The Millî Egitim Journal adheres to the principles of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). Article acceptance, rejection, revision, and retraction processes are conducted in accordance with the flowcharts recommended by COPE. In this regard, the ethical principles to be observed in articles submitted to the Millî Egitim Journal are outlined below:
1. In research involving vulnerable groups, the rights and welfare of participants must be protected, potential risks must be assessed, necessary measures regarding the research process must be taken, and long-term ethical oversight must be ensured. Ethics committee approval is mandatory for such studies.
2. In research conducted with minors, consent from a parent or legal guardian must be obtained.
3. For research conducted in educational institutions affiliated with the Ministry of National Education, official permission must be obtained through the “Research Application Permissions – Application and Evaluation Module” (https://arastirmaizinleri.meb.gov.tr/), and the implementation process must follow this permission.
4. Participants must be informed clearly and comprehensibly about the purpose, scope, possible risks, and their rights within the research process, and written informed consent based on voluntary participation must be obtained.
5. Personal data of participants must be protected in accordance with confidentiality principles; data must be used solely for research purposes; anonymity and confidentiality must be ensured; and no data may be shared with third parties without explicit consent. The journal does not publish identifiable personal data, images, audio, or similar materials. Manuscripts containing such content are not considered for review.
6. Research data must be reported in accordance with the principles of scientific accuracy and data integrity. Fabrication, falsification (alteration or manipulation), or distortion of data is strictly unacceptable.
7. Authors must clearly disclose any potential conflict of interest in research or funding processes to the editor and the submission system.
8. If ethical violations are detected, the article is rejected prior to publication; if already published, it will be retracted by the journal. When necessary, relevant institutions, funders, and academic bodies are notified. Legal and administrative procedures may be initiated.
Authors are deemed to have transferred all copyrights of their published articles to the Millî Egitim Journal. However, the scientific and ethical responsibility of the published articles belongs to the authors. Articles submitted to the journal, in whole or in part, must not have been previously published nor be under consideration in any other publication process. All submissions must comply with research and publication ethics. In cases of plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, redundant publication, salami slicing, unjustified authorship, or similar ethical violations, responsibility rests with the author. When an ethical breach is detected, the relevant legal and academic procedures are initiated.
COPYRIGHT, LICENSING, AND OPEN ACCESS PRINCIPLES
The Millî Egitim Journal adopts an open-access policy. All articles published in the journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. Under this license, users may read, download, copy, reproduce, distribute, print, and link to articles for non-commercial purposes, provided that proper attribution is given to the author(s) and the source.
Published content is accessible to researchers without financial, legal, or technical barriers. The journal supports the principles of open science and the free circulation of knowledge.
Authors are required to complete and upload the Copyright Transfer Form during submission. This form grants the legal permission for publication and regulates publication rights between the author and the journal. The ethical and scientific responsibility of the article lies solely with the author(s).
The following sections in the article template must be completed in full and included in the manuscript:
• Author Contribution Statement
• Conflict of Interest Statement
• Ethics Statement (If the study requires approval from an ethics committee, the manuscript must explicitly provide the name of the approving ethics committee, the approval date and reference number, as well as a formal statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from all participants.)
• Funding Information
• Copyright Information
• Data Availability Statement
These items are essential for evaluating the transparency, ethical compliance, and scientific standards of the publication. The journal follows the high ethical publication standards recommended by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) in line with these declarations.
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES REGARDING THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
The Millî Egitim Journal requires the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in scientific research to be conducted within ethical boundaries. AI may be used as a supportive tool in processes such as literature review, language editing, data processing, or data analysis; however, such use does not exempt researchers from scientific, ethical, or academic responsibility.
If AI tools are used in the preparation of manuscripts, the name, version, function, and scope of contribution of the tool must be clearly disclosed in the Method section. The accuracy, scientific validity, and ethical appropriateness of AI-generated content are entirely the responsibility of the author(s).
AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. As AI lacks the capacity for scientific reasoning, original contribution, theoretical interpretation, and drawing conclusions, it cannot hold authorship status. In accordance with COPE’s “Authorship and AI Tools” principles, the Millî Egitim Journal does not permit AI to be presented as an independent contributor in the author contribution statement. Only human researchers may be listed as authors.
Using AI as the primary tool for hypothesis development, constructing the theoretical framework, developing the discussion, or producing the main academic contribution of the study is inappropriate and constitutes an ethical violation. Incorporating AI-generated text into the manuscript without citation is considered plagiarism and is subject to ethical procedures.
Authors must be aware that AI tools may introduce bias, factual errors, misdirection, or reliability issues, and must conduct necessary scientific checks. Failure to disclose AI use violates the publication policies of the Millî Egitim Journal and constitutes an ethical breach, resulting in editorial action.
The fundamental ethical principles to be observed in AI use are:
• Transparency,
• Honesty and diligence,
• Accountability and responsibility,
• Fairness, respect, and impartiality,
• Confidentiality and protection of personal data,
• Contribution to scientific integrity.
