Conflicts of Interest (COI) Statement

Pedagogical Perspective (PedPer) (eISSN: 2822-4841) is committed to editorial independence, transparency, and integrity. All parties involved in the publication process—editors, reviewers, and authors—must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence (or be seen to influence) the handling, review, or interpretation of a manuscript.

1) Editors

Editors must oversee peer review objectively and maintain independence in editorial decisions. Editors:

  • must not handle manuscripts where a personal, academic, or financial conflict of interest exists;
  • must recuse themselves immediately if they are authors/co-authors, recent collaborators, close colleagues, family members, or otherwise have a relationship that may affect judgment;
  • must not participate in editorial decisions for manuscripts submitted by authors from the editor’s own institution;
  • must delegate editorial responsibility to another qualified and independent editor when a conflict arises.

Where a conflict is identified at any stage, the journal may reassign the manuscript to an independent editor or take other appropriate editorial action to preserve integrity.

2) Reviewers

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts impartially and in confidence. Reviewers:

  • must decline review invitations when a conflict exists (e.g., personal relationships, financial ties, competitive research interests, institutional affiliation with the authors, or recent substantial collaboration);
  • should notify the handling editor if uncertain whether a relationship constitutes a conflict;
  • must not use confidential information obtained during peer review for personal advantage or to disadvantage others.

To support transparency, PedPer does not normally invite reviewers from the same institution as the authors.

3) Authors

Authors must disclose all relationships and conditions that may constitute conflicts of interest. Authors must:

  • declare any financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that could influence—or appear to influence—the research, interpretation, or reporting;
  • disclose funding sources and the role of any sponsor (if applicable);
  • provide a clear Conflict of Interest statement during submission via the journal system (or as requested by the Editorial Office);
  • ensure authorship reflects genuine contributions, consistent with PedPer’s authorship criteria.

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in rejection, publication of a correction, or retraction, in accordance with PedPer’s Publication Ethics & Malpractice policy and COPE-oriented best practices.

4) How to Declare a Conflict of Interest (COI)

Authors must include a Conflict of Interest statement on the Title Page at the time of submission. If no conflicts exist, authors should state: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”
Where applicable, authors must also disclose funding sources and the role of any sponsor on the Title Page.

For questions regarding COI disclosures, authors and reviewers may contact the Editorial Office at: info@pedagogicalperspective.com

Related Policies: Publication Ethics & Malpractice • Handling Allegations of Misconduct Policy • Peer Review Policy • Thematic Issue Policy • Corrections, Retractions & Expressions of Concern Policy