PrimEarly: Journal of Elementary Education and Early Childhood Studies welcomes manuscripts that contribute to the advancement of knowledge, theory, research, and practice in elementary education and early childhood studies. The journal publishes scholarly works addressing children's learning and development, teaching and learning processes, curriculum and instruction, educational assessment, teacher education, educational technology, inclusive education, educational policy, and other relevant issues in elementary and early childhood education.

Manuscripts must be original, previously unpublished, and not under consideration by another journal. All submissions must align with the journal's aims and scope and demonstrate academic rigor, methodological or analytical soundness, and a clear contribution to the development of elementary education and early childhood studies.

Accepted manuscript types include field research articles, library-based research articles, book reviews, and systematic literature review articles.

1. Field Research Articles

Field research articles report empirical findings derived from systematic investigations involving children, teachers, parents, school leaders, educational institutions, or other relevant participants and educational settings. Studies may employ qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods approaches and may use data collection techniques such as classroom observation, interviews, surveys, experiments, assessments, and documentary analysis.

Relevant topics include early childhood development, elementary school learning, pedagogical practices, literacy and numeracy development, social-emotional learning, classroom management, curriculum implementation, inclusive education, teacher professional development, educational media and technology, and family or community involvement in children's education.

Manuscripts must clearly explain the research problem and objectives, their relationship to previous scholarship, the research design, participant selection, data collection procedures, and methods of data analysis. Authors must also address relevant ethical considerations, particularly those involving children, parental or guardian consent, child assent where appropriate, participant confidentiality, and institutional ethical approval when required.

Findings must be presented clearly and discussed analytically in relation to existing theories and empirical studies. The discussion should explain the implications of the findings for educational theory, classroom practice, children's learning and development, or educational policy. Authors must also acknowledge the study's limitations and avoid claims that exceed the evidence.

2. Library-Based Research Articles

Library-based research articles examine issues in elementary education and early childhood studies through the critical analysis of scholarly and documentary sources. These may include books, peer-reviewed journal articles, educational policies, curriculum documents, historical records, theoretical works, and other relevant publications.

Studies may address educational theories, learning models, pedagogical approaches, child development perspectives, curriculum frameworks, educational philosophies, historical developments, comparative education, assessment practices, or conceptual and normative questions concerning elementary and early childhood education.

Manuscripts must explain the rationale for selecting sources, the scope and boundaries of the inquiry, and the analytical or interpretive approach employed. Authors should describe how sources were identified, selected, compared, and evaluated, as appropriate to the nature of the study.

The discussion must develop coherent arguments, critical interpretations, conceptual frameworks, or theoretical syntheses that advance understanding of educational issues. Authors are expected to engage critically with relevant scholarship, identify areas of agreement and disagreement, and explain the implications of their analysis for research, teaching practice, child development, or educational policy.

A descriptive summary of existing literature without critical analysis or a clearly articulated scholarly contribution is insufficient for a library-based research article.

3. Book Reviews

Book reviews provide critical assessments of scholarly books relevant to elementary education and early childhood studies. Reviews may examine recent publications or significant works that continue to contribute to discussions in the field.

Manuscripts must provide complete bibliographic information, including the author's or editor's name, book title, publisher, publication year, page count, and ISBN where available.

Reviews should introduce the book's central arguments, objectives, structure, and scope before critically evaluating its theoretical foundations, research methods where applicable, use of evidence, organization, strengths, and limitations. Reviewers should consider the book's contribution to understanding children's learning and development, educational theory, classroom practice, teacher education, curriculum development, or educational policy, as relevant.

Reviews should situate the book within broader scholarly debates and explain its significance for researchers, educators, teacher educators, school leaders, policymakers, and other relevant audiences. A review must go beyond summarizing or promoting the book and should provide a balanced, evidence-based assessment of its academic value.

Any personal, professional, financial, or other relationships that could influence the review must be disclosed.

4. Systematic Literature Review Articles

Systematic literature review (SLR) articles synthesize existing research to address clearly defined research questions in elementary education and early childhood studies through systematic, transparent, and reproducible procedures for searching, selecting, appraising, and analyzing the literature.

Relevant topics may include early childhood development, elementary education pedagogy, literacy and numeracy, play-based learning, curriculum and assessment, inclusive education, digital learning, teacher professional development, social-emotional learning, educational interventions, and other issues within the journal's scope.

Manuscripts must specify the databases and other information sources searched, search strategies and keywords, search dates, publication period covered, and inclusion and exclusion criteria. Authors must explain the procedures used to identify, screen, assess, and select relevant studies. The review should also describe data extraction procedures, study quality appraisal appropriate to the review objectives, and the methods used to synthesize the evidence.

The selection process must be documented transparently, including the number of records identified, duplicates removed, records screened, full-text articles assessed, and studies included in the final synthesis. Reasons for exclusion following full-text assessment must be reported where applicable. Authors are encouraged to follow an established reporting framework, such as PRISMA, when appropriate to the review design.

The synthesis must identify patterns and trends in the findings, similarities and differences among studies, methodological strengths and limitations, gaps in existing knowledge, and implications for future research and educational practice. The review should explain how the synthesized evidence advances understanding of elementary education and early childhood studies.

Bibliometric analysis may complement a systematic review but does not replace critical synthesis and interpretation of the included studies.

Presentation and Assessment Requirements

Manuscript structure should reflect the characteristics of the submission type and comply with the journal's author guidelines. Field research articles must provide a clear account of the research design, data collection, analysis, ethical considerations, findings, and implications. Library-based research articles must demonstrate transparent source selection and critical analytical engagement. Book reviews should adopt a structure that supports balanced and substantive evaluation of the work under review. Systematic literature reviews must document their search, screening, appraisal, and synthesis procedures in sufficient detail to support transparency and reproducibility.

All manuscripts must use clear academic language, follow the journal's prescribed citation and referencing style, and present tables, figures, and other supporting materials accurately and consistently. Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality and integrity of their work and for obtaining the necessary permissions for the use of copyrighted materials.

Research involving children or other potentially vulnerable participants must demonstrate appropriate ethical safeguards, including informed parental or guardian consent, child assent where appropriate, confidentiality, and protection from harm. Ethical approval and other documentation must be reported in accordance with applicable institutional requirements and the journal's policies.

All submissions undergo editorial screening and peer review in accordance with the journal's editorial policies. Publication decisions are based on the manuscript's relevance to the journal's scope, originality, methodological or analytical rigor, quality of evidence, depth of discussion, clarity of presentation, ethical compliance, and contribution to elementary education and early childhood studies.