Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas

Journal “Vocational Education: Research and Reality”

PhD Tomas Sabaliauskas

I. Important characteristics of the journal

1. How long does the journal exist?In 1998 the first issue of our journal was published. This Journal has appeared as the result of a long-term co-operation between the Centre for Vocational Education and Research at Vytautas Magnus University and many countries from West Europe, firstly, Hohenheim University, Germany. Therefore the founders of this journal are considered current scientific editor of the journal Prof. R. Laužackas and Prof. from Hohenheim University W. Compter.

2. Who publishes the journal?

• Our journal is published by Center for Vocational Education and Research at Vytautas Magnus Univeristy. On the publication of this journal are working only 2 persons – Scientific editor of the journal and me

3. What kind of journal is your journal?

• This journal is divided in to two parts: Research and Reality

• In the first part scientific articles are published. • In the second - book, PhD theses, project reviews

connected with the field of Vocational Education and Training are published.

4. What do you know about its readership and citations to it?

This journal is very popular in:• vocational schools, • colleges, • Some universities are buying it,• labor market training centers,• labor exchanges,• It is delivered to all main libraries of Lithuania.• It is quite popular among students when they begin

to write their bachelor and master theses.

5. In which databases is the journal listed?

The listings of scientific journals in Lithuania is connected with the reform of Higher education, when only articles published in journal that are listed in databases (not all databases, but chosen by scientific board of Lithuania) where accepted as “serious journals”. This journal is listed in following databases:

• EBSCO Education research complete• Central and Eastern European online library (CEEOL)• MLA International Bibliography• Copernicus ?• ERIC ?

6. What impact does the journal have on careers of researchers?

• This journal is the only one in Lithuania that deals with the problematic of Vocational Education and Training. Therefore the scientists working in this field are trying to get published in our journal.

• It is a scientific journal in which published articles are good for the certification of the scientists, for their proof of scientific outcomes.

II . Scope of the journal1. What is the focus of the journal?

The journal focuses on the area of Vocational Education Training and all problematic connected to it.

2. What disciplinary scope does it have?It is considered to be educational journal, but we could call it interdisciplinary.

3. What are popular themes covered by the journal?The popularity of the themes depends on the popularity of certain themes in the aria of education. Example. The issue about EQF and NQF was very popular. For the publication of this issue we even received money from the Ministry of Labour and social affairs, because they worked at the time on NQF. All copies of this journal where sold, so we try to publish articles that deal with problems which are popular at that time. It works not always

4. Which kind of manuscripts get most attention of the editor and reviewers?

All scientific articles, meant for the first part of the journal, are handled in the same way. No special treatment. Or course the reviewers like more research articles instead of long theoretical once. Less attention is dedicated to the information articles which go the second part of the journal.

III. Getting published in the journal: submissions, review, decisions and revisions

1.What recommendations does the journal give for writing good quality manuscript?

In the guidelines for article writers is indicated main structural criteria scientific article should have. Also an example of good article can be downloaded from the web page of the journal.

2. What are the recommendations/guidelines/instructions for submitting a manuscript?• There is a document prepared in which all the

requirement for an article in this journal are listed. • I would say, there are 3 kinds of requirements:

– Structural (article must have all necessary parts)– Content (Scientific article should have definition of

the problem, goals, methodology if needed etc. Requirements also depend from kind of the article)

– Citation (Even scientists have problems citing correctly, so there is a list of citation requirements)

3. What things do editors and reviewers appreciate and dislike in manuscripts?

• Articles, that could be called “Events from around the globe” are very criticized.

• Reviewers do not like long academic articles. With no new information.

• Research articles with no clear theoretical background are disliked.

• Articles with no clear concept are criticized.• Also articles with no clear problematic etc. All articles that have all above mentioned thing, are

appreciated.

4. What are criteria to follow to get accepted for a review?

Very simple. Get the article done according to the requirements, and send the article to me

5. How long does it take before a decision of the editor with review reports comes back to the author?

We are a small journal, so it does not take a lot of time to gather the reviews, but the reviewers are some times to busy, so it could be a couple of months.

6. What are the working procedures of the editor and reviewers?

Everything is done by the e-mail. When I receive an article, I read it, and if it is “readable” I send it to 2 referees and they send me back the evaluations. If the evaluations are very different, we discuss the article. If not – I write to the author and ask for corrections or let him/her know, that article is accepted as it is.

VI. The future of the journal1.What policy goals does the journal have?2. What strategic choices did it make to achieve its

targets?Since this year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary

of our journal, we have decided to change it entirely:– The design of the journal has been changed. – In order to have broader scope, we are renewing

the editorial board and inviting scientists form different European countries, we are trying to sell it more wide, to make it visible in other EU countries etc.

– We are trying to correct evaluation procedures,– We hope to publish 2 issues a year,– We are trying to get accepted by different

databases.

3. What themes will the journal focus on in the coming years?

• The coming issue of the journal will be a general one. So, there will be a lot of themes.

• The next issue will deal with the problematic of VET teacher training.

• Issue after that should deal with the problematic of inequalities in VET

4. Is work in the journal cited in ISI journals?Unfortunately no 5. What is the opinion of the journal of getting

listed in ISI (SSCI)?This is our vision, but in order to make this big step,

we first have to make a lot of small steps such as get known in wider academic circles and other EU countries.

Thank you for your attention !

QUESTIONS

Contact information:• E-mail: t.sabaliauskas@smf.vdu.lt• Web page: www.vdu.lt/verr