Denizli Provincial Directorate of National Education Journal of Science and Education The Denizli Provincial Directorate of National Education Journal of Science and Education adheres to the principles and standards outlined by the Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive of the Higher Education Institutions and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Accordingly, all submissions intended for publication are expected to comply with ethical guidelines. Manuscripts identified with ethical violations are subjected to the following procedures: • Manuscripts found to contain ethical violations during the review process are withdrawn from evaluation, and the corresponding author is informed. Additionally, the author’s advisor is notified via email. • Articles discovered to contain irregularities or non-compliance after publication are reviewed and, if necessary, retracted. • Manuscripts that fail to adhere to ethical principles are returned to the corresponding author. Authors, reviewers, and members of the editorial board (including the editor-in-chief, associate editors, assistant editors, etc.) are expected to observe the following essential points throughout the journal processes: Ethical Responsibilities of Authors • Authors must consist of at least two individuals, including secondary, higher education, and/or graduate-level students and their advisors. • The submission process should be conducted by students under the guidance of their advisors, with the advisor acting as the corresponding author. • Manuscripts submitted to the journal must reflect original scientific research. • Manuscripts must not have been previously published in any journal or be under simultaneous review elsewhere. • Authors are obligated to prepare their manuscripts following the journal’s writing rules and article templates. • Research involving data collection techniques (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, observations, experiments) must include an ethics committee approval document and other necessary research permits. • Studies involving human or animal subjects for scientific purposes (e.g., clinical research, retrospective studies) are not accepted, as these pertain to the health sciences. However, for research in the fields of Educational Sciences and Social Sciences, ethics committee approval and other required documentation must be provided. • Authors must correctly and comprehensively cite all sources used (including their own works) and avoid plagiarism. Incorrect or insufficient attribution constitutes plagiarism. In such cases, all responsibility lies with the authors and their advisors, and the journal bears no liability. • It must be ensured that all authors included in the study have made scientific contributions, avoiding unethical practices such as guest, honorary, ghost, or AI authorship. • Manuscripts must respect intellectual property, commercial rights, and privacy rights, ensuring no infringement on any individual or institution’s rights. Contributors who provided support without direct scientific input should be acknowledged in the acknowledgment section. • The reliability of data and results must be guaranteed, and manipulation of data is strictly prohibited. Upon request, raw data from the study must be shared with the journal’s editorial board. • Data used in manuscripts must belong to the authors, or the appropriate permissions must be obtained for the use, reproduction, or distribution of the data. Approval documents from relevant institutions must be appended to the manuscript. • For articles derived from theses, research, or projects, details such as “Project Number,” “Supporting Institution,” and acknowledgment information must be explicitly stated. Authors must respond to feedback from reviewers and editors within the specified timeframe, implement revisions, or provide scientifically substantiated objections. Failure to adhere to the revision process will result in the manuscript being considered withdrawn. • Manuscripts that have completed the peer review process and are accepted for publication cannot be withdrawn. • During submission, authors must upload the Publishing Ethics and Ethics Committee Approval Declaration Form along with the Copyright Transfer and Conflict of Interest Declaration Form. • For studies requiring ethics committee approval, these documents must be indicated and presented within the manuscript. If ethics committee approval is not required, an explanation must be provided. • Authors must recognize that reviewers are carefully selected for their expertise in the relevant field to ensure qualified and thorough evaluations. As such, authors are expected to acknowledge the time required for the peer-review process and approach the evaluation period with understanding. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers • A double-blind peer review process is employed for manuscript evaluations, ensuring the anonymity of both authors and reviewers. In cases where positive and negative evaluations are balanced, the opinion of the editor or an additional reviewer is sought. • Reviewers are selected based on their expertise and knowledge in the relevant field. Reviewers are required to accept or decline the invitation within the timeframe specified in the invitation email. • Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of the manuscripts they evaluate and must not use any information obtained during the review process for personal advantage. • Reviewers are expected to meticulously assess the scientific content, contribution to the field, and ethical compliance of the manuscripts. If significant similarities or overlaps with previously published works are identified, this must be reported promptly to the editorial board. • Reviewers should accept invitations for manuscripts within their area of expertise and to which they can dedicate sufficient time. • Reviewers must refrain from communicating with the authors or third parties regarding the manuscript content or review process. Violating this rule will result in the termination of the