ETHICAL CODE

The ethical conduct guidelines of RLE are based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice for Journal Editors of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and on the Code of Ethics of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

They are founded on 3 principles, which address editors, reviewers, and authors alike:

• Professional, scientific, and academic responsibility;
  
  
• Integrity;
  
  
• Respect for diversity, dignity, and human rights.
  
  

COMMITMENTS OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

1. Professional, scientific, and academic responsibility

• The RLE Editorial Board acknowledges the scientific responsibility inherent in the dissemination of rigorous educational knowledge. As an open-access publication, RLE assumes an active role in promoting the public good, contributing to the advancement of scientific and academic knowledge accessible to all;
  
  
• By accepting to join the RLE Editorial Board, editors commit themselves to providing a high-quality service, acting with diligence, competence, and rigor within their areas of expertise;
  
  
• The Editorial Board holds the final responsibility for the content published in RLE, ensuring the implementation of quality control mechanisms, such as plagiarism detection, as well as the archiving and broad dissemination of approved texts;
  
  
• Editorial decisions regarding the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts are based on the scientific relevance, originality, and clarity of the texts, as well as their alignment with the mission and scope of the journal;
  
  
• The Editorial Board is responsible for selecting the most qualified reviewers for each article, ensuring evaluation by at least two reviewers per manuscript;
  
  
• During the period in which they perform editorial functions at RLE, editors commit not to submit manuscripts of their own authorship to the journal.
  
  

2. Integrity

• Through the RLE submission platform, the Editorial Board commits to keeping authors duly informed throughout the submission, evaluation, and publication process, ensuring that it proceeds quickly and efficiently;
  
  
• It is the responsibility of the Editorial Board to guarantee the confidentiality of the double-blind peer review process, preserving the anonymity of both authors and reviewers. They supervise all participants in the editorial process, ensuring strict compliance with confidentiality at all stages;
  
  
• All texts accepted for publication will indeed be published, except in exceptional situations where serious errors or unacceptable ethical misconduct, such as plagiarism or other improper practices, are identified even after acceptance of the manuscript;
  
  
• In cases of plagiarism or other serious ethical violations, the Editorial Board will follow the guidelines established by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), namely the flowchart available at: https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts;
  
  
• The Editorial Board commits to publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, or apologies whenever necessary;
  
  
• Editorial and publication decisions are made independently and are not influenced by policies, institutions, entities, or individuals external to RLE.
  
  

3. Respect for Diversity, Dignity, and Human Rights

• Editorial decisions are not influenced by the origin of the manuscript, including the nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, or religion of the authors;
  
  
• Although the content and language of the articles are the responsibility of the authors, the RLE Editorial Board does not allow texts containing discriminatory and/or offensive content or language toward a particular social group to enter the evaluation process.

COMMITMENTS OF AUTHORS

1. Professional, scientific, and academic responsibility

• Authors must carefully read the Scope and Objectives section, as well as the submission guidelines of RLE, ensuring that the submitted manuscript possesses scientific quality and represents a relevant and suitable contribution for international dissemination;
  
  
• In the case of collective authorship, the definition of authorship and its order must be agreed upon by all co-authors before submission. The order of names should reflect the degree of involvement and responsibility of each author, with all having had significant participation in the conducted research;
  
  
• Authors commit to declaring the absence of conflicts of interest that could have influenced the study’s results or conclusions;
  
  
• Any source of funding or project that supported the work presented in the article must be clearly indicated;
  
  
• Whenever requested, authors must make the underlying data of the article available to the editor, in order to confirm results or clarify possible questions raised during the review process;
  
  
• If an author identifies a relevant error in their article after publication, they must immediately inform the RLE editor and provide the necessary elements for correction. The editor will include a correction note in the published article.

2. Integrity

• Authors of manuscripts submitted to RLE guarantee that the work is original, has not been previously published, and is not under review in any other publication;
  
  
• They also commit not to falsify or fabricate data, sources, results, conclusions, or academic credentials;
  
  
• Authors are responsible for properly acknowledging and referencing the work of others whenever using data, citations, or relevant contributions. Sources must be correctly identified, and proper credit given, avoiding any form of plagiarism, including the inappropriate appropriation of large text sections or data as one’s own;
  
  
• Authors also commit to obtaining informed consent—oral or written—from research participants, or their legal representatives, whenever ethically required. Proof of this consent must be available to the editor, or alternatively, the favorable opinion of the competent authority that authorized the study.
  
  

3. Respect for Diversity, Dignity, and Human Rights

• Authors commit not to use offensive, discriminatory, or abusive language, particularly regarding: race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, language, disability, health conditions, socioeconomic status, marital/domestic/parental status, or any other;
  
  
• Authors ensure the protection of confidential information, safeguarding the integrity of the research and sensitive information obtained during the study.

COMMITMENTS OF REVIEWERS

1. Professional, scientific, and academic responsibility

• By accepting to review manuscripts for RLE, reviewers commit to providing a high-quality service to the best of their abilities and knowledge;
  
  
• Reviewers must follow the evaluation criteria indicated by RLE and respect the deadlines for submitting their review, out of respect for the authors and their work.
  
  

2. Integrity

• Reviewers commit to performing an impartial, honest, constructive, and informative review. They must inform the author(s) of any relevant research that should be cited;
  
  
• Reviewers must inform the editor of any ethical misconduct by the author(s) detected during the review process;
  
  
• Reviewers must refuse to review if they identify the author(s) and/or the work, or if there are conflicts of interest (personal, professional, financial, or other) on their part;
  
  
• Reviewers must treat the work under review as confidential. They must not discuss it with others or use the information accessed for personal benefit.
  