Since AI cannot be held responsible for any ethical violation, full responsibility rests with the researcher(s). In this context, the following regulations should be considered:
• Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK)
• Higher Education Law No. 2547
• Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works
• Regulation on Graduate Education and Examination
• Directive on Scientific Research and Publication Ethics of Higher Education Institutions
Ethics Approval
According to the ethics approval rules implemented by TR Dizin in 2020, Ethics Committee Approval is mandatory for all research involving human participants. Ethics approval information must be clearly stated in the Method section, and the Ethics Approval Document must be uploaded during submission. Studies lacking an ethics approval document or an explicit statement regarding ethics approval are not considered for review.
If ethics approval is not required, this must be explicitly stated in the Method section and in the editor’s note, together with justification. The journal follows COPE and the Directive on Scientific Research and Publication Ethics of Higher Education Institutions in its ethics approval guidelines.
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDITORS
In the Millî Egitim Journal, editors are entrusted with ensuring full compliance with principles of academic integrity, impartiality, transparency, and research ethics throughout all stages of the publication process. Editors are responsible for rigorously verifying the necessity and adequacy of ethics committee approval, conducting similarity assessments, selecting competent and independent reviewers, overseeing the effective management of the peer-review process, monitoring potential conflicts of interest, and safeguarding the accuracy, reliability, and scientific soundness of submitted research. All editorial evaluations—prior to and following publication—are conducted in accordance with COPE guidelines, and appropriate procedures are implemented in cases involving plagiarism, duplication, salami slicing, fabrication, falsification, or violations pertaining to authorship. Editors supervise the layout, language editing, and DOI assignment processes for accepted manuscripts and initiate correction or retraction procedures when warranted. Editorial decisions are never influenced by religion, language, race, belief, gender, ethnicity, nationality, disability, age, political orientation, or any other personal characteristic. Editors avoid conflicts of interest, recuse themselves when necessary, and maintain a fair, accountable, and internationally compliant ethical stance throughout the entire publication workflow.
In the Milli Egitim Journal, editors:
1. Examine manuscripts to determine whether ethics committee approval is required,
2. Verify that ethics documentation is complete for studies requiring approval,
3. Review similarity reports for all submissions,
4. Decide whether the manuscript will proceed to peer review or be assigned to an editor,
5. Assign a minimum of two reviewers to each manuscript,
6. Ensure that reviewer selection is based on subject-matter expertise, academic qualifications, and the absence of conflicts of interest,
7. Consider institutional diversity in the selection of reviewers,
8. Evaluate ethical-violation notifications submitted by reviewers; in the absence of a violation, issue a “Reject,” “Revision,” or “Accept” decision based on the reviewer reports,
9. Assign a third reviewer when initial reviewer reports are conflicting,
10. Upon completion of the peer-review process, examine the reviewer reports and administer the final decision-making process,
11. Oversee the layout, language editing, and DOI assignment procedures for accepted manuscripts,
12. Uphold impartiality, transparency, and academic integrity at every stage of the publication process.
Editors adopt the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Editors and are obliged to avoid conflicts of interest.
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF REVIEWERS
In the Milli Egitim Journal, reviewers:
1. Evaluate whether the assigned manuscript aligns with their field of expertise,
2. Notify the editor of any suspicion of ethical misconduct,
3. Assess the manuscript in terms of originality, contribution to the field, and methodological consistency,
4. Provide constructive and developmental feedback,
5. Base academic criticism on scientific grounds,
6. Submit their final recommendation as “Reject,” “Minor Revision,” “Major Revision,” or “Accept”,
7. Submit all evaluations through the Reviewer Evaluation Form,
8. Maintain confidentiality throughout the review process and refrain from sharing manuscript content with third parties,
9. Inform the editor immediately in case of a conflict of interest.
The review process is conducted under the principles of double-blind peer review.
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS
In the Millî Egitim Journal, authors:
1. Are responsible for reviewing the Ethical Principles and Publication Policy before submission,
2. Prepare manuscripts in accordance with the Author Guidelines,
3. Conduct similarity checks prior to submission,
4. Upload all required documents completely,
5. Upload the Ethics Committee Approval Document for studies requiring ethics approval,
6. If ethics approval is not required, state this explicitly with justification,
7. Accept full responsibility for the content, methodology, data accuracy, and ethical compliance of the manuscript,
8. Disclose presentations, thesis origins, funding sources, use of AI, and acknowledgments transparently,
9. Address reviewer comments during revision and upload a revision response document,
10. Obtain necessary permissions for third-party materials before publication,
11. Report any ethical issues arising after publication to the editor.
Authors retain scientific responsibility even if rights have been transferred.
Conflict of Interest Policy
Milli Egitim Journal requires all authors, editors, reviewers, and journal staff to disclose any financial, personal, or institutional conflicts of interest that may influence the submission, review, or publication process. Individuals with a conflict must withdraw from the evaluation or handling of the relevant manuscript.
A Conflict of Interest Statement (or a declaration of “no conflict of interest”) must be provided by authors upon submission and is published in all full-text versions of the article.
PUBLICATION POLICY
Articles submitted to the Milli Egitim Journal must be prepared in accordance with the:
• Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye,
• The Basic Law of National Education,
• And international human rights principles.
with inclusive, equality-based language that respects human dignity and avoids discrimination.
Research instruments and data collection processes must comply with KVKK, relevant legislation, and scientific ethical standards.
The journal upholds the following principles:
• Original contribution to the literature,
• Transparency in research processes,
• Scientific integrity,
• Academic ethics.