reviewer’s role and the appointment of a new reviewer. • Reviewers should conduct their evaluations honestly, objectively, impartially, and in accordance with confidentiality principles. Personal attributes of the authors, such as status, institution, religious or political beliefs, gender, or nationality, must not influence the reviewers’ decisions. • Reviewers must avoid evaluating manuscripts where they have competitive, collaborative, or conflicting relationships with the authors. Reviewers are expected to base their opinions and decisions on scientific grounds, clearly and justifiably articulating their rationale. The evaluation process must adhere to academic, ethical, and general moral standards, employing constructive and respectful language. Hostile, dismissive, derogatory, or offensive remarks must be avoided. Ethical Responsibilities of the Editorial Board • The editorial board is committed to the principles of transparency and accountability in scientific publishing, ensuring clear, comprehensible, and ethically compliant communication among reviewers, authors, academics, and readers. • Except in cases of force majeure or valid excuses, editorial board members must ensure that evaluation processes are conducted in an orderly and seamless manner. • In line with the policy requiring at least two reviewers, the personal information of authors and reviewers must be kept confidential, and evaluation processes must be conducted impartially. • Editorial board members must act impartially and fairly in reviewer assignments and decisionmaking processes. Personal attributes such as the authors’ positions, affiliations, religious or political beliefs, gender, or nationality should not influence decisions. In cases of conflict of interest, the concerned editor must abstain from the evaluation process. • The final decision-making authority rests with the editorial board. Submitted manuscripts are rigorously evaluated based on criteria such as academic and scientific originality, contribution to the literature, relevance to the journal’s scope, required permissions, and similarity index. Scientific and ethical standards must be adhered to with the utmost care during this process. • Decisions must be made impartially, independent of the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political views. Decisions are solely based on the scientific accuracy, validity, contribution, and relevance of the manuscript to the journal’s scope. • Editorial board members must not disclose the content of submitted manuscripts to any individual or institution unless legally required. Without written permission from the authors, manuscript content cannot be used in the editors’ own work. • Authors’ objections to reviewer or editorial reports must be considered. If objections are valid and reasonable, the necessary steps must be taken for the manuscript’s reevaluation. • During the initial review stage, manuscripts are assessed for compliance with writing rules, scope relevance, and plagiarism rates. Eligible manuscripts are subjected to scientific review and sent to at least two independent reviewers under a double-blind review system. If one reviewer provides a positive evaluation and the other a negative one, additional reviewer opinions are sought. Based on reviewer feedback, the editor may return the manuscript to the author, request minor or major revisions, or approve the manuscript for publication. In all cases, final decisions must be objective and adhere to scientific criteria. • The editorial board is responsible for ensuring that manuscripts to be published do not violate legal obligations such as defamation, copyright infringement, or plagiarism.

PUBLICATION POLICY • The Denizli Provincial Directorate of National Education Science and Education Journal operates as a non-profit publication entity, adhering to its ethical responsibilities. The journal prioritizes the preservation of scientific and academic standards, along with the principles of impartiality and transparency throughout its publication processes. • The journal is a peer-reviewed publication issued regularly twice a year, in January and July, in both print and electronic formats. • Research and review articles in the fields of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Educational Sciences, Social Sciences, and Fine Arts are accepted for publication. However, review articles must not exceed 25% of the total number of articles. The type of manuscript is determined by the editorial board based on the evaluation process, not the authors’ suggestions. Technical notes, letters to the editor, case reports, and discussion papers are not considered for review. • Only original, current, and high-quality articles that have not been published elsewhere and are expected to contribute to their field are accepted for preliminary evaluation. All articles are reviewed equitably and undergo the same editorial process. • Papers presented at conferences or symposiums and published in full in conference proceedings are not accepted for submission. However, abstracts or presentations not fully published may be submitted, provided this is explicitly indicated. • If manuscripts are found to violate ethical principles or the journal’s publication policies, their evaluation process will be halted at any stage, and the manuscript will be returned to the corresponding author. • Statements and opinions expressed in the articles published in the journal do not reflect the official views of the journal. Responsibility for the content rests entirely with the authors. • Authors submitting to the journal are considered to agree that only one of their articles will be published in the same issue. Consequently, if multiple submissions are made by the same author, only one article will be selected for publication. Price and Copyright Policy • No fees are requested from authors at any stage, from manuscript submission to publication. Authors are not subject to any financial obligation during the evaluation, acceptance, or publication processes. • No monetary or in-kind copyright fee