Journal “Vocational Education:

Research and Reality”

PhD Tomas Sabaliauskas

Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas

I. Important characteristics of
the journal
1. How long does the journal exist?
In 1998 the first issue of our journal was
published. This Journal has appeared as the result of
a long-term co-operation between the Centre for
Vocational Education and Research at Vytautas
Magnus University and many countries from West
Europe, firstly, Hohenheim University, Germany.
Therefore the founders of this journal are considered
current scientific editor of the journal Prof. R.
Laužackas and Prof. from Hohenheim University W.
Compter.
2. Who publishes the journal?

• Our journal is published by Center for Vocational

Education and Research at Vytautas Magnus
Univeristy. On the publication of this journal are
working only 2 persons – Scientific editor of the
journal and me 
3. What kind of journal is your journal?

• This journal is divided in to two parts: Research and

Reality
• In the first part scientific articles are published.
• In the second - book, PhD theses, project reviews
connected with the field of Vocational Education and
Training are published.
4. What do you know about its readership
and citations to it?

This journal is very popular in:

• vocational schools,
• colleges,
• Some universities are buying it,
• labor market training centers,
• labor exchanges,
• It is delivered to all main libraries of Lithuania.
• It is quite popular among students when they begin
to write their bachelor and master theses.
5. In which databases is the journal
listed?
The listings of scientific journals in Lithuania is
connected with the reform of Higher education,
when only articles published in journal that are
listed in databases (not all databases, but chosen by
scientific board of Lithuania) where accepted as
“serious journals”. This journal is listed in following
databases:
• EBSCO Education research complete
• Central and Eastern European online library (CEEOL)
• MLA International Bibliography
• Copernicus ?
• ERIC ?
6. What impact does the journal have on
careers of researchers?

• This journal is the only one in Lithuania that deals

with the problematic of Vocational Education and
Training. Therefore the scientists working in this
field are trying to get published in our journal.
• It is a scientific journal in which published articles
are good for the certification of the scientists, for
their proof of scientific outcomes.
II . Scope of the journal
1. What is the focus of the journal?
The journal focuses on the area of Vocational Education Training and
all problematic connected to it.
2. What disciplinary scope does it have?
It is considered to be educational journal, but we could call it
interdisciplinary.
3. What are popular themes covered by the journal?
The popularity of the themes depends on the popularity of
certain themes in the aria of education. Example. The issue
about EQF and NQF was very popular. For the publication of
this issue we even received money from the Ministry of Labour
and social affairs, because they worked at the time on NQF.
All copies of this journal where sold, so we try to publish
articles that deal with problems which are popular at that
time. It works not always 
4. Which kind of manuscripts get most
attention of the editor and reviewers?

All scientific articles, meant for the first part

of the journal, are handled in the same way.
No special treatment. Or course the
reviewers like more research articles instead
of long theoretical once. Less attention is
dedicated to the information articles which
go the second part of the journal.
III. Getting published in the journal:
submissions, review, decisions and
revisions
1.What recommendations does the journal give
for writing good quality manuscript?
In the guidelines for article writers is indicated main
structural criteria scientific article should have. Also
an example of good article can be downloaded from
the web page of the journal.
2. What are the
recommendations/guidelines/instruction
s for submitting a manuscript?
• There is a document prepared in which all the
requirement for an article in this journal are listed.
• I would say, there are 3 kinds of requirements:
– Structural (article must have all necessary parts)
– Content (Scientific article should have definition of
the problem, goals, methodology if needed etc.
Requirements also depend from kind of the article)
– Citation (Even scientists have problems citing
correctly, so there is a list of citation requirements)
3. What things do editors and reviewers
appreciate and dislike in manuscripts?

• Articles, that could be called “Events from around

the globe” are very criticized.
• Reviewers do not like long academic articles. With
no new information.
• Research articles with no clear theoretical
background are disliked.
• Articles with no clear concept are criticized.
• Also articles with no clear problematic etc.
All articles that have all above mentioned thing, are
appreciated.
4. What are criteria to follow to get accepted for a
review?
Very simple. Get the article done according to the
requirements, and send the article to me 
5. How long does it take before a decision of the
editor with review reports comes back to the
author?
We are a small journal, so it does not take a lot of time to
gather the reviews, but the reviewers are some times to
busy, so it could be a couple of months.
6. What are the working procedures of the editor and
reviewers?
Everything is done by the e-mail. When I receive an article,
I read it, and if it is “readable” I send it to 2 referees and
they send me back the evaluations. If the evaluations are
very different, we discuss the article. If not – I write to
the author and ask for corrections or let him/her know,
that article is accepted as it is.
VI. The future of the journal
1.What policy goals does the journal have?
2. What strategic choices did it make to achieve its
targets?
Since this year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary
of our journal, we have decided to change it
entirely:
– The design of the journal has been changed.
– In order to have broader scope, we are renewing
the editorial board and inviting scientists form
different European countries, we are trying to
sell it more wide, to make it visible in other EU
countries etc.
– We are trying to correct evaluation procedures,
– We hope to publish 2 issues a year,
– We are trying to get accepted by different
databases.
3. What themes will the journal focus on in the
coming years?
• The coming issue of the journal will be a general
one. So, there will be a lot of themes.
• The next issue will deal with the problematic of VET
teacher training.
• Issue after that should deal with the problematic of
inequalities in VET
4. Is work in the journal cited in ISI journals?
Unfortunately no 
5. What is the opinion of the journal of getting
listed in ISI (SSCI)?
This is our vision, but in order to make this big step,
we first have to make a lot of small steps such as
get known in wider academic circles and other EU
countries.
 Thank you for your attention !

QUESTIONS

Contact information:
• E-mail: t.sabaliauskas@smf.vdu.lt
• Web page: www.vdu.lt/verr