School Administration Journal

Author Guidelines

Manuscripts submitted to School Administration Journal (SAJ) must adhere to the following guidelines to ensure a smooth review and publication process:

General Submission Requirements

Article Length: Articles should be between 1,000 and 8,000 words (including title, abstract, references, disclaimers [Conflicts of Interest, Author's Responsibilities, Acknowledgements, Ethical Considerations], excluding appendices).
Template: Submissions must be prepared using the official ARTICLE TEMPLATE in Microsoft Word.
Language: Each article must include a title, abstract (50–100 words), and 3–5 keywords in both Turkish and English. The Extended Abstract (750–1,000 words) is required for articles in Turkish, written in English.

Formatting

Citation and Referencing: All in-text citations and references must strictly follow the APA (American Psychological Association) 7th Edition guidelines.
Figures, Tables, and Visuals: Tables, figures, and charts must be appropriately sized for the journal page and include sequential numbering. Each figure or table must have descriptive captions above and explanatory notes below, if necessary. Avoid consecutive tables or figures without intervening text.
Headings and Structure: Use the heading structure as specified in the APA 7th Edition guidelines. Ensure consistency in font size, type, and paragraph formatting across the manuscript.

Disclaimer Statements

Authors must include a disclaimer addressing any potential conflicts of interest, clarifying the author’s responsibilities, acknowledging financial or other support, and confirming compliance with ethical standards. Specifically, the disclaimer should include the following sections:

Acknowledgements: Authors should acknowledge any financial support, resources, or contributions from individuals or organizations that assisted in the research or manuscript preparation. This can include grants, research facilities, or expert advice.

Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that might influence the research or its interpretation. This includes financial interests, personal relationships, or other factors that could be perceived as a conflict.

Author's Responsibilities: Authors are responsible for the integrity of the research, ensuring that the content is accurate, credible, and free from plagiarism. This section clarifies each author’s contributions to the study, including conceptualization, data collection, analysis, and writing.

Ethical Considerations: Authors must ensure that the research adheres to ethical standards, including respect for participants' rights and confidentiality. If applicable, authors should provide a statement confirming ethical approval from a relevant ethics committee or institution.

AI Use Disclaimer: Authors must disclose any use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the research process, manuscript preparation, or data analysis. This includes specifying the AI tools or software used, how they contributed to the research, and any AI-generated content in the manuscript. The authors are fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and ethical considerations of any AI-generated content included in the submission.

Submission Process

In School Administration Journal (SAJ), studies submitted for evaluation and publication are required to adhere to the following fundamental criteria:

Submission Requirements

• Relevance to SAJ’s Aim and Scope: Submissions must focus on or be related to SAJ’s aim and scope.
• Originality: Articles must not have been previously published or submitted elsewhere for publication.
• Article Type: Submissions must align with the article types preferred by SAJ.
• APA Format: Manuscripts must follow the APA (American Psychological Association) Style 7th Edition.
• Template Compliance: Manuscripts must conform to the SAJ article template.

Documents to be Uploaded During Submission

8. Letter to the Editor (click to download the template)
9. Anonymous Version of Manuscript: An anonymous version of the manuscript which has no information about the authors even in the references. (click to download the template)
• Title
• Abstract
• Keywords
• Main Text
• Disclaimer Statements
• References
• Appendices
• Extended Abstract
10. Title Page (containing names, titles, emails, institutions, ORCIDs author(s) and corresponding author’s phone number and submission checklist. (click to download the template)
11. Copyright Transfer Agreement (Teklif Devir Sözleşmesi) (click to download the template)
12. Similarity Report (plagiarism check)
13. AI-Generated Content Report
14. Ethics Approval (If necessary)

Submission Platform

All submissions must be made through the DergiPark platform.

Note 1: Manuscripts that do not adhere to the APA 7th Edition format or the provided article template will be returned to authors for revision.
Note 2: SAJ does not accept empirical research articles or manuscripts that fail to meet the above requirements. Only submissions that comply with the journal’s focus on reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and theoretical discussions will be considered for peer review.

