About the journal

The London Review of Education (LRE) is a diamond open access, peer-reviewed journal that provides a diversity of perspectives on all types, sectors and phases of education. It is free to read and free to publish in – there are no charges to authors. Open to all, we welcome and publish contributions from across the world.

Founded in 2003 by the UCL Institute of Education (IOE), but editorially independent from it, LRE maintains the Institute’s principled concern to create lasting and evolving change in a real-world context by openly sharing knowledge to create a future that is inclusive and just.


  1. Aims and Scope
  2. What we publish
  3. Editorial process and Peer Review
  4. Acceptance criteria
  5. Open Access and Licensing
  6. Diamond OA – no article publication charges (APCs)
  7. Discoverability and Indexing
  8. Journal metrics
  9. Journal Details
  10. Contact and Community

Aims and scope

The London Review of Education (LRE) is a diamond open-access, peer-reviewed journal that provides a diversity of perspectives on all types, sectors and phases of education. It is free to read and free to write for; there are no article processing charges.

LRE is a wide-ranging journal that features rigorous analysis and significant research using a variety of methodologies across key themes in education. For example, we cover but are not limited to: assessment; curriculum; educational improvement; equalities and human rights; institutional effectiveness; language, literacy and numeracy; lifelong learning; organization; pedagogy; public goals and policies; resources and technology; teacher education; widening participation. We particularly welcome articles that cross disciplines and interrogate links between research, policy and practice.

We ensure the highest quality of reporting and presentation through an independent, anonymised peer-review process. Once accepted, articles are published as and when ready, eliminating delays in publication. As an entirely online open-access journal, LRE provides opportunities for including illustrative video clips, colour photos and illustrations.


What we publish

We welcome a wide range of content formats, including:

  • Research articles
  • Systematic Reviews
  • Commentaries
  • Book reviews

Our scope is deliberately broad to support the evolving ways in which research addresses challenges in education. We especially encourage interdisciplinary collaborations and international co-authorship, in particular.

Author guidelines

Editorial process and Peer Review

The London Review of Education operates double anonymised peer review, where both the reviewers and authors are anonymised during review. Authors should submit an anonymous version of the manuscript, removed of all identifying references to the author(s) for peer review.

Reviewers cannot be from the same institution as the author, based at any funding bodies connected to the paper and cannot be recommended by authors or anyone else connected to the paper. Author(s) should submit an anonymous version of the manuscript, stripped of all identifying references to the author(s) for peer review.

Further information regarding peer review can be found on the UCL Press editorial policy pages (https://journals.uclpress.co.uk/site/editorial_policy).


Acceptance criteria

We assess submissions based on:

  • Relevance to our aims, scope and mission.
  • Clarity and soundness of argument and findings.
  • Evidence of new knowledge and meaningful contribution to the field.
  • Responsiveness to reviewer and Editorial feedback.

Submissions are unlikely to be accepted if they:

  • Are primarily commercial or self-promotional.
  • Contain excessive self-citation.
  • Lack clear conclusions or conceptual rigour.
  • Provide minimal updates on prior work.
  • Are not suitable for peer review due to clarity or fit with the journal.

Articles accepted for full publication will be those where the Editorial Board has received at least two favourable peer reviews and is satisfied that all reviewer and Editorial comments have been adequately addressed.

Experience suggests that few submissions are accepted after a single review round. The Editorial Board may decline a submission at any stage if reviewer concerns cannot be addressed to the Board’s satisfaction. In some cases, Editors may request revisions before peer review to support review effectiveness.


Preprints

The London Review of Education is happy to accept submissions of papers that have been loaded onto preprint servers or personal websites, have been presented at conferences, or other informal communication channels. These formats will not be deemed prior publication. Authors must retain copyright to such preprints and are encouraged to link any prior posting of their paper to the final published version within the journal, if it is editorially accepted.

Further information about self-archiving your article on preprint servers can be found on the UCL Press editorial policy pages:

Editorial policies

Open Access and Licensing

All content is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. This ensures:

  • Free access for readers worldwide.
  • Retention of copyright by authors.
  • Maximum flexibility for reuse, adaptation and sharing.

We follow the Budapest Open Access Initiative and are committed to author rights and open scholarship. Our Author Contributor Agreement outlines full terms for publication:

Author Contributor Agreement

Diamond OA – no article publication charges (APCs)

The London Review of Education is a Diamond Open Access journal, meaning that UCL Press does not levy any Article-Processing Charges (APCs) for submission or publication.

UCL Press covers all the costs to publishing every article and publishing is free at every stage:

  • No submission fees
  • No peer review fees
  • No publication fees

This reflects our commitment to equity and non-profit publishing, especially for authors with limited funding or from underrepresented sectors.


Discoverability and Indexing

UCL Press works with subject specific indexers to deposit published articles in relevant repositories and search databases. Articles published in the London Review of Education are indexed in:


Journal metrics

We are committed to the responsible use of metrics and strongly encourage all readers, authors, reviewers, and Editors to read through our statement about the use of metrics across the journal, available online at https://journals.uclpress.co.uk/site/editorial_policy/#METRICS.


Citation metrics

  • Impact Factor (2024) 1.1
  • Q3 (Impact Factor quartile - Education and Educational Research)
  • Five year Impact Factor (2024) 1.8
  • Scopus CiteScore (2024) 3.6
  • Scopus SJR (2024) 0.488
  • Scopus SNIP (2024) 1.138

Journal Details

ISSN: 1474-8479
Publication frequency: Continuous (as and when ready)
Average time to publication: ~25 weeks


Published by

UCL Press, University College London (UCL)
Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK

journals.uclpress.co.uk

uclpressjournals@ucl.ac.uk


Contact and Community

We are a community-led journal. Whether you’re submitting, reviewing, or simply reading, we invite you to be part of our network.

For pre-submission enquiries:
ioe.reviews@gmail.com


Stay connected:

Bluesky: @uclpressjournals.bsky.social‬

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ucl-press-journals