Editorial Policies

Section policies and types of contributions published

The journal accepts unpublished contributions written in Spanish or English, which are structured into a Monographic section and another section dedicated to Research in Education. contributions related to the monographic section will be received according to the dates stipulated in the calls for papers announced on the journal's website and disseminated through academic and social networks, while articles linked to the other section are accepted on an ongoing basis and their content will reflect the research process followed, not necessarily linked to the theme of the monograph.

The content of contributions related to the theme of the monograph may be related to theoretical studies, reflections, experiences, innovations, and research in educational practice, with originality and depth, from a current, analytical, interpretive, or critical perspective, supported by relevant, pertinent, and up-to-date sources. In the case of contributions to the other section, their content must necessarily correspond to the research process followed, and therefore must include elements related to the theoretical framework, methodology, main findings, and discussion, among other aspects.  Contributions received for both sections will undergo a rigorous arbitration process, which begins with an assessment by the editor and the editorial board, who decide whether to proceed with expert evaluation following the blind peer review model.

Editorial policy and peer review

The evaluation of the quality of articles is an essential part of each edition, both for the editorial team and the committee of experts. All contributions received must meet the requirements of originality, compliance with standards, and the use of impersonal and inclusive language. They are subject to a review process, which begins with an assessment by the editor and the editorial board, who decide whether to proceed with expert evaluation following the blind peer review model. As part of the journal's continuous improvement, anti-plagiarism computer tools are used, and open evaluation and early publication via pre-print are planned to begin in the near future, as this promotes earlier circulation and dissemination and, with it, a possible increase in citations and reach among the academic community. The rejection rate is analyzed in the statistics provided by the platform that supports the journal.

Policy for improving the quality standards of its content

As part of the continuous improvement of its content and to enhance its positioning in databases of international impact, the journal offers contributors and readers the option of professional development through postgraduate courses and training, as well as internships for foreign contributors related to authorship and refereeing, with the aim of improving the quality standards of the articles. In addition, for the same purpose, for several years the journal has managed the  RAPRE network (Support Network for Publications in Educational Journals), which constitutes a permanent channel of communication between the journal and its contributors and the scientific community, with the aim of increasing its audience nationally and internationally and improving the preparation of participants in topics related to scientific research and the publication of articles in journals.

Policy on publication ethics and fraudulent practices

The journal is committed to ensuring ethical practices in publication and preventing fraudulent practices by all parties involved, as outlined in the CODE OF ETHICS, which appears in the corresponding section and adheres to the international standards developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/core-practices applicable to all those involved in the publication of academic literature: editors and their journals, publishers, and institutions. It also uses the resources provided by the Publication Ethics Resource Pack (https://www.elsevier.com/editors/perk).

This document specifies the steps to be followed for the detection and treatment of ethical breaches that are most frequently committed in scientific journal publications (plagiarism, self-plagiarism, double publication, fabrication and/or falsification of data, authorship issues, conflicts of interest, among others). In particular, the editorial board verifies issues related to plagiarism and its manifestations by analyzing submitted manuscripts using specialized software to assess whether they contain textual information from previous articles by the authors themselves (self-plagiarism) or by others (plagiarism), which may be grounds for rejection and immediate removal from the editorial process.

Standardization policy

The journal considers standardization to be a valuable tool that breaks down the linguistic, cultural, geographical, institutional, and personal barriers from which scientific knowledge originates, making it an effective tool in the dissemination and visibility of its content. In view of the above, the publication complies with the provisions of the ISO (International Organization for Standardization - https://www.iso.org/) standards regarding the essential elements related to the formal presentation of the journal and the guidelines for authors.

As part of the standardization process, the journal displays the ORCID registration number for all authors (registration is free and can be completed in a few simple steps at https://orcid.org/), which allows them to be identified unequivocally and unambiguously. Likewise, the complete affiliation of the authors is provided, as well as the collaborators who participate in the different editorial bodies, including the full names of the institutions to which they are affiliated.

Standardization for the presentation of articles includes the dates of receipt and acceptance of originals, as well as navigation and functionality in access, with a structure that allows access to articles in a maximum of three clicks (counting from the home page of the journal's website). Regarding the use of the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), the journal uses the Zenodo DOI (operated by the CERN Data Center and the OpenAIRE initiative) as it is a reliable and free identifier.

Open Access Policy

The journal aims to be a tool for disseminating the work of the academic and scientific community, providing immediate open access to its content under the principle that making its content freely available to the public contributes to promoting greater global knowledge exchange. The source of funding for Varela Journal is the Marta Abreu Central University of Las Villas (UCLV), which manages its content from the Faculty of Early Childhood Education belonging to that institution. It is a non-profit organization and therefore does not pay or charge for the contributions it receives.

The publication adheres to the Open Access Journals movement (via diamond) and delivers all of its content to various repositories, under the principle of making information available free of charge to all interested parties, in order to promote dissemination and exchange within the global educational community. The journal offers its publication services to authors completely free of charge. This means that contributors do not have to pay any costs (Article Processing Charge –APC-) for: reception, number of pages, color, translation, revision, or other actions required to complete the publication process; these expenses are covered entirely by the institution that manages the journal (UCLV). Those who access Varela Journal can read, download, copy, distribute, print, translate, search, or link to the full texts of articles published in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.

Accessibility and visibility policy

The journal is focused on continuous technological updates, which have led to substantial improvements in the functioning of the website, the editing formats of the articles, and the added services, interoperability protocols, and the use of the XML-JATS format, which increases the visibility and discoverability of its content worldwide through interoperability with search engines, library platforms, aggregators, repositories, and directories. On the other hand, with a view to increasing the visibility and impact of the journal, posters and infographics are systematically produced for calls for papers, published issues, and graphic summaries of new articles, which are disseminated on academic and social networks by the journal's staff and the authors themselves.

Self-archiving and digital preservation policies

The journal implements a self-archiving policy through its preservation in the institutional repository of the Marta Abreu Central University of Las Villas and the José Martí National Library, where the digital information of the published issues is stored and preserved. It uses the Registry of Cuban Serial Publications (http://www.seriadascuba.com/ RNPS: 2038 and ISSN: 1810-3413) as its legal repository. With a view to the digital preservation of content published in external repositories, the journal has joined the Zenodo platform, which offers free data identification, preservation, and publication services.

Privacy and copyright policy

The personal data provided by authors to this journal will be used exclusively for the purposes stated by the journal and will not be available for any other purpose or to any other person. Authors will retain their copyright and guarantee the journal the right of first publication of their work, which will be simultaneously subject to the Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows third parties to share the work provided that its authorship is indicated and it is not used for commercial purposes.