Editorial Process for Submitted Works

Editorial Process

Manuscripts submitted to SAJ undergo the following processes:

Formal Review
The Secretary, Assistant Editor, or Editor conducts a formal review of the submitted manuscript. This review includes assessing the manuscript’s adherence to the School Administration article template, citation formatting, and the status of uploaded supplementary documents. Additionally, other criteria outlined in the submission checklist are also evaluated. If necessary, the manuscript is returned to the author for revision and resubmission.
Click here for the Initial Submission Checklist.

Preliminary Review: The editor evaluates the manuscript for purpose, content, presentation style, and adherence to submission guidelines. Based on the initial review, the editor may request revisions or reject the manuscript with reasons. Editorial evaluation is completed within 2 weeks.
For the editorial pre-review form, click here.

Peer Review Process: Manuscripts accepted for peer review are evaluated by two experts in the field. If the reviewers' opinions differ, a third reviewer is consulted. The editor makes a final decision based on the reviewers' reports, which could involve acceptance, revision, or rejection. The peer review process typically takes 1-2 months, although delays may occur due to workload. Reviewers remain anonymous to authors and vice versa.
For peer review forms, click here.

Revision Process: Authors receive feedback based on editorial and peer review evaluations. Revised manuscripts are reviewed again by the editor. Authors must address all critiques and suggestions or provide justifications for disagreements.
For the revision form, click here.

Editing and Proofing: After revisions, authors receive proofreading notes. The manuscript is then formatted according to the SAJ article template for final approval.
For the proofreading form, click here.

Publication Process: Approved manuscripts are prepared for publication in the appropriate issue of SAJ. Authors bear responsibility for the content of their published works, which do not necessarily reflect the views of the journal or its affiliates. Copyrights are retained by the School Heads Association (Okul Yöneticileri Derneği).

Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Ethical Standards

SAJ adheres to ethical publishing policies outlined by the Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics legislation by Higher Education Council (Yükseköğretim Kurulu – YOK), TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye) policies, and COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) standards. Authors must ensure compliance with these principles and include a statement of adherence to research and publication ethics in their manuscripts.
Specific requirements include:

• Obtaining ethics committee approval for research involving surveys, interviews, focus groups, experiments, or clinical studies.
• Ensuring consent for case studies and respecting intellectual property rights for tools, images, or artistic works.

Research using pre-2020 data, theses, or prior submissions must include clear references and do not require retrospective ethics approval.
For detailed guidelines and forms, click here.

Ethical Principles for Authors

Authors submitting to SAJ are expected to adhere to the following principles:

• Possess the necessary expertise for designing and conducting the research.
• Maintain self-criticism, honesty, and transparency during the research and data analysis phases.
• Respect the work of others conducting similar research.
• Approach the research problem with integrity.
• Report findings in an open and honest manner.
• Acknowledge contributions from all participants involved in the research.
• Clearly outline the distribution of roles and rights in the research process.
• Avoid fabricating or falsifying data.
• Use data from others only with permission.
• Provide details on all sources (including electronic) and methods used for data collection and analysis.
• Ensure the content of the publication is accurate, complete, and free from intentional omissions.
• Adhere to "scientific ethics" in producing and developing knowledge.
• Publish only information that is developed systematically and scientifically.
• Ensure the content is unbiased and unaffected by personal interests, concerns, political views, or beliefs.
• Properly cite all sources used in the publication.
• Recognize the contributions of others in producing, compiling, measuring, and preparing the information, either through authorship or acknowledgment.

Ethical Principles for Editors

Experts serving as editors in SAJ must adhere to the following principles:

• Publishing Decisions: Ensure impartiality in decision-making.
• Objectivity: Maintain neutrality and fairness.
• Confidentiality: Safeguard the confidentiality of the editorial process.
• Conflict Resolution: Address disputes and declarations of interest ethically.
• Collaborative Research: Engage in cooperative and ethical research activities.

