Conflicts of Interest
The International Review of Education and Learning Sciences (IRELS) is committed to ensuring transparency and integrity in all stages of the publication process. All participants—authors, reviewers, and editors—are required to disclose any conflicts of interest that could influence, or be perceived to influence, their work.
Conflicts of Interest for Authors
Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that may be considered a potential conflict. Examples include:
- Employment, consultancies, or advisory positions.
- Research funding, grants, or sponsorship.
- Personal, professional, or institutional relationships that could affect interpretation.
Required Statement
If no conflicts exist, authors must state in their manuscript:
“The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”
For Reviewers
Reviewers must disclose potential conflicts before agreeing to review. They should decline the invitation if a conflict exists (e.g., recent collaboration with authors) that could compromise their objectivity.
For Editors
Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest. In such cases, editorial responsibility is reassigned to another qualified editor to ensure impartial evaluation.
Management & Consequences
Disclosed conflicts are managed to preserve the integrity of the peer review process. Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest constitutes a breach of ethics and may result in manuscript rejection, retraction, or other corrective actions.
