Annual of the Faculty of Education of St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo
“ST. CYRIL AND ST. METHODIUS” UNIVERSITY OF VELIKO TARNOVO - UNIVERSITY PRESS
All Journals Annual of the Faculty of Education Code of Ethics

Code of Ethics

 ANNUAL OF THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION OF ST. CYRIL AND ST. METHODIUS UNIVERSITY OF VELIKO TARNOVO

CODE OF ETHICS

 

STATEMENT OF PUBLICATION ETHICS  

The Editorial Board of the Annual of the Faculty of Education accepts and adheres to the principles of publication ethics adopted by the international scientific community and reflected in the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which is a non-profit organization whose mission is to determine the best practices in the ethics of scientific publication and to assist editors and publishers in achieving them.

All participants in the publication process are expected to fulfil their obligations in compliance with the principles of professional ethics in the following main directions:

 

ETHICAL RULES

General

The Editorial Board shall guarantee the anonymity, protection of personal data, and correctness in the processing, storage, and peer review of manuscripts.

 

The Annual of the Faculty of Education shall support the scientific growth of authors and the development of pedagogical science, educational management as well as socio-pedagogical theory and practice management. In view of this, no interpersonal differences, negative statements, or personal prejudices shall be allowed.

During the joint work on compiling an issue, the relations between the Editorial Board, the authors, and the publishing house shall be carried out according to the academic communication and the following basic ethical principles for texts selection:

  • differences should be between positions, not between personalities.
  • expertise and shared dedication to work should be respected.
  • texts should be framed as constructive criticism and not in a negative way.
  • the expression of prejudices such as racism, sexism, class approach, homophobia, transphobia, etc. is unacceptable and will not be allowed to appear in the yearbook pages.

 

The International Editorial Board of the Annual of the Faculty of Education requires from its authors scientific texts that are:

  • original papers – independent or co-authored, with a clear distinction of the contributions and responsibilities of the members of the creative team.
  • written with no deviations from the basic values ​​of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and no overtly biased political positions.
  • written with respect for the scientific achievements of the authors cited, observing the highest standards for conducting discussions and using in-depth scientific arguments, with no attacks or disrespectful tone towards researchers.
  • formatted in accordance with the standards adopted in the Annual of the Faculty of Education regarding technical layout, citations, and references (see Requirements for authors).
  • submitted for publication only in the Annual of the Faculty of Education.
  • accompanied by a written statement of originality by the author(s) that the paper complies with this Code of Ethics and can be published in the paper and electronic editions of the Annual. The statement can be downloaded here.
  • when authors publish studies that include experimental or empirical research, a free-text statement is provided to confirm compliance with ethical requirements for research involving humans, including informed consent.

The Annual of the Faculty of Education is a fully-open-access journal, which means that all articles are available on the Internet for all users immediately after publication. Non-commercial use and distribution through any medium are permitted, provided that the author and the publisher are duly indicated and authenticated. The advantages of open access for authors include:

  • free access for all users worldwide.
  • authors retain copyright to their papers.
  • higher visibility and reading level.
  • fast publication.
  • no space restrictions.

 

The direct responsibility for each issue of the journal shall lie with the editor-in-chief. The Annual of the Faculty of Education shall be edited by the editorial board elected by decision of the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Education. It shall determine the goals and vision for the development of the Annual.

 

2. Procedure for accepting and publishing manuscripts

In the Annual of the Faculty of Education accepts for publication original works that correspond to its aims and thematic areas. Priority is given to articles and/or studies authored by faculty members of the Faculty of Education.

Each of them shall be entitled to two publications in one issue: one co-authored and one independent.

 

The final versions of the publications shall be sent to the address specified in the Yearbook.

 

Manuscripts submitted for approval shall be reviewed by the editor-in-chief and the international editorial board in terms of achieving the objectives of the journal, compliance with the technical requirements for publishing materials of the respective type (studies, articles, etc.), the code of ethics, and the regulations of the journal. Should all of them be met, they shall be submitted for anonymous double peer review by independent authoritative scientists as well as for a plagiarism check. Texts shall not be allowed to proceed to the next stages of the procedure should identified coincidences exceed 10% or should they be complete sentences, paragraphs, tables, as well as scientific statements from others’ or own uncited papers.

 

Only scientific papers that meet the requirements and have received an unambiguous positive assessment from two anonymous peer reviewers involved in the evaluation procedure shall be published. Should there be contradictory conclusions or a negative peer review, the editorial board may appoint a third peer reviewer.

