About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Teacher Learning and Professional Development (TLPD) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that is broadly concerned with the challenges and complexities of learning to teach. We frame learning to teach as a lifelong process that includes formal pre-service and continuing education programs for teachers and a variety of informal experiences that contribute to teachers’ professional knowledge. We also recognize that the term teacher is typically taken to refer those who work as elementary or secondary school teachers; however, we adopt an holistic definition of teacher learning and professional development that includes the learning and development activities of anyone who teaches or self-identifies as a teacher. This expanded definition thus  includes, but is not limited to, K-12 teachers, post-secondary teachers, adult educators, museum educators, community-based educators, coaches, and performing arts teachers.
 
The journal welcomes research papers that shed light on issues in teacher education and professional development from a variety of methodological approaches and disciplinary lenses.
 
Nous acceptons aussi les soumissions en français. 

Peer Review Process

All submissions will undergo peer review. Initially, submissions are subject to editorial review. Submissions to regular issues will then usually be subject to further blind peer review. Submissions to special issues will usually, but not always, have an internal review policy, in which contributors to the special issue act as peer reviewers as well. In general, all reviewers are selected for both their scholarly expertise and their interest in the focus and scope of the journal. Some (not all) regular reviewers are also members of the standing review board listed on the masthead. Ad hoc reviewers may be used at the discretion of the editor, particularly if certain types of expertise are required for a thorough review.

In all cases, the editor will be responsible for compiling reviewers' comments and corresponding directly with the authors.The editor will be ultimately responsible for assessing the degree to which authors have engaged with reviewers' comments and, ultimately, whether or not a piece will be published. Although we view review and revision as a collaborative process, we also expect that serious attention be paid to feedback provided.

We recognise that academic life is increasing full of pressures to publish and that authors are naturally keen to receive feedback on their work. We ask that authors respect the following realities of this small, independent journal run solely by volunteers:

  • We publish one issue per year (with the potential of an additional special issue per year with guest editors). As such, we do not offer "rapid turnaround" from submission to publication. 
  • The time from submission to publication can vary significantly depending on the time it takes to find suitable reviewers, articles already accepted for publication in an incumbent issue, and any special issues that are planned. If you are keen on the possibility of your article being published in under a year, you are advised to submit it elsewhere for consideration.
  • If your article is not explicitly connected to the theme of the journal and relevant literature grounded in educational research it will be rejected.
  • Final publication in the journal depends on whether or not the author(s) complete any requested revisions to the article in a timely matter and to the satisfaction of the editor.
  • Nous acceptons aussi les soumissions en français. 
     

All decisions of the editor are final.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Time to publication

TLPD is an open-access journal that does not receive support from the affordances of a major publishing house.

We rely, exclusively, on volunteers for all elements of the journal's operation. We publish an issue once or twice a year. Proposals for special issues are considered on an ad hoc basis and may have an impact on the publication of regular issues.

We advise those interested in publishing in our journal that a waiting period of up to 18 months between submission of an article and final publication is possible, although we aim for a shorter timeframe. The final publication date of a particular article, after the final proof is accepted, will depend on the date of publication for the next regular issue, as we choose to publish entire issues online at once. The time to publication may also depend on whether or not a Special Issue is in production.

We regret that we can neither accomodate requests for expedited review nor guarantee that an article will be published by a particular date in order to aid particular professional circumstances.

 

Journal History

Teacher Learning and Professional Development was founded by Dr. Shawn Michael Bullock in April 2016 as a part of his role as Director of the Institute for Studies in Teacher Education (ISTE), Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University.

It continues to be run by Dr. Bullock, although his current academic role is now at the University of Cambridge.