Journal profile · EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Early Years
ISSN 0957-5146 · eISSN 1472-4421 · Taylor & Francis
Early Years: CAS Zone 4 · Education (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.2; hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 303 days to acceptance (97 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 38% (journal website); 86 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Early Years is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Education in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Early Childhood Education and Development, Child Development and Digital Technology and Children's Rights and Participation, together about 42.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Education. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Early Years: An International Research Journal publishes research papers and scholarly critiques on all issues associated with early childhood (pre-primary) education and care. The journal’s overall approach is international and multi-disciplinary, aiming to broaden the cross-national debate by representing a wide range of perspectives from different countries, different disciplines and different research methodologies and paradigms. As the official journal of TACTYC (Together And Committed To Young Children), a particular focus of Early Years is the initial and continuing professional development of early years practitioners for increasingly complex and demanding work within multi-professional teams and with families from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds. The editors welcome original and clearly written contributions, in English, which: inform the initial education, training and continuing professional development of the full spectrum of early years practitioners, including centre leaders and managers, group leaders (teachers, pedagogues, educators), support staff, and higher education academics critique understandings of pedagogy, professionalism and professional work across cultural and national contexts foreground children’s rights and inclusive practices towards family diversity in different settings and contexts report on research projects review the implications of work across a specific area of research critically review policy frameworks and goals related to early childhood education and care Since 1978 TACTYC has sought, through its journal and related activities, to provide a voice for all educators who work with young children. As a professional association with its own membership, TACTYC lobbies for the raising of standards in early years provision and promotes discussion of all issues associated with the training and development of early years practitioners. Membership of TACTYC includes a subscription to Early Years. For further information on how to join TACTYC, please visit http://tactyc.org.uk/who-can-join/#who Peer Review Policy: All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Editor-in-chief Rod Parker-ReesPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 2, Chile 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Early Childhood Education and DevelopmentSocial Sciences27.5%
- Child Development and Digital TechnologySocial Sciences7.6%
- Children's Rights and ParticipationSocial Sciences7.5%
- Teacher Education and Leadership StudiesSocial Sciences6.9%
- Parental Involvement in EducationSocial Sciences6.1%
- Innovative Education and Learning PracticesSocial Sciences4.6%
- Education Systems and PolicySocial Sciences4.6%
- Educational and Psychological AssessmentsPsychology4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Education Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Education Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Education Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ESCIPsycINFOERICPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, Australian Education Index (AEI), Australian Research Council (ARC) Ranked Journal List, British Education Index, EBSCO CD Rom Database, EBSCOhost EJS, Educational Research Abstracts online (ERA), National Children's Bureau
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.2LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.56LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.56Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.18LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.18Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 60OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 443OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.08OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 15.79%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 84LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 236,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,489 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 58 | 20 | 8 |
| 2025 | 86 | 22 | 65 |
| 2024 | 59 | 23 | 146 |
| 2023 | 51 | 20 | 219 |
| 2022 | 58 | 20 | 402 |
| 2021 | 41 | 19 | 340 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
303 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 209 days – 478 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 14 days (97 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 317 days
- Sample
- 97 articles with submission and acceptance dates (153 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 38%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 89 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 145 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted1
- reviewReviewLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access journal, part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program. Model summary
Early Years is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readership …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review policy: rigorous peer review based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees. Model summary
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0957-5146
- Electronic ISSN
- 1472-4421
- Society / sponsor
- Association for Professional Development in Early Years
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 46, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Early Years
What CAS zone is Early Years in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Early Years is in Zone 4 of Education, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Education & Educational Research. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Education. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Early Years?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.2; CiteScore 2.9, h-index 60.
How long does peer review take at Early Years?
Based on the dates recorded on 97 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 303 days (interquartile range 209–478 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 38%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Early Years based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (2) and Chile (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Early Years?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Early Years is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists ESCI, PsycINFO and ERIC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Early Years open access, and what is the APC?
Early Years is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .