Author Guidelines

1. About the Journal

The Elementary Journal (TEJ) is a peer-reviewed, open-access academic journal dedicated to publishing original research and scholarly contributions in basic education and early childhood education. The journal provides a platform for researchers, educators, teachers, policymakers, and educational practitioners to disseminate rigorous research findings, theoretical developments, educational innovations, and evidence-based practices that contribute to improving the quality of teaching and learning.

The journal welcomes manuscripts that address contemporary educational challenges, demonstrate methodological rigor, contribute to existing scholarship, and provide meaningful implications for educational theory, policy, or practice.

Authors are expected to prepare manuscripts in accordance with these guidelines and the official TEJ manuscript template.

2. Focus and Scope

The Elementary Journal accepts manuscripts within the following areas:

Curriculum and Instruction: Curriculum development, instructional design, innovative pedagogies, differentiated instruction, and learning implementation.
Educational Technology and Artificial Intelligence: Digital learning, artificial intelligence in education, multimedia learning, educational applications, and technology-enhanced instruction.
Learning Media and Educational Resources: Development, validation, implementation, and evaluation of learning media, teaching materials, and digital resources.
Literacy and Numeracy: Reading literacy, critical literacy, mathematical literacy, scientific literacy, language development, and foundational learning competencies.
Teacher Education and Professional Development: Teacher competence, pedagogical development, professional learning, reflective practice, and instructional innovation.
Assessment and Evaluation: Educational measurement, formative and summative assessment, learning outcomes, assessment instruments, and program evaluation.
Inclusive and Special Education: Inclusive education, special educational needs, differentiated learning, accessibility, and educational equity.
Educational Psychology and Child Development: Cognitive, emotional, social, moral, linguistic, and behavioral development in early childhood and primary education.
Character and Values Education: Moral development, religious and ethical values, social-emotional learning, citizenship, and character formation.
Cultural and Social Dimensions of Education: Local wisdom, cultural diversity, family engagement, parental involvement, and community-based learning.
Educational Leadership, Management, and Policy: School leadership, institutional management, educational quality assurance, educational policy, and school improvement.

Submissions must demonstrate a clear connection to basic education or early childhood education and explain their contribution to the relevant field.

3. Types of Manuscripts

TEJ considers the following categories of scholarly contributions.

3.1. Original Research Articles

Original research articles report empirical investigations using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods approaches. Submissions must present a clear research problem, an appropriate theoretical foundation, a transparent methodology, credible findings, and a discussion of the study's contribution.

3.2. Review Articles

Review articles critically synthesize existing scholarship to identify research trends, theoretical developments, methodological patterns, knowledge gaps, and directions for future research.

Systematic reviews must provide a reproducible search strategy, explicit eligibility criteria, transparent screening procedures, and a clearly described synthesis method. Authors conducting systematic reviews should follow the PRISMA 2020 reporting guideline where applicable.

Narrative and integrative reviews must also explain their literature selection and synthesis approaches sufficiently to allow readers to evaluate the review's credibility.

3.3. Research and Development Articles

These manuscripts report the systematic design, development, validation, implementation, and evaluation of educational products, learning models, instructional media, assessment instruments, or teaching materials.

Authors must explain the development framework, validation procedures, participants, evaluation criteria, and evidence supporting the effectiveness or feasibility of the developed product.

3.4. Conceptual and Theoretical Articles

Conceptual articles develop, critically examine, or refine theoretical perspectives and conceptual frameworks relevant to basic education and early childhood education. Arguments must be grounded in relevant literature and demonstrate a clear scholarly contribution.

The editorial office reserves the right to determine whether a submission type is appropriate for the journal.

4. General Submission Requirements

All manuscripts must satisfy the following requirements:

The manuscript falls within the journal's focus and scope.
The submission is original and has not been published previously, except where the journal's policies explicitly permit an appropriately disclosed prior version.
The manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.
All authors have approved the submitted version and agreed to the submission.
Authorship accurately reflects each contributor's intellectual contribution.
All sources, quotations, data, instruments, images, and third-party materials are properly acknowledged.
The research methods and findings are reported accurately and transparently.
Relevant ethical approvals, informed consent, and permissions have been obtained where applicable.
Funding sources and potential conflicts of interest are disclosed.
The manuscript complies with the official template and referencing requirements.
The submission includes complete metadata and all required supporting documents.
The manuscript is prepared for the journal's double-blind peer review process.