  

3. Respect for Diversity, Dignity, and Human Rights

• Reviewers must use constructive, objective, unbiased, and professional language in their evaluations.

DECLARATION OF GOOD PUBLISHING PRACTICES

Academic misconduct (plagiarism, fraud, violation of intellectual property rights, etc.) in any form will not be tolerated by RLE. In cases of suspected misconduct, a panel will be formed to evaluate the complaint. If the complaint is based on evidence, the article in question will be rejected for consideration for publication in RLE, and all authors and their respective institutions will be informed.

In cases where the article has already been published before the misconduct was identified, a retraction will be required from the authors or the RLE Editorial Board, and the case will be made public. Cases of misconduct may result in a suspension of submission privileges to RLE for three years or more.

All appeals to panel decisions must be submitted to the Editorial Board via email at rle@ulusofona.pt within 30 days from the date of the decision.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

• Authors retain copyright of their work, without any payment, and grant the journal the right of first publication. The work is simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which allows others to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially), provided that proper credit is given to the author(s) and the initial publication in RLE is acknowledged.

• Authors are permitted to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (e.g., depositing it in an institutional repository or publishing it as a book chapter), provided that authorship and initial publication in RLE are acknowledged.

• Authors are allowed and encouraged to post and disseminate their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their personal websites), as this can increase the visibility and citation of the published work (see The Open Access Effect).

STATEMENT OF RESPONSABILITY

At the time of manuscript submission, the Statement of Responsibility must be submitted, signed by all authors. This declaration must include each author’s contribution according to the CRediT – Contributor Roles Taxonomy, available at https://credit.niso.org/.

By signing the Declaration of Responsibility, the authors affirm that:

• The article submitted to RLE is original and is not published or under consideration, in whole or in part, by any other journal, proceedings, or book chapter;
  
  
• They acknowledge that RLE publishes all its articles under the Creative Commons CC-BY Attribution 4.0 International License, which allows others to share and adapt the work, provided that authorship and initial publication in RLE are acknowledged;
  
  
• The article text is free of plagiarism and rigorously complies with the referencing and citation procedures established in the Instructions for Authors;
  
  
• The methodology section accurately describes compliance with all ethical and legal aspects of conducting the research;
  
  
• They are responsible for any misconduct related to the principles described above, or any other actions that could undermine the scientific integrity of the journal or the rigor of the scientific community;
  
  
• They have no personal, commercial, academic, political, or financial conflicts of interest;
  
  
• All financial and material support received for the research is described in the text;
  
  
• When Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools are used, authors must follow RLE’s GenAI Policy and declare their use before the reference list in the article. The declaration must specify which parts of the manuscript used this technology, for example, to explain concepts, improve language, or translate.
  
  

PUBLICATION FEES

The Lusófona Journal of Education (RLE) does not charge article processing fees (APCs) for submission, peer review, language editing, pagination, publication, distribution, online availability, or downloading of the article.

OPEN ACCESS POLICY

RLE offers free, open, and immediate access to its content, following the principle that free availability of scientific knowledge promotes broader democratization. All RLE content is freely available without cost to the user or their institution. Users may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to full-text articles, or use them for any other legal purpose, promoting wider dissemination of each article.

ANTI-PLAGIARISM POLICY

Articles submitted to RLE are periodically checked using plagiarism detection software. Authors must ensure the originality of their articles and properly cite all information derived from other publications. Plagiarism is unethical and considered fraud. See the Declaration of Good Publishing Practices.

GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (GENAI) POLICY

RLE follows Elsevier’s GenAI policies.

For Authors – Use of Generative AI in Scientific Writing
Note: This policy refers only to the writing process and not to the use of AI tools for data analysis and interpretation in research.

• When authors use generative or AI-assisted technologies in writing, these should only improve readability and language. Use must be supervised and controlled, and authors are responsible for reviewing and carefully editing results, as AI may produce incorrect, incomplete, or biased content. Authors are ultimately responsible for the work’s content.
  
  
• Authors must declare AI use in the manuscript, including a statement in the published article before the reference list. Transparency strengthens trust between authors, readers, reviewers, editors, and collaborators, and ensures compliance with the terms of use of the tools.
  
  
• AI and AI-assisted technologies must not be listed as authors or co-authors, nor cited as authors.
  
  

Use of AI in Figures, Images, and Illustrations

• Use of generative or AI-assisted tools to create or alter images in manuscripts is not permitted. This includes modifications such as highlighting, hiding, removing, or inserting specific elements. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color are acceptable as long as they do not remove or distort original information.
  
  

For Reviewers – Use of AI in Peer Review

• Manuscripts must be treated as confidential. Uploading the manuscript or parts of it to AI tools is prohibited, as this may violate confidentiality and intellectual property rights, and, where applicable, privacy rights.
  
  
• This rule also applies to review reports, which may contain confidential information; AI must not be used to improve language or readability.
  
  

For Editors – Use of AI in the Editorial Process

• Submitted manuscripts must be treated as confidential and not entered into AI tools, as this may compromise author rights and confidentiality, and possibly violate data protection laws.
  
  
• The same applies to editorial communication (decision letters, notifications, etc.), which may contain confidential information and must not be processed using AI, even for writing improvement.
  
  
• Editorial evaluation of scientific manuscripts requires human responsibility; AI use is not allowed in this phase due to risk of errors, omissions, or bias. The editor is responsible for the entire editorial process, final decisions, and communication with authors.