Author Guidelines

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

1. Scope of the Journal

Marhalah Ula: Journal of Primary Teacher Education (MI/SD) welcomes original research articles, case studies, and scholarly reviews in the field of primary education. The journal particularly focuses on Madrasah Ibtidaiyah and elementary school contexts. Topics may include curriculum development, instructional innovation, teacher professionalism, assessment and evaluation, character education, educational management and policy, as well as educational technology and digital innovation aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning at the primary level.

2. Manuscript Requirements

  • The manuscript must be original, not previously published, and not under review elsewhere.

  • Manuscripts must be written in Bahasa Indonesia or English, submitted in Microsoft Word format.

  • Layout: B5 paper size, Cambria font 12 pt, single spacing, standard margins.

  • Length: 5,000 to 7,000 words, including references, tables, and figures.

  • Authors must use the official journal template provided.

3. Manuscript Structure

The manuscript should include the following components:

  • Title (maximum of 16 words)

  • Author(s)’ full name(s) and affiliation(s)

  • Corresponding email and WhatsApp number

  • Abstract in both English and Bahasa Indonesia (150–200 words), covering: problem, purpose, method, findings, conclusion, and implications; followed by 3–5 keywords.

  • Introduction: background, literature gap, state of the art, research objectives and significance.

  • Methods: research design, data collection and analysis techniques, instruments used, location and duration of study.

  • Results and Discussion: presentation of findings (with tables/figures as needed), interpretation, and relation to existing theories or previous studies.

  • Conclusion: concise summary of key findings and their theoretical and practical implications.

  • References: all cited sources must be listed.

4. Citation and References

  • Referencing style must follow APA 7th Edition.

  • Authors are required to use reference management software such as Mendeley or Zotero.

  • A minimum of 30 references from scholarly journal articles (published within the last 10 years) is required.

  • A maximum of 8 references from books is allowed.

5. Tables and Figures

  • Tables and figures must be numbered sequentially and referred to in the text.

  • Table titles must be placed above the table; figure captions below the figure.

  • All tables and figures must include clear sources.

6. Similarity Check

  • Authors must check for plagiarism before submission using their own tools.

  • The maximum similarity allowed is 25%.

  • The plagiarism report must be uploaded along with the manuscript submission on the OJS system.

7. Submission Procedure

  1. Initial Editorial Screening: assessment of scope, format, similarity check, citation style, and reference quality.

  2. Author Revision: initial revision based on editor feedback.

  3. Editor Review of Revision: decision to proceed to peer review or return for further revision.

  4. Peer Review Process: double-blind review by academic reviewers.

  5. Editorial Decision: manuscript may be accepted, returned for revision, or rejected.

  6. Production and Publication: accepted manuscripts will undergo layout and publication.

8. Plagiarism Policy

Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 25% will be automatically rejected by the editorial team.

9. Copyright

Copyright remains with the authors. However, the journal reserves the right to publish and disseminate accepted articles.