Submissions that do not satisfy the basic requirements may be returned to the authors before editorial assessment.

5. Manuscript Length and Formatting

Authors must prepare their manuscripts using the official TEJ manuscript template.

The following specifications are based on the journal's supplied template.

Element	Requirement
File format	Microsoft Word (.docx)
Paper size	A4
Left margin	2.5 cm
Top margin	2.5 cm
Right margin	2 cm
Bottom margin	2 cm
Main text font	Times New Roman, 10 pt
Line spacing	Single
Article title	Centered, bold, 16 pt
Author names	10 pt
Affiliations	8 pt
Abstract	100–200 words
Keywords	5–7
Original research article	Maximum 12 pages
Review or survey article	Maximum 16 pages
Reference style	IEEE

The page limits refer to the manuscript prepared according to the official template. Authors should not change margins, font sizes, or spacing merely to accommodate additional content.

6. Article Title and Author Information

6.1. Article Title

The title must be concise, informative, and representative of the manuscript's principal subject and contribution. The recommended length is approximately 12 words or fewer.

Authors should:

Use specific terminology that accurately reflects the research.
Avoid unnecessary expressions, acronyms, and abbreviations.
Avoid mentioning the research method in the title unless the study specifically concerns the development of a new method.
Avoid overly broad claims and unnecessarily long formulas.

The title must be centered, bold, and formatted in Times New Roman, 16 pt.

6.2. Author Names and Affiliations

Author names must appear directly below the title, formatted in Times New Roman, 10 pt. Institutional affiliations must be numbered consistently and formatted in 8 pt.

Each author should provide the following information through the journal's submission system:

Full name.
Department or faculty, where applicable.
Institutional affiliation.
City and country.
Institutional or professional email address.
ORCID iD, where available.

The corresponding author's name, email address, and mobile phone number must be provided in the designated section of the template.

For double-blind peer review, author names, affiliations, acknowledgments that reveal identity, and other identifying information must be excluded from the anonymized manuscript file.

7. Abstract and Keywords

7.1. Abstract

Every manuscript must include an abstract of 100–200 words.

The abstract must be self-contained and clearly summarize the principal elements of the study:

Research background or problem.
Research objective.
Methodological approach.
Principal findings.
Main conclusion and contribution.

For empirical studies, the abstract should report the actual findings rather than merely describe the intended research activities. Quantitative studies should report important numerical results where appropriate, while qualitative studies should identify the main findings or themes.

References should not be included in the abstract. Uncommon abbreviations should be avoided or defined at first mention.

7.2. Keywords

Authors must provide five to seven keywords immediately after the abstract.

Keywords should represent the central concepts, research context, population, or subject of the manuscript. They should be specific enough to support indexing and information retrieval.

Authors should avoid overly general expressions, unnecessary duplication of the title, and compound keywords containing multiple unrelated concepts.

American English spelling should be used consistently in English-language manuscripts.

8. Manuscript Structure

Original research articles should generally follow the structure below.

8.1. Introduction

The introduction must establish the significance of the research problem and explain its relevance to basic or early childhood education.

It should include:

The research background and educational context.
A critical synthesis of relevant literature.
The specific research gap or unresolved problem.
The research objective and questions or hypotheses, where applicable.
The originality and expected contribution of the study.

The introduction should demonstrate why the study is necessary and how it advances existing knowledge. Literature should be synthesized critically rather than presented as a sequence of unrelated summaries.

8.2. Theoretical Background or Proposed Framework (Optional)

A separate theoretical background or conceptual framework may be included when necessary to explain the study's theoretical foundation, analytical model, or original methodological contribution.

The section should define the principal concepts, explain relationships among relevant variables or constructs, and establish the analytical basis for the research.

8.3. Method

The method section must provide a transparent account of how the study was conducted.