Ethical Principles for Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to uphold the following principles:

• Adhere to principles of independence, impartiality, honesty, equality, consistency, and confidentiality.
• Provide objective, descriptive, clear, constructive criticism, evaluations, feedback, and recommendations.
• Respect deadlines and avoid unnecessary delays in the review process.
• Refrain from exploiting the review process for personal gain or engaging in plagiarism.
• Accept review requests only within their field of expertise and decline those outside their area.

AI Policy

Purpose: The purpose of this AI policy is to provide clear guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the submission, review, and publication processes. As the use of AI tools becomes more prevalent in academia, we recognize the need to address the ethical implications and ensure that submissions adhere to academic integrity standards.
Scope: This policy applies to all submissions, including peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed articles, across all disciplines within the journal’s scope. It covers the use of AI in data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, and any other aspect of research and publication.

1. Use of AI in Research

We acknowledge that AI can significantly contribute to educational research, offering insights and analyses that might not be feasible through traditional methods. However, AI-generated content must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Transparency: Authors must disclose any use of AI tools in the research process, including data analysis, writing assistance, and manuscript generation. A detailed description of the AI tools used and how they contributed to the research should be included in the methodology section.
• Originality and Plagiarism: AI-generated content must be original and not replicate or paraphrase content from other sources. Authors are required to ensure that AI-generated text is free from plagiarism. Any instances of AI usage that may lead to unintentional plagiarism should be avoided and acknowledged.
• Data Integrity: AI tools used for data collection, processing, or analysis must follow ethical guidelines related to data integrity, accuracy, and privacy. Authors must ensure that AI algorithms used do not introduce bias, misinterpret data, or violate ethical principles.

2. AI in Manuscript Preparation

AI tools used in manuscript preparation, such as language enhancement, citation generation, or text summarization, should be disclosed in the submission. The authors should:

• Clearly specify the tools used for any writing assistance or text generation.
• Ensure that the final manuscript meets the journal’s standards for academic quality and integrity.

If AI is used for generating parts of the manuscript, authors must clarify whether the content has been reviewed or revised by human experts for accuracy, coherence, and alignment with the research goals.

3. Peer Review Process

AI can also support the peer review process by assisting in manuscript evaluation or enhancing the review process. However, the following should be considered:
• AI-Generated Reviews: If AI is used to assist in writing a review or generating suggestions for improvements, it should not replace the human reviewer. AI should only be used as a supplementary tool.
• Reviewer Guidelines: Reviewers are encouraged to consider whether AI has been appropriately used in the research and manuscript. AI-assisted content should be evaluated for academic integrity and adherence to ethical research standards.

4. Ethical Considerations

All AI-related activities must adhere to the following ethical guidelines:

• Fairness: AI tools must be used in a manner that promotes fairness, ensuring that no group of authors is disadvantaged by the use of AI.
• Confidentiality: The use of AI tools must respect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts. Authors should ensure that any AI tools used do not store, share, or disclose the content of submitted manuscripts without proper consent.
• Accountability: Authors are fully responsible for the content generated with the assistance of AI tools. While AI can aid in generating text, interpreting data, or performing analyses, it remains the author's responsibility to ensure that the content is ethically sound and scientifically valid.

5. Disclosure and Acknowledgments
• Authors must explicitly disclose any use of AI in their submission, including which parts of the manuscript were generated with the help of AI tools (e.g., writing, analysis, literature review).
• If AI tools were used to aid in research, data analysis, or manuscript preparation, authors should mention the tools used in an acknowledgment section or methodology section.

6. Non-Compliance
Failure to comply with the AI policy may result in the rejection of the manuscript, retraction of published work, or other actions deemed necessary to maintain the journal's academic standards and ethical integrity.

7. Updates to the Policy

This policy will be periodically reviewed and updated to adapt to the evolving role of AI in academic research and publishing. Authors and reviewers will be informed of any updates to ensure compliance.

In our journal, no fees are charged to the authors. Also, no fee is paid to the authors or referees. Fee and Open Access Policy No fees are charged under any name from the author or the institution. Additionally, no fees are paid to authors or reviewers. SAJ operates an open-access policy. All published articles can be accessed, downloaded, and reproduced via SAJ on DergiPark. Authors can freely access their work without receiving a printed copy.