona, Italy
Editors:
Ulrik Brandi - Aarhus University, Denmark
Steven Hodge - Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
Tetyana Hoggan-Kloubert - University of Augsburg, GermanyBook Review Editor:
Thomas Howard Morris - Bath Spa University, UK
Social Media Editor:
Hany Hachem - Linköping University, Sweden
Founding Co-Editors: P. Jarvis† - University of Surrey, UK
J. E. Thomas† - University of Nottingham, UK
Editorial Advisory Board:
Per Andersson - Linköping University, Sweden
Idowu Biao - University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin
Stephen Billett - Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
Ellen Boeren - University of Glasgow, UK
Helen Bound - Institute for Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore
Pepka Boyadjieva - Institute of Philosophy & Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Richard Desjardins - University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Vicky Duckworth - Edge Hill University, UK
Martin Dyke - University of Southampton, UK
Marvin Formosa - University of Malta, Malta
Sarah Galloway - University of Stirling, UK
Patricia Gouthro - Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada
Anke Grotlüschen - University of Hamburg, Germany
Paula Guimarães - University of Lisbon, Portugal
Shibao Guo - University of Calgary, Canada
Soonghee Han - Seoul National University, Seoul
Günter Hefler - 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH, Vienna, Austria
Chad Hoggan - North Carolina State University, USA
John Holford - University of Nottingham
Petya Ilieva-Trichkova - Institute of Philosophy & Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Tim Ireland - Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
Nalita James - University of Leicester, UK
Kaela Jubas - University of Calgary, Canada
Bernd Käpplinger - Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
George Koulaouzides - Hellenic Open University, Greece
Jonathan Langdon - St Francis Xavier, Canada
Elizabeth Lange - Institute of Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Australia and Athabasca University, Canada
Anne Larson - Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark
Moosung Lee - University of Canberra, Australia & Yonsei University, Korea
Wolfgang Lehman - Western University, Canada
Junmin Li - University of Cologne, Germany
Zhen Li - Xiamen University, China
Scott McLean - University of Calgary, Canada
Tonic L. Maruatona - University of Botswana, Botswana
Peter Mayo - Faculty of Education, University of Malta
Linda Morrice - University of Sussex, UK
George Openjuru - Gulu University, Uganda
Kevin Orr - University of Huddersfield, UK
Bernhard Schmidt-Hertha - Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
Daniel Schugurensky - Arizona State University, USA
Pia Seidler Cort - Aarhus University, Denmark
Bonnie Slade - University of Glasgow, UK
Danilo Streck - University of Caxias do Sul, Brazil
Michael Tagoe - University of Ghana
Seng Chee Tan - National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Tarja Irene Tikkanen - University of Stavanger, Norway
Carlos Alberto Torres - University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Richard Waller - University of the West of England, UK
Shirley Walters - University of Western Cape, South Africa
Yoko Wantanabe - Niigata University, Japan
Susan Webb - Monash University, Australia
Robin Redmon Wright - Penn State University, USA
Keiko Yasukawa - University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Abstracting and indexing
International Journal of Lifelong Education is indexed and abstracted in: Australian Education Index (AEI); Australian Research Council (ARC) Ranked Journal List; National Database for Research into International Education (NDRI); British Education Index; Educational Research Abstracts online (ERA); Education Index; Education Resources Information Center (ERIC); ERIH (European Reference Index for the Humanities, Pedagogical and Educational Research); Language and Linguistics Behavior Abstracts;
SCOPUS®
and VOCEDplus.Open access
International Journal of Lifelong Education is a hybrid open access journal that is part of our Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research.
Why choose open access?
- Increase the discoverability and readership of your article
- Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy access to a research library
- Freely share your work with anyone, anywhere
- Comply with funding mandates and meet the requirements of your institution, employer or funder
- Rigorous peer review for every open access article
Article Publishing Charges (APC)
If you choose to publish open access in this journal you may be asked to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC). You may be able to publish your article at no cost to yourself or with a reduced APC if your institution or research funder has an open access agreement or membership with Taylor & Francis.
Use our APC finder to calculate your article publishing charge
News, offers and calls for papers
News and offers
6 issues per year
International Journal of Lifelong Education
Guidelines for Special Issues
The Editors of the International Journal of Lifelong Education (IJLE) welcome proposals for Special Issues of the journal. Special Issues may address any topic or theme of scholarly significance within the remit of the Journal. Scholars are encouraged to discuss ideas for Special Issues informally with the Editors at an early stage.
Proposers of special issues should note the following:
1. Special Issues normally comprise between six and ten papers. Including notes and references, they should be between 45,000 and 80,000 words in length.
2. In general, the IJLE publishes not more than two special issues in any year.
3. In all cases, a formal proposal will be requested. This should include: a statement (1-2 pages) covering the purpose, rationale, contribution and significance of the Special Issue; the proposed contributors; abstracts of papers; author contact information; and a schedule of timings for the various stages of production (see below). The proposal will be considered by the Editors, who will reply to the proposer(s) with their observations and a decision.
4. When a proposal is approved, the Editors of the IJLE will endorse the appointment of an editor (or editors) of the Special Issue.
5. One of the Editors of the IJLE (the liaising Editor) will be appointed to liaise with the Special Issue editor(s).
6. Special Issue editor(s) should discuss with the IJLE Book Reviews Editor the nature of the Book Reviews section for the Special Issue.
7. The Special Issue editor(s) must keep the IJLE Editors fully informed (via the liaison Editor) of the developments in relation to the proposed contents, timing and progress of the special issue.
8. The IJLE is a peer-reviewed journal, and all papers under consideration for a Special Issue must be subject to peer review. This implies:- Contributors should be informed clearly that all papers will be subject to peer review by anonymous referees;
- For each paper, reports should be sought from at least three referees;
- Referees’ reports will be considered both by the Special Issue editor(s)
and by the liaising IJLE Editor;
- Anonymous feedback should be given to authors;
- Authors will be expected to review their papers in the light of referees’ reports;
- Papers which do not meet the required standards will not be published.
9. Special Issue Editor(s) are asked to nominate referees to the IJLE Editors. These nominees must be approved by the IJLE Editors.
10. IJLE manuscripts are submitted, reviewed and handled through the Routledge Manuscript Central system. The Special Issue editor(s) will be given editorial access to this site for this purpose, and will be responsible for distributing papers to the referees and communicating reports to the authors through Manuscript Central.
11. Where revisions are required, the Special Issue editor(s) are responsible for ensuring papers are revised in the light of referees’ reports, and of any comments from the IJLE Editors.
12. Final manuscripts must be prepared in line with the IJLE style guidelines, and must be accompanied by an abstract, keywords and a brief biography of the author(s) in the specified form. Final manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the Manuscript Central site with full contact addresses of all authors and editor(s).
13. To permit the IJLE Editors to review and give final approval to the contents of the Special Issue, the liaising Editor must be provided with the proposed final set of manuscripts for the Special Issue in good time.
14. Approximate schedules for the IJLE Editors to receive (through the liaising Editor) final manuscripts are as follows:
- For Issue No. 1 (published in January): 1 st September of the previous year.
- For Issue No. 2 (published in March): 1 st November of the previous year.
- For Issue No. 3 (published in May): 1 st January of the publication year.
- For Issue No. 4 (published in July): 1 st March of the publication year.
- For Issue No. 5 (published in September): 1 st May of the publication year.
- For Issue No. 6 (published in November): 1 st July of the publication year.
For the avoidance of doubt, proposers should note that in all circumstances, the Editors of the IJLE retain final authority on all matters of publication, including content, timing and approval of the final manuscript(s).
[July 2022]
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