Depending on the research design, authors should report:

Research design and rationale.
Research setting and context.
Participants, population, sampling procedures, or data sources.
Research instruments and procedures for establishing their quality.
Data collection procedures.
Data analysis techniques.
Ethical approval and participant consent, where applicable.
Measures taken to establish validity, reliability, credibility, or trustworthiness.

Quantitative studies should explain the statistical procedures and provide relevant evidence concerning measurement quality. Qualitative studies should describe the approach to data generation, coding, interpretation, and trustworthiness. Mixed-methods studies should explain how quantitative and qualitative components were integrated.

Research and development studies should identify the development model, validation process, implementation stages, and evaluation criteria.

Methods must be described accurately enough for readers to assess the credibility of the findings and, where appropriate, reproduce the study.

8.4. Results and Discussion

The results and discussion section should present the findings and interpret their significance in relation to the research questions, theoretical framework, and relevant previous studies.

Authors should:

Organize findings logically around the research objectives.
Present evidence using appropriate tables, figures, quotations, or statistical summaries.
Explain how the findings address the research questions.
Compare findings with relevant previous research.
Discuss theoretical, methodological, and practical implications.
Identify unexpected results and plausible explanations.
Acknowledge limitations that affect interpretation.

Tables and figures should support the argument rather than duplicate the same information. Claims must be supported by the data and analysis presented in the manuscript.

Subsections may be used where they improve clarity.

8.5. Conclusion

The conclusion should synthesize the main findings and explain how the research objectives have been addressed.

It should identify the study's principal contribution and, where relevant, its implications for educational practice, policy, or future research.

The conclusion should not introduce new data or make claims unsupported by the results. Authors may also state the principal limitations and propose specific directions for subsequent research.

8.6. Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments may recognize individuals, institutions, organizations, or funding agencies that contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship.

Funding sources and grant identifiers should be reported where applicable. This section should be removed from the anonymized manuscript during peer review if it could reveal author identity.

8.7. References

The reference list must include every source cited in the manuscript and follow the IEEE numerical referencing style.

The reference list must be ordered according to the first appearance of each source in the text.

9. Citation and Referencing Style

TEJ follows the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) referencing style, as specified in the official manuscript template. Authors should consult the IEEE Reference Guide for detailed formatting examples.

9.1. In-text Citations

Citations must use sequential Arabic numerals enclosed in square brackets.

Examples:

One source: Previous research has identified similar challenges [1].
Multiple sources: Related findings have been reported in several studies [2], [3].
Citing a source in the sentence: Smith and Jones discussed the issue in [4].

Each reference number must correspond to a single entry in the reference list. Once assigned, the same number must be used whenever that source is cited again.

9.2. Minimum Number of References

The journal's manuscript template specifies the following minimum reference counts:

Original research articles: at least 25 references.
Review or survey articles: at least 50 references.

References should be relevant, credible, and sufficiently current for the research topic. Authors are encouraged to prioritize peer-reviewed international and national journal articles, particularly recent studies, while retaining seminal works when theoretically necessary.

The number of references alone does not establish scholarly quality. The relevance, accuracy, diversity, and critical use of the literature are equally important.

9.3. Journal Article Format

General format:

Author initials and surnames, “Title of paper,” Abbreviated Journal Title, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, year, doi: DOI.

Example:

A. Author and B. Author, “Title of the article,” Journal of Education, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 100–115, 2025, doi: 10.xxxx/xxxxx.

The example is illustrative only. Authors must use the correct bibliographic details and DOI of the actual source.

9.4. Conference Proceedings

General format:

Author initials and surnames, “Title of paper,” in Abbreviated Conference Name, year, pp. xxx–xxx, doi: DOI.

9.5. Books and Book Chapters

Book and chapter references should include the author, title, editor where applicable, edition, publisher, year, and page information where relevant, following the IEEE format.

9.6. Theses and Dissertations

Thesis and dissertation references should include the author's name, title, degree, department, institution, location, and year.

9.7. DOI Verification

Authors should verify DOI information through Crossref or the publisher's official website. When available, DOI links should be presented in a resolvable format, such as https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.

Authors are encouraged to use reference management software such as Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote to ensure consistent formatting.