        

Should recommendations be made, they shall be sent to the authors for corrections within 10 calendar days of receipt.

 

The final decision to publish the materials shall be made by the editorial board with voting rights, considering the received peer reviews.

 

The editorial team shall be entitled to forward a given paper to the next issue should an optimal number of previously submitted texts have already been accepted, or the manuscript has been submitted after the final printing version has been accepted by the Editorial Board.

 

The International Editorial Board shall not provide third parties with information about unpublished papers.

 

3. Responsibilities and rights of peer reviewers

Peer reviewers shall:

  • give an independent and objective opinion for or against the publication of a proposed paper within the specified deadline.
  • assist in improving the quality of the paper by making recommendations for content, structural, and/or style editing, if necessary.
  • maintain the confidentiality of any information related to the manuscript.
  • promptly notify the Editorial Board of materials already published or proposed for publication in another journal that are essentially similar in content to the material submitted for peer review in the Annual of the Faculty of Education.

 Peer reviewers shall be entitled:

  • to be informed by the editor-in-chief of any potential conflict of interest (financial, institutional, intercollegiate, or other relationship between a peer reviewer and an author).
  • to withdraw from the peer-review process of a manuscript should they consider that they cannot fulfil their obligations, or should they believe that their rights have been violated.

 

4. Responsibilities and rights of authors

Authors shall:

  • strictly comply with the ethical rules, as well as the procedure and standard for the preparation of materials (see Requirements for authors).
  • be responsible for the originality and scientific contributions of their publications.
  • respect the responsibilities and rights of the editorial team.
  • declare any potential conflict of interest that may be considered or viewed as having an undue influence on the publication process.
  • Where authors publish research that includes experimental or empirical studies, they shall provide a free-text declaration that they have complied with the ethical requirements for human research, including informed consent.

Authors shall be entitled to receive periodic information about the process of accepting, editing, and peer reviewing the proposed materials.

 

5. Responsibilities of the publisher (Publishing House of St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo)

The publisher shall:

  • Perform a plagiarism check of all deposited materials, using the PlagScan program. The plagiarism check shall be carried out in accordance with the rules adopted by the University of Veliko Tarnovo.
  • Perform the pre-print design of each issue, including the final editing and proofreading of the proposed materials.
  • Provide authors with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the materials prepared for publication and, if possible, make corrections requested by them related to their design.
  • Publish an electronic and a corresponding paper issue of the journal.
  • Provide paper issues of the Annual of the Faculty of Education to all authors with publications, as well as to all members of the International Editorial Board.
  • Assist the compilers of the issue by consulting them on issues arising during the work process.
  • Assists the Editorial Board in creating development projects, as well as in the journal indexing process.

 

PROCEDURES FOR ADDRESSING UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR

 1. Establishment of unethical behaviour

  • Unfair and unethical behaviour may be established and brought to the attention of the Editorial Board or the publisher by anyone at any time.
  • Whoever has informed the Editorial Board or the publisher of such behaviour shall provide sufficient information and evidence for the initiation of an investigation.

 

2. Investigation

  • The initial decision to investigate and establish unethical behaviour shall be taken by the Editorial Board, which may consult or seek advice from the publisher, if appropriate.
  • Evidence shall be gathered, and dissemination of accusations beyond those that need to be known shall be avoided.
  • The Editorial Board, after consulting any affected or competent authorities as necessary, shall assess the degree of seriousness of the violation.

 

3. Subsequent actions by the Editorial Board of the Annual of the Faculty of Education (by increasing order of seriousness of the violation)

  • Informing the author where the violation can be overcome with the necessary adequate actions in the course of the work process.
  • Official retraction of the publication from the issue, accompanied by informing the author with a copy to the head of the author's department/faculty or to the funding institution.
  • Publication of an editorial in the next issue informing about the bad faith, where the signal was received after the publication of the material.
  • Imposing an official ban on the author from publishing in the journal for a certain period.

 

COPYRIGHT

 No one may use or reproduce another's paper in any way without the express permission of the author or their authorized representative. This shall apply to any reproduction of a paper, whether in print or online.

 

Assignment of rights

Authors publishing in the Annual of the Faculty of Education shall grant exclusive rights to the publisher, as it is an open-access journal.

 

The Code of Ethics was adopted by the members of the International Editorial Board of the Annual of the Faculty of Education and was approved at a meeting of the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Education of St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo. It shall be in force as of 13/10/2025.

 
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