The International Journal of Vocational Education Studies (IJVES) is a double-blind peer-reviewed, Diamond Open Access journal dedicated to advancing the field of vocational education and training (VET). Our mission is to foster international academic exchange by publishing high-quality research that contributes to the understanding and critical reflection of VET systems worldwide. 

By submitting to IJVES, authors join an international conversation, reaching a diverse and interdisciplinary audience of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers committed to improving vocational education and training worldwide.

Publisher

The Editorial Office is located at the Institute of Education, Department of Vocational Education Studies, Osnabrück University, Germany. IJVES is hosted on osnaJournals, a publishing platform dedicated to Diamond Open Access journals affiliated with Osnabrück University. The platform is operated by the University Library and is based on the open-source journal management software Open Journal Systems (OJS).

Aims & Scope

IJVES publishes high-quality research that contributes to understanding and improving VET systems, policies, and practices internationally. Our primary focus is on the structure and function of VET systems, their genesis, and development, in order to enhance understanding of how vocational education and training operates in different contexts. Despite this focus, we welcome submissions from a broad range of perspectives. We accept contributions from various academic disciplines–including education, sociology, economics, and political science–provided they address issues relevant to VET. Articles should demonstrate critical engagement with the field, drawing on existing scholarly literature and contributing to ongoing debates in VET research. We value methodological diversity and recognizes that research in VET can take many forms. Whether a study is qualitative, quantitative, or employs mixed methods, what matters most is that the chosen approach is well-suited to the research question and context, and that the rationale for the approach is clearly explained. At the same time, openness to diverse approaches does not mean that "anything goes." High-quality research is characterized by transparency, rigor, and coherence. Authors should demonstrate careful design, clear reasoning, and credible interpretation of data, whether working with qualitative case studies, surveys, longitudinal datasets, or mixed methods. Research should engage critically with relevant literature and contribute meaningfully to ongoing debates in the field of VET. Our goal is to foster a pluralistic and reflective approach to research: one that values methodological diversity while maintaining scholarly integrity, encouraging studies that are both innovative and robust.

Submission

IJVES accepts

-literature reviews

-empirical studies

-theoretical articles

-methodological articles

-case studies

-book reviews

IJVES is committed to fostering comprehensive and nuanced scholarship in vocational education and training. While many journals impose strict limits on manuscript length, we recognize that some research questions require greater space for theoretical elaboration, methodological detail, and contextual discussion. For this reason, we welcome longer submissions, typically up to around 18,000 words, provided the length is necessary for the argument and enhances the scholarly contribution. What matters most is that manuscripts demonstrate clarity, rigor, and relevance to the field of VET, rather than conformity to a restrictive word count. By allowing space for extended treatments, IJVES seeks to support work that engages critically with the literature, presents robust empirical evidence, and contributes meaningfully to international debates on vocational education and training.

Publication Costs

As a Diamond Open Access journal, IJVES provides free access to all articles without subscription fees or charges for authors, ensuring that research is widely available to scholars, practitioners, and policymakers globally. All members of the editorial team work on a voluntary basis. IJVES is independend from profit-oriented publishers or other institutions.

Frequency and Section Policy

IJVES publishes two issues per year. While the first two volumes were released on fixed dates in Spring and Autumn, since Volume 3 articles are published continuously within each issue, allowing for ongoing updates. Each year, the first issue covers January 1 to June 30, and the second issue covers July 1 to December 31.

Each issue includes a Thematic Section and a General Section. Calls for Papers are published regularly on our website. Accepted manuscripts referring to these calls are published in the Thematic Section. However, other topics are always welcome and will be published in our General Section.

Furtheremore, IJVES accepts Book Reviews on academic literature in VET and related topics. Reviews may also discuss older literature that might be worth revisiting.

Open Access and Copyright Statement

IJVES is committed to the free and open availability of research, supporting the global exchange of knowledge. All articles are freely accessible from the moment of publication, and publication in the journal is free of charge for authors.

All articles are published under the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which allows anyone to copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial use, while the copyright remains with the authors. Unlike more restrictive licenses such as CC BY-SA, CC BY ensures that research can circulate widely without being constrained by mandatory “share-alike” conditions, enabling ideas to be freely adapted and used for the greatest possible impact.

In line with this policy, IJVES encourages authors to share their manuscripts on personal websites, institutional repositories, or other platforms both prior to and after publication, while providing bibliographic details that credit the article’s publication in the journal. By submitting their manuscript, authors agree to these conditions, embracing the principle that knowledge should be a public good rather than a commodity.

Speed and Acceptance Rate

The average duration of the publication stages are:

• 10 days from submission to first decision
• 45 days from submission to first post-review decision

The acceptance rate is currently at 31%.

Open Citation Data

We comply with the goals of The Initiative for Open Citations I4OC and deposit reference lists from all its journal articles to Crossref and allows reference distribution, along with other bibliographic metadata that we send to Crossref. This allows references to be distributed without restriction through all of Crossref's Metadata Delivery services, including the REST API and bulk metadata dumps, to any interested party. 

Long-Term Preservation

IJVES stores all articles in the German National Library. We use the LOCKSS system (Lot of Copies Keep Stuff Save), developed at Stanford University Libraries, and DOIs (digital object identifier, provided by Crossref) for each article to maintain permanent access to your work.

Special Issues

IJVES welcomes proposals for special issues. A special issue is a themed collection of articles dedicated to a specific topic within the field of Vocational Education Studies. The journal publishes one special issue per publication year. If you are interested in proposing a special issue, please check these guidelines.