10. Tables, Figures, and Supplementary Materials

Tables, figures, graphs, diagrams, and other visual materials must be relevant to the research objectives and sufficiently clear for publication.

Authors must:

Number tables and figures consecutively.
Provide descriptive titles and captions.
Refer to each table and figure in the main text.
Ensure that labels, symbols, units, and abbreviations are explained.
Submit figures at a resolution appropriate for publication.
Provide source attribution for reproduced or adapted materials.
Obtain permission when required by copyright or licensing terms.
Ensure that all presented data are accurate and consistent with the reported findings.

Supplementary materials may be submitted when they provide relevant information that cannot be accommodated efficiently in the main manuscript. Such materials must comply with the journal's submission procedures and ethical requirements.

11. Research Ethics and Publication Integrity

TEJ expects authors to follow recognized principles of responsible research and scholarly publishing. Authors should consult the journal's applicable publication ethics policies and the COPE publication ethics resources.

11.1. Originality and Plagiarism

Manuscripts must be original and must acknowledge all sources of ideas, quotations, data, and previously published findings.

Plagiarism, inappropriate text recycling, duplicate publication, data fabrication, data falsification, and manipulation of research findings are unacceptable.

The editorial office may conduct similarity screening and investigate potential publication misconduct. Similarity percentages must be interpreted in context; an acceptable threshold should be established in the journal's separate plagiarism policy rather than assumed from a single numerical value.

11.2. Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving children, teachers, parents, or other human participants must comply with applicable ethical requirements and institutional regulations.

Where required, authors must obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee, informed consent from adult participants, and parental or legal guardian consent for children. Child assent should be obtained when appropriate to age and developmental capacity.

Authors must protect participants' privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and welfare. Identifiable personal information should not be disclosed without a valid ethical and legal basis.

11.3. Data Integrity and Availability

Authors must report data collection, processing, analysis, and findings accurately. Research data must not be fabricated, falsified, or selectively manipulated to support predetermined conclusions.

Where appropriate and ethically permissible, authors are encouraged to provide data, instruments, analysis procedures, or supplementary materials that support verification and reproducibility.

Data availability statements should explain whether supporting data are publicly available, available upon reasonable request, restricted for ethical or legal reasons, or not applicable.

11.4. Authorship and Contributions

Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contributions to the conception or design of the study, data acquisition, analysis or interpretation, manuscript preparation, or substantive revision.

All authors must approve the final manuscript and accept responsibility for their contributions. Individuals who provide limited assistance should be acknowledged appropriately rather than automatically listed as authors.

Changes in authorship after submission require a legitimate reason and approval in accordance with the journal's editorial procedures.

11.5. Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose financial, professional, personal, or institutional relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research.

If no relevant conflict exists, authors may state:

“The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

11.6. Funding Statement

All sources of financial support should be identified, including the funding organization and grant number where applicable.

If no external funding was received, authors may state:

“This research received no external funding.”

11.7. Generative Artificial Intelligence

Authors who use generative artificial intelligence tools must comply with the journal's applicable AI policy.

AI tools must not be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, citations, and interpretation of their manuscripts.

Substantive use of generative AI in writing or analysis should be disclosed in accordance with the journal's policy. AI-generated references and factual claims must be independently verified. AI must not be used to fabricate data, invent research findings, create misleading evidence, or conceal plagiarism.

Authors must also comply with ethical, confidentiality, and privacy requirements when using AI tools with research data or unpublished manuscripts.

12. Peer Review Process

The Elementary Journal applies a double-blind peer review process involving at least two expert reviewers, as stated in its journal information.

The review process generally includes the following stages:

Stage 1: Initial Submission Screening

The editorial office checks the completeness of the submission, manuscript formatting, scope suitability, and basic compliance with journal requirements.

Stage 2: Editorial Assessment

The editor evaluates the originality, relevance, research question, methodological adequacy, scholarly contribution, and overall suitability of the manuscript.

Stage 3: Double-Blind Peer Review

Eligible manuscripts are evaluated by independent reviewers. Author-identifying information is removed from the review manuscript, and reviewer identities are protected in accordance with the journal's review policy.

