About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The journal Tópicos Educacionais, affiliated with the UFPE Education Center, publishes original articles and essays from both national and international authors in the field of Education.

Its primary goal is to disseminate scientific work directly or indirectly related to education, publishing original manuscripts that contribute to the advancement of knowledge and promote recent studies and research. Since 2020, we have also included a section dedicated to Research Reports that have been approved for publication.

Tópicos Educacionais is published in Portuguese in an online version and accepts submissions on a rolling basis in Portuguese, English, Spanish, and French. The editorial process follows a double-blind peer review system.

The journal is open-access and targets researchers in the field of education, as well as teachers in both basic and higher education, and educators in training. It encourages theoretical and practical reflections aimed at contributing to the culture of educational research.

The journal requires authors to hold at least a doctoral degree (or be enrolled in a doctoral program) to submit articles. In the case of co-authorship, at least one author must hold the PhD. Tópicos Educationais maintains a one-year interval before publishing a new article by the same author.

Peer Review Process

Articles submitted to RTE will initially be chosen by members of the Scientific Editorial Committee, who will conduct a preliminary evaluation to ensure compliance with the journal's guidelines and focus, as well as confirm anonymity. Anonymity is crucial for the review process. To this end, authors are advised to use the "Document Properties" tool as follows: in MS Word, go to "File" and then "Preferences," select "Remove personal information when saving the file" and ensure anonymity throughout the submitted manuscript.

Once the submissions meet these initial requirements, they will be forwarded to at least two specialist reviewers in the relevant field, affiliated with institutions different from those of the author(s). These reviewers may be permanent members of the journal or ad hoc reviewers, ensuring a double-blind peer review process.

Reviewers from different institutions will declare any potential conflicts of interest and confirm their availability to conduct the review. If unavailable, another reviewer will be appointed to provide the scientific evaluation.

The reviewers will assess the articles based on originality, theoretical and methodological consistency, textual coherence and cohesion according to language norms, results achieved, and relevance to the field of Education. These criteria are outlined in a review form available to reviewers within the system.

To publish an article, at least two positive evaluations are required. If one evaluation is negative, the article will be sent to a third reviewer for final assessment. If the third reviewer deems the article unpublishable, it will be rejected.

After the review process, the author(s) will receive all reviewers' comments. Articles approved without reservations will be sent to the Scientific Editorial Committee, which may forward them for publication or request adjustments. If revisions are needed, they will be notified by email, and can decide whether to proceed with the necessary changes. Once revisions are completed in due time, the article will be reassessed by a member of the Scientific Editorial Committee, who will determine the article’s publication.

It is important to note that authors are responsible for ensuring proper language use and adherence to Portuguese grammar. RTE will notify them if improvements are required. The same applies to abstracts in other languages.

Notes:

NOTE1: Articles presented at scientific events will not be published.

NOTE2: The evaluation time for submissions is up to three months.

NOTE 3: The journal accepts translations of texts originally published in languages other than Portuguese, provided they meet the evaluation criteria and include the original publication’s details.

NOTE4: As part of our editorial policy, RTE does not accept submissions of works previously published on preprint platforms.

NOTE5: By agreeing to the terms described in the "Guidelines for Authors" section on the journal's website at the time of submission, authors declare full responsibility for ensuring their submission meets all listed criteria, particularly regarding the article’s originality.

NOTE6: Authors are prohibited from sharing the article in full or in part before the final publication process by RTE is completed.

Periodicity

Until 2023, Tópicos Educationais followed a semiannual publication schedule. Starting in 2024, it adopted a continuous publication model.

Open Access Policy

Tópicos Educationais is an Open Access journal, meaning all its content is freely and immediately available at no cost to the users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, track them for indexing, or use them for any other lawful purpose without prior permission from the publisher or the author, provided they comply with the Creative Commons license applied to the published content.

This policy aligns with the definition of Open Access definition provided by the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI).

Editorial Policy on Authorship and Misconduct

Authors are allowed to enter into separate, additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of their work published in this journal (e.g., posting to an institutional repository or as a book chapter), with proper authorship acknowledgment and the initial publication in this journal.

