Title: Pedagogical Forum

1. Aim and Scope: The Pedagogical Forum, an electronic scientific and methodological journal is a multidisciplinary scientific publication covering all aspects of pedagogical science - theory of education and didactic, teaching methodology, organization and management of education.
The Journal main goals are to:

• present international and national education policies;
  
• publish scientific, popular science, review and informational psycho-pedagogical materials;
  
• promote good national and international pedagogical practices;
  
• present newly published books related to the problems of education;
  
• be a forum for discussing pedagogical issues.

2. Manuscript Submission: Authors are invited to submit scientific, popular science, review and information materials. Scientific articles should contain original scientific results and ideas. Suggested articles are not editable. The authors are responsible for the spelling, punctuation, word order, graphic layout, citation, and logical structure of the materials offered. Submissions must adhere to the journal's formatting guidelines and ethical standards (Instruction to authors). Manuscripts are peer-reviewed for scientific rigor, originality, and relevance.

3. Peer Review Process: All research articles published in Pedagogical Forum undergo full peer review. The journal uses a high-quality peer review system for electronic submission and double-blind peer review of manuscripts (text of the article, abstract, keywords, figures and tables) by two suitably qualified experts (Peer-Review Policy). The editorial team ensures confidentiality, impartiality, objectivity and constructive feedback during the review process.

4. Open Access Policy: The e-journal Pedagogical forum is an oppen-access journal accoring thе Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI). It is providing free and immediate access to its content, promoting global knowledge sharing and accessibility, fostering a collaborative research environment (Open Access).

5. Publication Ethics: The Ethical policy of the e-journal Pedagogical Forum include requirements for authors, reviews, editors and the journal publisher (https://en.dipkusz-forum.net/information/ethical-policy). It is in accordance with international and national publishing ethics standards. The Publishing Ethics Guidelines apply to all participants in the publishing process (authors, reviewers and editors). It guarantees objectiveness, transparency and complete equality in publishing. Plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification are strictly prohibited. If ethical issues arise, they will be decided upon by the journal’s Committee on Public Ethics (CPE). The journal follows the guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) to address ethical concerns.

6. Copyright and Licensing: Authors retain copyright of their work published in the journal. Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

7. Archiving and Preservation: Pedagogical Forum has a comprehensive and transparent preservation strategy to safeguard scholarly knowledge for the long term:

• Open Access Policy - open access model contribute to the broader dissemination and preservation of scholarly work.
  
• BPOS - The Bulgarian Portal for Open Science is national repository is a trusted space that allows the dissemination and storage of scientific publications and research outputs.
  
• DOI - assigning DOIs to articles helps ensure persistent and unique identification, facilitating reliable linking even if a journal relocates its content.
  
• CEEOL - collaboration with library provide preserving scholarly content.
  
• Regular Backups - maintaining regular backups of the electronic content is a fundamental practice to guard against data loss.
  
• Versioning - managing versions of articles and clearly indicating updates and corrections ensures a reliable historical record.

8. Corrections and Retractions: Pedagogical Forum upholds a commitment to impartiality and objectivity in evaluating publications, free from influence by political decisions, geopolitical conflicts, or territorial disputes.

• Conflict of Interest - conflict of interest arises when the editor or reviewer has supervised any of the authors, works in the same university or research center, shares a close family relationship, or has other professional or personal dependencies that may compromise impartial evaluation of the manuscript. Authors are urged to disclose potential conflicts of interest during submission, and reviewers are carefully selected to avoid conflicts, with a requirement to inform the Editors if any conflict arises.
  
• Publication malpractice, including plagiarism - reviewers are urged to alert the Editorial Board if they suspect data manipulation, significant errors, or the omission of crucial results, as well as instances of plagiarism. COPE guidelines, accessible at https://publicationethics.org/oversight, provide specific details on these cases. Manuscripts submitted with identified plagiarism (including already published ideas, data, or text from other scientists not listed as authors) will be promptly rejected. Duplication of work occurs when substantial portions of previously published material from other authors are reused without proper references to the original publication. Pedagogical Forum policy does not tolerate such cases. In the event that plagiarism or duplicate publication is discovered after an article has been published, an announcement will be posted on the website, and the Editorial Board will consider initiating a retraction procedure.
  
• Instances where an article is subject to misconduct - notification to the Editor-in-Chief is necessary in the event of a departure from Pedagogical Forum's ethical guidelines. The Editorial Board makes a determination based on evidence of misconduct and maintains confidentiality in handling the case. If authors collaborate in resolving the identified issue following reviewer notification, the article undergoes assessment, otherwise, it is rejected. The Editorial Board has the authority to impose a five-year restriction on future publications by the author(s). These cases adhere to the guidelines outlined by COPE.
  
• Instances warranting the retraction of an article - in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the COPE Retraction Guidelines, an article may undergo retraction if significant errors are acknowledged by the authors or in cases of misconduct. Retraction is applicable when the results have been previously published without proper referencing or when plagiarism is identified. The Editorial Board of Pedagogical Forum makes the decision to retract an article after a thorough examination of each case, with information being received from editors, authors, or readers. The retracted article remains on the Pedagogical Forum webpage with a "Retracted" watermark, and information regarding the retraction is disclosed.
  
• Cases with identified ethical concerns – an expression of concern can be considered when there is some evidence of improperly conducted experiments or published data. The work will not be published untill the moment of case clarification. The authors and their institutions are encouraged to help in this process.
  
• Appeal procedure - authors have the opportunity to justify their perspectives by responding to the editorial comments, but they should not overlook critical remarks made during the evaluation process. Personal qualifications from participants in the editorial process are not allowed. Authors may lodge appeals against editorial decisions with the Editorial Office of Pedagogical Forum via email at dipku.forum@gmail.com. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for contact for authors the evaluation process.

9. Editorial Independence: The editorial team upholds independence in decision-making, ensuring impartial and objective assessment of submissions. Decisions made by the editorial team are rooted in the merit of the work and its valuable contribution to the scientific community.

10. Reviewer Recognition: The journal recognizes and appreciates the valuable contributions made by reviewers. Reviewers are acknowledged for their expertise and dedication to upholding the quality and integrity of the peer review process.

11. Editorial Board: The Editorial Board comprises experts from diverse scientific disciplines and suggests geographical diversity according to journal’s aim and scope. Board members provide guidance on journal policies, contribute to editorial decisions, and uphold the journal's commitment to excellence.