Journal profile · EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education
ISSN 0951-8398 · eISSN 1366-5898 · Taylor & Francis
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education: CAS Zone 4 · Education (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.7 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 321 days to acceptance (95 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 24% (journal website); 143 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 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 Critical Race Theory in Education, Teacher Education and Leadership Studies and Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics, together about 33.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science and Education. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The aim of the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (popularly known as QSE) is to enhance the practice and theory of qualitative research in education, with “education” defined in the broadest possible sense, including non-school settings. The journal publishes peer-reviewed empirical research focused on critical issues of racism (including whiteness, white racism, and white supremacy), capitalism and its class structure (including critiques of neoliberalism), gender and gender identity, heterosexism and homophobia, LGBTQI/queer issues, home culture and language biases, immigration xenophobia, domination, and other issues of oppression and exclusion. Research may employ a variety of qualitative methods and approaches, such as ethnography, grounded theory, life history, case study, curriculum criticism, policy studies, narrative, ethnomethodology, social/educational critique, phenomenology, deconstruction, genealogy and autoethnography, amongst others. In addition, innovative or provocative approaches to qualitative research as well as the way research is reported are encouraged. We also welcome theoretical papers, including discussions of ontology, epistemology, methodology, or ethics from a broad range of perspectives. Peer Review Policy: All research articles in this journal undergo rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening or an internal review committee and external refereeing by at least two anonymous referees. Readership: Qualitative researchers in education, sociologists and anthropologists of education.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Editor-in-chief Cleveland Hayes IIPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 51, United Kingdom 2, Brazil 2, Canada 1, Denmark 1 (59 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Critical Race Theory in EducationSocial Sciences17.3%
- Teacher Education and Leadership StudiesSocial Sciences8.9%
- Qualitative Research Methods and EthicsSocial Sciences7.2%
- Educator Training and Historical PedagogySocial Sciences7.1%
- Higher Education Research StudiesSocial Sciences5.1%
- Participatory Visual Research MethodsSocial Sciences4.8%
- Global Education and MulticulturalismSocial Sciences4.8%
- Global Educational Policies and ReformsSocial Sciences4.3%
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)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- 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
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PubMedPsycINFOERICPublisher website
Other: Academic Search, ArticleFirst, British Education Index, Current Abstracts, Dietrich’s Index Philosophicus, Education Research Index, Education Source, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Educational Research Abstracts online (ERA), European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH), Poetry & Short Story Reference Center, Professional Development Collection, Research into Higher Education Abstracts, Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies, SocINDEX, Studies on Women and Gender Abstracts, Teacher Reference Center, Women’s Studies International
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 (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.74LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.74Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.29LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.29Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 114OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,201OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.63OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 6.68%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 142LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 388,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,666 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 88 | 33 | 13 |
| 2025 | 143 | 25 | 147 |
| 2024 | 143 | 41 | 448 |
| 2023 | 116 | 26 | 680 |
| 2022 | 129 | 26 | 994 |
| 2021 | 140 | 9 | 1,297 |
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
321 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 232 days – 463 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 46 days (95 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 350 days
- Sample
- 95 articles with submission and acceptance dates (252 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)
- 24%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 51 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 178 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 40 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
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 accepted2
- editorialEditorial | Published online: 18 Aug 2026Length not stated
- research articleResearch Article | Published online: 16 Sep 2026Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 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…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review policy Model summary
All research articles in this journal undergo rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening or an internal review committee and external 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
- 0951-8398
- Electronic ISSN
- 1366-5898
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 39, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education
What CAS zone is International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 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 International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.7 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.6, h-index 114.
How long does peer review take at International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education?
Based on the dates recorded on 95 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 321 days (interquartile range 232–463 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 24%. 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.
What JCR quartile is International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Education.
Where are the editorial board members of International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education based?
Of the 59 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (51), United Kingdom (2) and Brazil (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PubMed, PsycINFO and ERIC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education open access, and what is the APC?
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 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: .