is paid to the author(s) for published articles. All authors are deemed to have accepted this condition during the manuscript submission process. • The copyrights of the submitted articles belong to the author(s). Authors are obliged to declare that their manuscripts comply with scientific and ethical standards and do not violate the rights of third parties. Article Submission Guidelines: • All submissions for the first issue must be made exclusively to the journal’s managing editor via the email address editor20@meb.gov.tr. Submissions sent through other means will not be accepted. Articles submitted directly to editorial board members or via alternative communication methods will be returned, regardless of their evaluation status. • Articles submitted to the Denizli Provincial Directorate of National Education Journal of Science and Education must be written in Turkish or English. • Articles must adhere to the format outlined in the article template provided on the journal’s official website. Submissions that do not comply with the template will not proceed to the evaluation phase. • Authors are required to provide the following information completely: full name, academic title, institution, contact details, and ORCID ID. Submissions with incomplete information will not be considered for evaluation. • Articles must comply with research and publication ethics guidelines. Submissions should include the following documents: Ethics Committee Approval, Research Permission Document, Copyright Agreement, and Conflict of Interest Statement. These documents must be signed by all authors. Additionally, the corresponding author should attach their student certificate if applicable and submit all documents to editor20@meb.gov.tr. • Institutions that provide support for the study (if any), project numbers, and acknowledgment information should be appropriately stated within the article if deemed necessary. • Files submitted to editor20@meb.gov.tr must be complete and prepared according to the journal’s specified naming conventions. Incorrect or incomplete file submissions may result in the rejection of the application. Plagiarism Policy • Manuscripts submitted to the journal are checked using iThenticate plagiarism detection software. • To proceed to the evaluation stage, the similarity index of the manuscript must be below 20%. Manuscripts with a similarity index above 40% are directly rejected. For manuscripts with a similarity index between 20% and 40%, authors are requested to make the necessary corrections. Correction and Retraction Policy • Authors may withdraw their manuscripts at any stage before the preliminary evaluation process is completed. However, if the manuscript has entered the peer-review stage, withdrawal requests are subject to editor approval. The editor must respond to such requests within 15 days. If no response is provided within this period, the manuscript will be considered automatically withdrawn. • Requests for corrections or retractions in published articles are evaluated in accordance with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines. These requests are processed based on the justified and documented submissions of authors or the editorial board. • If minor errors that do not affect the validity of findings or conclusions are identified in a published article, these errors will be addressed with a correction note issued by the authors or the editorial board. The correction will be published in the subsequent issue, with a reference to the original version of the article. • In cases of errors or ethical violations that significantly impact the validity of findings or conclusions, the article may be retracted by the authors or the editor. Following the retraction process, a retraction note will be published, citing the original article. • Requests for corrections or withdrawals must be submitted with a document signed by all authors. Reasoned requests should be communicated through the official communication channels of the journal. • Articles that have entered the peer review process cannot be withdrawn. • If there are serious suspicions of research or publication ethics violations, and the authors’ institution has not conducted sufficient investigations or the reliability of findings is in question, the editorial board may issue a “statement of concern” regarding the article in question. • The editorial board makes decisions on correction and retraction requests impartially and objectively, based on the submitted justifications and documentation. Retraction processes involving ethical violations or errors are handled transparently. Open Access and Copyright Policy The Denizli Provincial Directorate of National Education Journal of Science and Education ensures immediate open access to its content, promoting the global dissemination of knowledge. All articles published in the journal are: • Accessible under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. This license allows users to copy, distribute, and reuse the content for non-commercial purposes, provided proper attribution is given. • Copyrighted by the authors. Authors agree to make their articles openly accessible to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge. However, altering the content, using it for commercial purposes, or failing to provide proper attribution is prohibited. • Available completely free of charge, with no copyright fees paid to authors. • Published as open access content to support the advancement of science, enabling free use under the condition of proper attribution. Authors and copyright holders consent to the unrestricted accessibility of their peer-reviewed scientific studies via the internet. This includes reading, downloading, copying, distributing, printing, searching, linking to the full text, indexing, using the data in software, and utilizing the work for lawful purposes without financial, legal, or technical barriers. • The journal aims to ensure that all published works are widely accessible online, enhance the availability of knowledge, and foster scientific interaction globally.