Journal Scope

The journal focuses on psychology, education and social work, with particular attention to research questions that connect these disciplines. Its scope encompasses individuals across the lifespan, their learning and development, mental health, interpersonal relationships and the conditions that enable full participation in society. The editors are particularly interested in how individual experiences and behaviour relate to the family, school, workplace, community and wider social environment.

The journal’s mission is to disseminate original research findings and provide a forum for scholarly discussion that connects theoretical understanding with critically evaluated implications for education, psychological practice and social support. A submission’s contribution must therefore be grounded in a clearly defined problem, an approach appropriate to that problem and conclusions supported by the empirical evidence or arguments presented.

Psychology

In psychology, the journal welcomes contributions in general, developmental, social, educational and school psychology, health psychology, clinical and counselling psychology, and work and organisational psychology. Topics may include cognitive processes, emotions, motivation, personality, mental health, psychological resilience, interpersonal relationships, and individual and group behaviour. The editors also welcome methodological and psychometric studies that contribute to a reliable evidence base and the responsible use of psychological methods in research and practice.

Education

The journal’s coverage of education encompasses upbringing, education and learning across the lifespan and in diverse institutional and non-institutional settings. Particular attention is given to teaching and learning, school environments, educators’ professional development, inclusive and special education, educational assessment, adult education and the evaluation of educational practices. The editors are also interested in educational inequalities and changes in learning associated with digitalisation and wider societal developments.

Social Work

In social work, the journal welcomes studies addressing the social functioning of individuals, families, groups and communities, social disadvantage, access to support and the effectiveness of interventions. Its thematic scope includes research on social services, work with children and families, ageing, disability, crisis situations, social exclusion and community work. Attention is also given to professional ethics, service user participation, interprofessional collaboration and the relationship between social policy and social work practice.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives

The journal welcomes work that brings these disciplines together to address a specific problem, such as mental health in schools, family support, the prevention of risk behaviours, the consequences of social inequalities, active ageing or labour market inclusion. The interdisciplinary approach must be justified in the research question, theoretical framework or study design, as the concurrent use of concepts from several disciplines does not, in itself, constitute substantive interdisciplinary integration.

Submissions from related disciplines, such as sociology, public health, economics or public policy, are considered where they clearly advance knowledge relevant to psychology, education or social work. Regionally focused studies must explain the significance of their findings for wider scholarly debate and specify the extent to which those findings may be transferable to other contexts.

Article Types and Methodological Inclusiveness

The journal publishes original empirical studies, review articles, and theoretical and methodological articles. It welcomes quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research, well-justified replication studies, and studies reporting inconclusive or negative results. The determining considerations are the suitability of the methods for the research question and the transparency of the procedures, rather than the appeal of the findings or adherence to a particular methodological tradition.

Case studies and practice-oriented studies must offer generalisable scholarly insights or a clearly justified analytical contribution, while safeguarding the individuals concerned and explicitly acknowledging their limitations. Purely promotional texts, unsubstantiated recommendations and accounts of practice without scholarly analysis fall outside the journal’s research section.

International Accessibility and Readership

The journal is intended for researchers, university lecturers, psychologists, education and social work professionals, and other practitioners who connect research with practice. The editors support international scholarly exchange and therefore also welcome submissions in English. Regardless of the language of the main text, every scholarly article must include an English title, abstract and keywords. References originally written in a non-Latin script must also be transliterated into the Latin alphabet in the reference list.

Scholarly articles undergo independent peer review, publication is free of charge for authors, and full texts are freely available on an open access basis. Detailed conditions governing the assessment and publication of manuscripts are set out in the Peer Review Process and Publication Ethics sections.