GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS

Sections of the Journal

MJED publishes articles in the following sections, catering to various scholarly and practical contributions:

1.   Research articles

• Features rigorous theoretical and empirical research studies addressing critical questions in education and development.
• Includes systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and conceptual studies that advance understanding in the field.

2.   Graduate Research

• Provides a platform for graduate students to showcase their research contributions.

3.   Educational Development

• Focuses on practical insights, including policy briefs, case studies of practice, prototypes, and other designs in education.
• Aims to share actionable knowledge from projects, programmes, or innovations that contribute to sustainable development.
• Authors publishing in this section are required to contribute a minimum of USD50 (or equivalent in Malawi Kwacha) per A4 output page in PDF format. This fee supports technology, peer review, and overhead costs.

Publication Schedule

MJED accepts manuscript submissions at any time throughout the year. The journal publishes twice annually, in June and December.

Editorial Policy and Review Process

Double-Blind Peer Review
MJED employs a double-blind peer review process to maintain objectivity and ensure high-quality publications.

• Authors are required to anonymise their manuscripts and any supplementary materials before submission.
• A separate title page containing the article title, author names, affiliations, and contact information must be submitted. This page should also include acknowledgements, disclosures, and funding information, where applicable.

Proofreading and Plagiarism Checks

Authors are encouraged to:

• Edit and proofread their manuscripts thoroughly to ensure clarity, accuracy, and professionalism.
• Check for plagiarism using widely accepted tools such as Turnitin or Grammarly to maintain originality and adhere to ethical standards.

Special Issues

The journal publishes special or guest-edited issues. Articles in these issues undergo the same rigorous review process as regular submissions. Guest editors cannot handle the review of their own submissions.

Submission Guidelines

General Requirements

• Submissions must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere.
• Manuscripts must adhere to UK English conventions
• Manuscripts must be between 5,000 and 7,500 words, including the abstract, main text, tables, figures, footnotes, appendices, and references.

Formatting Instructions

1. Use Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, with 3cm margins on all sides.
2. The manuscript must begin with a title page (detailed below) followed by an abstract of 150–250 words and 4–6 keywords.
3. References and citations must follow APA 7th Edition guidelines (see below for details).

Title Page Requirements

The title page must include:

• The title of the manuscript (maximum of 15 words);
• The Journal Section under which the paper is being submitted
• The full names of all authors, their affiliations, and institutional addresses;
• The email address and phone number of the corresponding author;
• Any acknowledgements, disclosures, or funding information.

Submission Process

Manuscripts must be submitted via the online system of the Journal: https://journal.unima.ac.mw/

Ethical Policies

Authors are required to declare that their manuscript is original, has not been published elsewhere, and is not under consideration by another journal. Plagiarism or the inclusion of copyrighted materials without appropriate permissions is prohibited.

Publication Fees

MJED does not charge authors for submission or article processing charges (APCs). However, manuscripts accepted for the Educational Development section will incur a monetary contribution of USD50 per A4 PDF output page to support technology, marketing, and overhead costs.

References: APA 7th Edition Style Guide

In-Text Citations

APA in-text citations follow the author-date format. Examples include:

• Single Author: (Smith, 2020) or Smith (2020).
• Two Authors: (Smith & Jones, 2021) or Smith and Jones (2021).
• Three or More Authors: (Smith et al., 2021).
• Direct Quotes: Include page numbers: (Smith, 2020, p. 23).

Reference List

References are listed alphabetically with a hanging indent. Below are examples for common formats:

1.   Book
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book: Subtitle. Publisher.

• Example: Smith, J. A. (2020). Educational innovations for the 21st century. Routledge.

2.   Chapter in Edited Book
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the chapter. In E. Editor (Ed.), Title of the book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

• Example: Brown, P. T. (2021). Designing online learning environments. In M. T. White (Ed.), Advances in digital education (pp. 45–67). Springer.

3.   Journal Article with DOI
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, Volume(Issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxx

• Example: Johnson, T. R., & Green, L. M. (2022). The role of technology in teacher education. Journal of Education Research, 34(2), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.12345/edu.v34i2.678

4.   Online Article with No DOI
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of the article. Website Name. URL

• Example: Cooper, L. (2020, May 10). The future of remote teaching. Educational Insights. https://www.educationalinsights.com/future-remote-teaching

5.   Government Report
Government Agency. (Year). Title of the report (Report No. xxx). Publisher. URL

• Example: World Bank. (2021). Education for all: A global perspective (Report No. 12345). World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/education

6.      Conference Paper

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the paper. In Editor’s Initials. Last Name (Ed.), Proceedings of the Conference Name (pp. xx–xx). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxx

·         Example: Gondwe, F. (2016). Evaluating teacher readiness for digital integration. In A. B. Author (Ed.), Proceedings of the Malawi Education Conference (pp. 23–45). Springer. https://doi.org/xxxx

7.   Dissertation/Thesis
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the dissertation (Publication No. xxx) [Doctoral dissertation, University]. Database.

• Example: Smith, R. T. (2022). Technology adoption in African classrooms (Publication No. 78910) [Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

8.   Website
Organisation Name. (Year). Title of the webpage. URL

• Example: UNICEF. (2021). Education in crisis: Reimagining learning. https://www.unicef.org/education

Contact Information

For inquiries and submissions, please contact:
Editor-in-Chief, MJED
Email: mjed@unima.ac.mw