Stage 4: Editorial Decision

Based on the reviews and editorial assessment, the manuscript may be accepted, accepted subject to minor revision, returned for major revision, or rejected.

Stage 5: Revision and Reassessment

Authors must respond to reviewers' comments and submit a revised manuscript within the specified deadline. Further review may be conducted when necessary.

Stage 6: Copyediting and Publication

Accepted manuscripts proceed to copyediting, proofreading, metadata verification, DOI registration where applicable, and publication.

The editorial decision is based on scholarly merit, research integrity, relevance, and compliance with journal requirements. Submission does not guarantee acceptance or publication.

13. Open Access, Copyright, and Licensing

The Elementary Journal provides open access to its published articles in accordance with its stated open-access policy.

According to the journal's published information, articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.

This license permits sharing and adaptation subject to the license conditions, including appropriate attribution, provision of a license link, indication of changes, and distribution of adaptations under the same license.

Authors must ensure that they hold the necessary rights to publish all content included in their manuscripts.

The journal's detailed copyright, licensing, and author-rights arrangements should be consulted on the official website.

14. Publication Fees

Authors must consult the journal's official Author Fees policy for information about submission charges, article processing charges, and other publication-related costs.

Any applicable fees, waivers, payment methods, and refund arrangements should be communicated transparently by the publisher.

Authors should not assume that publication is free or subject to a particular fee unless the amount and applicable conditions are explicitly stated in the journal's official policy.

15. Manuscript Submission Procedure

All manuscripts must be submitted through the official TEJ Open Journal Systems (OJS) portal.

Authors should:

Register or log in to the journal's OJS platform.
Start a new submission and select the appropriate manuscript category.
Complete the submission checklist.
Upload the anonymized manuscript in Microsoft Word format.
Enter the complete title, abstract, keywords, author details, and affiliations in the submission metadata.
Upload any required supplementary files, ethical statements, declarations, or supporting documents.
Review the submission carefully before completing the process.

The metadata entered into OJS must correspond to the submitted manuscript. Authors should ensure that names, affiliations, email addresses, funding statements, and references are accurate.

16. Revision, Proofreading, and Publication

Authors receiving a revision decision must submit the revised manuscript within the deadline specified by the editorial office.

A point-by-point response to reviewers should be provided when requested. Each comment should be addressed clearly, with the corresponding changes identified in the revised manuscript.

Following acceptance, authors must carefully proofread the final version, checking spelling, author names, affiliations, tables, figures, references, and DOI information.

Substantive changes after acceptance require editorial approval. Authors should respond promptly to editorial queries to prevent unnecessary publication delays.

17. Pre-Submission Checklist

Before submitting a manuscript, authors must confirm that:

The manuscript fits the focus and scope of The Elementary Journal.
The submission is original and is not under consideration elsewhere.
The manuscript follows the official TEJ template.
The title is concise, informative, and approximately 12 words or fewer.
The abstract contains 100–200 words.
The manuscript includes 5–7 relevant keywords.
The manuscript complies with the applicable page limit.
The main text uses Times New Roman, 10 pt, single spacing, and the prescribed margins.
In-text citations and references follow IEEE style.
The manuscript meets the minimum reference count for its article type.
All tables and figures are numbered, captioned, and cited in the text.
The manuscript is anonymized for double-blind peer review.
Relevant research ethics approvals and participant consent have been addressed.
Funding and conflicts of interest have been disclosed.
All authors have approved the manuscript.
Any substantive use of generative AI has been disclosed as required.
Permissions for third-party materials have been obtained where necessary.
All OJS metadata and supporting documents are complete.

18. Contact Information

The Elementary Journal (TEJ)

Publisher: C.V. Gerasi Insan Nusantara
Office: Perum Griya Permata 4 No. A4–A5, Loderesan, Kedungwaru, Tulungagung, East Java, Indonesia 66221.

Website: https://jurnal.gerakanedukasi.com/index.php/TEJ
Submission portal: https://jurnal.gerakanedukasi.com/index.php/TEJ

Email: atworklita@gmail.com
Alternative email: theelementaryjournal58@gmail.com

For questions concerning manuscript submission, editorial procedures, or publication requirements, authors may contact the editorial office through the addresses listed above.