Manuscript guidelines

Manuscript guidelines


Dear author,

We would be glad if you would like to publish an article in JfAD. By adhering to the following instructions you will support the publication process.
We kindly ask for your attention.

1 Journal for General Didactics

The “Journal für Allgemeine Didaktik” (JfAD) (Journal for General Didactics) is a periodical with a double-blind peer review process and serves as ascientific forum for the anchoring and further development of general didactics in exchange with educational and social sciences, specialist sciences and specialist didactics. It particularly focuses on teacher education, adult education, as well as university education and didactics. As a periodical, the JfAD is methodologically diverse, interdisciplinary, and internationally oriented. Empirical, theoretical-conceptual, historical and discursive original contributions will be published in German and English. The JfAD will be published in open access by Julius Klinkhardt from 2024.

2 Contact and submission

Inquiries and manuscripts on the thematic focus and the General Section (each as a Word file in an e-mail attachment) should be sent exclusively to the managing editor:
Prof. Dr. Ilona Esslinger-Hinz
Heidelberg University of Education
Institute of Education Science
Keplerstraße 87
69120 Heidelberg
Email: JfAD@ph-heidelberg.de


3 Review and publications process

The JfAD is a periodical with double-blind peer review process. Submitted manuscripts will be checked by the volume editors and then go into the review process. An internal review/report from a member of the Editorial board and external review/report from a peer from the scientific community are obtained. If there are different assessments a third opinion may be requested.
The assessment of the submitted contributions is based on the following criteria:

  • Timeliness and relevance of the article
  • Significance of the abstract
  • Originality of the contribution
  • Theoretical and/or empirical classification of the article
  • Gaining knowledge
  • Clarity of structure and argumentation
  • Linguistic form/gender-appropriate language

4 Post formats, formatting and scope
4.1 Publication formats and text volumes

The JfAD only publishes original contributions, i.e. contributions that have not already been published elsewhere or submitted for publication elsewhere.
Manuscripts can be written in both German and English. The JfAD contains the following categories:

  • Topic / contributions to the main topic have a maximum of 55,000 characters (including spaces, tables, literature and author information)
  • General part / contributions for the general part have a maximum of 50,000 characters (including spaces, tables, literature and author information: internal information)
  • controversial / discussion contributions and essays have a maximum of 40,000 characters (including spaces, tables, literature and author information).

These three types of contributions each have a German-language title (please do not gender it for better findability in search engines) with a summary (maximum 800 characters) and keywords (three to five) as well as its German language Translation should be preceded by an abstract and keywords (each to the same extent).

  •  Reviews have a maximum of 10,000 characters (including spaces, literature and author information)
4.2 Anonymization

Please submit a completely anonymized Word file (file 1) and another one with the author details (file 2) to ensure the anonymized review process. Please note that your text file itself does not contain any information that could identify you or your institution.

  • File 1: Title of the text, Text file (Please note the format template.)
  • File 2: Title of the text, format/e.g. Contribution topic focus, name, Contact details: Title, first name last name, university, institution, address, e-mail, ORCID

4.3 Format template and instructions
  •  Format template: Please use the format template for your text and follow the format instructions.
  • Footnotes: If possible, please avoid footnotes or use them sparingly – only at the end of the respective page.
  • Highlighting: Please use italics for highlighting and refrain from any additional text design elements (e.g. underlining, boldface or small capitals).
  • Graphics and tables: Graphics and tables must be integrated into the text when submitting. If the contribution is accepted, you will be asked to submit graphics as a separate file with a resolution of at least 300 dpi, tables each in a separate Word file.
  • Gender-appropriate language: Please use gender-appropriate language. For example, use the singular “they” when gender is not essential, or use neutral professional terms such as “fire fighter” instead of “fireman”.
  • Literature references:
    • References to literature must be indicated by stating the last name of the authorand the year of publication. Please note the comma between the name and the year of publication: last name, year of publication, p. xxx.
    • If several publications by an author from the same year are cited, the letters a, b, c, etc. appear after the year of publication (e.g. Hopmann, 1999a). These
      additions are also placed after the year in the bibliography. If an author cites several works, the order follows chronologically, starting with the oldest publication. Two authors are connected with “&”: last name & last name, year of publication, p. xxx; from three authors onwards, the second author is abbreviated with “et al.”: Last name et al., year of publication, p. xxx)
  • Bibliography: The bibliography is located at the end of the text and follows the APA guidelines (7th edition). If a DOI is available, it will be provided. If there is only one URL, it is mentioned. Examples of the most commonly used source types are:
    • Monographs: Last name, initial (year of publication). Full title (edition). Publisher. DOI/URL Zierer, K. (2010). Alles prüfen! Das Beste behalten! Zur Eklektik in Lehrbüchern der Didaktik und des Instructional Design. Schneider Verlag Hohengehren.
    • Articles in collected works and book chapters:
      Last name, initial (year of publication). Full title. In initial last name (ed.), full
      title (edition, pp. xxx-xxx). Publisher. DOI/URL Lipowsky, F. & Bleck, V. (2019). Was wissen wir über guten Unterricht? Ein Update. In U. Steffens & R. Messner (Hrsg.), Beiträge zur Schulentwicklung. Unterrichtsqualität: Konzepte und Bilanzen gelingenden Lehrens und Lernens. (S. 219-249). Waxmann.
    • Journal article:
      Last name, initial (year of publication). Full title. Title of the magazine, Year( number), xxx-xxx. DOI/URL 
      Esslinger-Hinz, I. & Denner, L. (2019). Die berufsfeldbezogene Lernorientierung von Lehramtsstudierenden. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 65(5), 748–768. https://doi.org/10.25656/01:24117
    • Anthology, handbooks, reference works:
      Last name, initial (ed.). (Publishing year). Full title (edition). Publisher. DOI/URL
      Harring, M., Rohlfs, C. & Gläser-Zikuda, M. (Hrsg.). (2022). Handbuch Schulpädagogik (2. Aufl.). Waxmann.
    • Internet sources:
      Last name, initial (year of publication, day, month). Full title. Website name. URL
      Kini, T. & Podolsky, A. (2016, June 3). Does Teaching Experience Increase Teacher Effectiveness? A Review of the Research. Palo Alto: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/our-work/publications-resources/does-teaching-experience-increase-teacher-effectiveness-review-research