International Review of Education - A message from the Editor of the International Review of Education

The International Review of Education – Journal of Lifelong Learning (IRE) is the oldest journal of comparative education in the world and one of the most influential peer-reviewed publications on lifelong learning in the field.

Edited by a team at the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and published by Springer Nature, IRE gives priority to research that explores ways in which lifelong learning is reflected in education policy and practice throughout the world. This means a focus on topic areas such as adult education, non-formal education, adult literacy, open and distance learning, vocational education and workplace learning, new access routes to formal education, lifelong learning policies, and various applications of the lifelong learning paradigm.

IRE is a scholarly, refereed journal with an international perspective, reflected both in the profile of our contributors and the focus of their articles and in our readership. The journal aims to advance understanding of lifelong learning both as a philosophical concept in education and as a concrete approach to the organization of educational policy, planning and practice. We value articles that take a problem-focused, critical approach to research and practice, and that explore new territories and perspectives on lifelong learning. We therefore encourage authors from different disciplines to contribute articles, and especially welcome multidisciplinary research.

We invite submissions of articles in English and French from interested researchers in every region of the world. We want to hear both from established authors and from new writers, including those already working in the field and those working outside who have a relevant perspective to bring. Unlike many journals, we offer extensive support in revising manuscripts prior to external review, and language editing support once a manuscript has been accepted. Please consult our Instructions for Authors before contributing.

Our aim is to support and foster the international community of scholars, policy-makers and practitioners working in and around the field, and to provide a focal point for those with a critical interest in lifelong learning.

We are particularly interested in receiving proposals for thematic issues that explore particular areas of lifelong learning research or practice. Special issue proposals have to be approved by the IRE Editorial Board. Please submit your outline proposals to the Executive Editor for consideration: p.stanistreet@unesco.org (this opens in a new tab).