RTE does not allow the addition of authors after a positive review by the reviewers. The journal advises that only individuals who have contributed to the work be listed as authors, and their specific contributions must be clearly stated.

If any editorial misconduct such as plagiarism, unethical data use, fabrication of results, misuse of citations, duplicate publication, or other unacceptable practices in the scientific community is detected, RTE, through its editorial board, will initiate an investigation. If the misconduct is confirmed, the editorial process will be halted, and, in the case of already published articles, the article will be retracted, with immediate notification to all parties involved. This follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), available at http://publicationethics.org.

If a reviewer’s evaluation is found to have a conflict of interest, whether to harm or benefit the authorship, RTE will forward the article to another reviewer, and the reviewer in question will be excluded from future journal reviews.

Archiving

Tópicos Educationais uses the LOCKSS system for digital preservation of published content. Archiving is managed by Cariniana, the Brazilian Network of Digital Preservation Services, and its status can be checked on the ISSN page via The Keepers registry.

The articles are also preserved on the Federal University of Pernambuco’s server and on an external hard drive at the Education Center.

Fees

Tópicos Educacionais does not charge submission, review, publication, or processing fees (APCs). There are no fees charged to authors for publishing or for readers to access articles.

Funding and Resources

The Graduate Program in Education at the Federal University of Pernambuco sponsors this journal, with financial support provided by the Pro-Rectorate of Research and Innovation (PROPESQI) through UFPE’s Institutional Program for Journal Support.

Sponsors

This journal is supported by the Graduate Program in Education at the Federal University of Pernambuco and financially backed by the Pro-Rectorate of Research and Innovation (PROPESQI) at the same university, through UFPE’s Institutional Program for Journal Support.

History of the Journal

About the journal Tópicos Educacionais

Tópicos Educationais was founded in 1977 by Professor Fernando Antonio Gonçalves of the Education Center at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), with the support of then-director, Professor Itamar de Abreu Vasconcelos. Initially an informational bulletin documenting the center’s activities, the journal expanded its scope over time. Today, 43 years later with regular and uninterrupted publications since 2012, it is considered as one of the oldest academic journals in Brazil. Throughout the years, the journal has sought to follow trends in scientific dissemination, incorporation key elements of Brazilian academic journal practices in each issue.

The first issue focused on the expansion of higher education in Pernambuco and the foundations of education. These themes were revisited in subsequent issues, which also featured articles on educational psychology, such as those exploring the thoughts of Freud and Piaget; educational policy, with discussions on political parties, unions, social movements, and the State; and the philosophy of education, featuring analyses of the ideas of Rousseau, Dewey, Kant, and Herbart, among other philosophers whose thoughts have contributed to educational theory.

The year 1985 marked a milestone in the journal’s history as it featured articles by faculty from UFPE’s now-established Graduate Program in Education. These articles assessed the program’s proposal and production, which led, in 1986, to a special issue dedicated solely to theses and dissertations from the program. This editorial approach continued in subsequent issues, turning the journal into a portfolio of the center’s productions, particularly from the program, which at the time had been active for seven years.

It was in 1989 that the journal began publishing reviews. In addition, texts were published in the field of didactics, such as those focused on schoolwork in Pernambuco; in the field of teaching, particularly in physics and mathematics education; in the area of language, highlighting the relationship between language and national culture; and in economics and education, especially on the effects of the social division of labor on educational institutions.

In 1990, the journal aimed to publish two issues per year, a goal that was revisited in 1997 but was only achieved in 2013 t was also in 1990 that topics such as youth and adult education (EJA), preschool education, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) began to be explored in the journal.. During this perioed, many authors emerged in the academic and scientific community, using the journal as a channel to share the results of their research, analyses, and interpretations.

It is not uncommon to find articles addressing education in the state of Pernambuco at all three levels. What we might now consider endogenous was, at the time, treated as self-evaluative studies that revealed both positive and negative aspects, possibly guiding local public policies. The 1990s also saw the introduction of topics such as computer science in schools, childhood, early childhood education, gender and sexuality, school failure, cinema, music and education, integrated schooling, school management, and educational research methodologies. Additionally, a section dedicated to experience reports was introduced, further establishing the journal as a current and relevant resource in the field.

