About the Journal

The journal Breaking Barriers to Learning and Education is an international and interdisciplinary forum for scholarly inquiries into learning within the field of educational sciences. It is affiliated with the Hochschulkonferenz Sonderpädagogik des Lernens, a consortium of university lecturers and researchers specializing in the area of special education for learning. The journal publishes empirical, theoretical, and conceptual contributions spanning the full academic spectrum of disability studies, inclusive education, and special education.

Breaking Barriers to Learning and Education publishes theoretical, conceptual, and empirical contributions that advance the field of "learning difficulties." The journal draws on research in the areas of disability studies, inclusive education, special education for learning, and teacher education. The central focus of the articles is on impairments in (school-based) learning.

The journal features systematic reviews, meta-analyses, empirical research articles, theoretical papers, and position papers, all subject to a double-blind peer review process. Letters to the Editor and editorials for special issues are published following an editorial review.

We also encourage the submission of preregistered studies and registered reports (i.e., peer-reviewed based on theory, methodology, and planned data analysis before data collection begins), as well as manuscripts introducing novel methods. Tutorials on methods that are established but not yet widely applied or known within the research community are also welcome. Furthermore, contributions that introduce software packages and tools beneficial to researchers are of particular interest. We especially encourage early-career researchers and scholars in the process of academic qualification to submit their work.

Breaking Barriers to Learning and Education welcomes submissions from related disciplines and interdisciplinary work relevant to educational science. However, it is essential that authors clearly demonstrate the significance of their work for special and inclusive education as academic fields.

The journal also accepts unconventional contributions that bridge the gap between discussions of educational science in social media and traditional peer-reviewed publications. For example, excellent online tutorials on research methods and critical commentaries on published articles, often found in blogs or on social media platforms, may be submitted. Breaking Barriers to Learning and Education offers authors the opportunity to publish such contributions under a rigorous peer review process.

The journal publishes original scientific work that has undergone peer review, in either German or English.

The main criteria for the review and selection process are:

  • the significance of the contribution for the field of special education and its advancement, and

  • the scientific and methodological quality of the work.

The goal of the editorial team and advisory board is to publish a high-quality, peer-reviewed journal featuring the most significant and current research in the field of learning disabilities within special education.

Breaking Barriers to Learning and Education is committed to the principles of open science, particularly sustainable open access. All contributions are published in open access and are permanently archived.

License: CC-BY

Article processing charge (APC) 

  • Articles are peer-reviewed and comprise 45,000 characters with spaces. Approx. 5 figures or tables are recommended. We charge a fee (APC) of 150 EURO for a specialist article. If the article is longer than 45,000 characters, each additional 10,000 characters costs 25 EURO. Likewise, each additional table and figure costs 25 EURO.
  • Comments have an editor review and no peer review. Commentaries comprise 20,000 characters with spaces. They do not contain any figures or tables. We charge a fee of 50 EURO for a commentary. If the article is longer than 20,000 characters, each additional 10,000 characters costs 25 EURO. Likewise, each additional table and illustration costs 25 EURO.
  • Practice articles have an editor review and no peer review. Practice articles comprise 30,000 characters with spaces. They are recommended to contain 3 figures or tables. We charge a fee of 100 EURO for a practice article. If the article is longer than 30,000 characters, each additional 10,000 characters costs 25 EURO. Likewise, each additional table and illustration costs 25 EURO.