It is worth noting that in 1996, under the direction of Ednar Carvalho Cavalcanti, a special issue (12) was published. This issue documented and discussed "projects undertaken by the Education Center which were focused on addressing the specific challenges of teacher training courses, particularly in relation to the demands and realities of the professional world where educators work."

We also emphasize that in 1998, an issue entirely dedicated to women was published, featuring works presented at the First Seminar on Education and Contemporaneity, coordinated by Professor Leda Dantas. This issue was published in reference to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China, in 1995, with its Declaration and Platform for Action.

Due to historical developments and their implications, the Education Center at UFPE decided to temporarily suspend the journal's publication following the National Education Guidelines and Framework Law (LDB). The journal resumed publication in 2007. That year, issue (17) featured "a diversity of themes and perspectives, revealing a field that is both fertile and tense, while pointing to the new directions that are now emerging," as stated by Abranches in the edition's introduction.

According to him, "[...] six articles cover a range of topics, from curriculum reforms and their impact on various stakeholders, to the historical relationship between education and religion in Brazil. The issue also includes an analysis of how technology affects learning and how the curriculum is shaped by the complexity of culture. All of these discussions are grounded in the training of education professionals, reinforcing the Education Center's commitment to its pedagogical mission."

In 2012, Tópicos Educacionais sought to adapt to the evolving standards for scientific journals, implementing a new structure that aligned with current trends and editorial guidelines. These updates included continuous publication, electronic support, exogeneity, thematic issues, a digital platform, indexing, and peer review. Issue eighteen featured a special edition dedicated to Mathematics Education, presenting "[...] revised and expanded versions of articles published in the proceedings of the XIII CIAEM, [...] with local organization by the Graduate Program in Mathematics and Technological Education – EDUMATEC," as noted by Alfredo Gomes. This issue included contributions from both national and international authors, practices that became part of the journal's editorial dynamics.

In 2013, Tópicos Educacionais compiled a set of articles on the theme of Higher Education, Policies, and Teaching. These texts addressed pressing issues in the field of higher education, produced by researchers from different countries and institutions. Additionally, the journal published articles discussing policies and key issues related to the evaluation of education in Brazil. This year saw the inclusion of Paulo Freire as a topic of study in an article, along with a more consistent focus on international authors and themes. Additionally, a special issue dedicated to Educational Evaluation was published.

Similarly, in 2014, a dossier on ethno-racial relations and education was published. As Alfredo Gomes stated, "[...] the aim was to contribute to strengthening and encouraging research, as well as to the formation of research groups on a topic of fundamental importance for understanding our own identity as a people, from a consistent, democratic, and anti-racist perspective." In this edition, the themes of literacy and learning were reaffirmed in the journal.

The issues published in 2015 consisted of diverse articles addressing topics related to the History of Education, including case studies focused on the states of Pará, Piauí, Ceará, Paraíba, Sergipe, and Pernambuco. These articles also explored topics such as youth education policies, education and communication, professional education, nomadic curricula, and audiovisual education. These themes, along with others such as education quality, educational planning, higher education, large-scale assessment, Indigenous peoples and teaching, educational institutions, textbooks, citizenship rights, education spending, and university extension, became the focus of analyses in subsequent years.

In 2019, under new leadership, its scientific committee, aiming to systematically comply with the rules established by Qualis journals, restructured its editorial board and reviewers, while incorporating elements specific to scientific dissemination. This effort sought to honor its nearly half-century history and enhance its quality as much as possible. To this end, we are committed to its exogeneity, periodicity, and academic excellence.

In addition to the valuable contributions of the members of the RTE Scientific Council, during the reconfiguration process, the journal also received support from the Pro-Rectorate of Communication, Information, and Information Technologies (PROCIT), as well as from the Department of Socio-Philosophical Foundations of Education (DFSFE), the Department of Psychology and Educational Guidance, the Department of Teaching Methods and Techniques (DMTE), and the Department of School Administration and Educational Planning, all of which are part of the Education Center at the Federal University of Pernambuco.

Best regards,

The Editors

Recife, Autumn 2020.