Journal profile · EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Professional Development in Education
ISSN 1941-5257 · eISSN 1941-5265 · Taylor & Francis
Professional Development in Education: CAS Zone 2 · Education (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.87; JCR Q1 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 224 days to acceptance (100 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 10% (journal website); 101 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Professional Development in Education is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 2 of Education in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Teacher Education and Leadership Studies, Collaborative Teaching and Inclusion and Innovative Education and Learning Practices, together about 47.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Education. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Professional Development in Education is a fully refereed international journal that publishes original contributions on professional learning and development (PLD) in its widest sense. The field of PLD has developed and changed over recent years, and so too has Professional Development in Education. Growing from its roots in 1974 as a British journal talking about 'in-service education' in schools, it has become a highly-regarded international journal focusing on professional learning and development in and beyond school education across the globe. The journal aims to push thinking in the field in a more critical and diverse way, and we welcome both empirical and conceptual articles that can add something new to the literature on PLD across a wide range of professions. In particular, we are interested in receiving articles which: offer new ways of theorising PLD; ask challenging questions about current research and practice, and the assumptions underpinning them; offer critical and analytical perspectives on PLD policy and governance; interrogate the structure which allow the reproduction of inappropriate, unjust or ineffective PLD practices; offer new ways of understanding how PLD can improve both educators', and ultimately also their learners', lives for the better Our strapline is 'more than a journal', and the Editorial Board seeks to enact this through active engagement in PLD networks, supporting and organising symposia and events, encouraging dialogue with eminent scholars of PLD and contributing in an active way to the mentoring and development of new scholars in the field. We invite contributions to the journal which will enable us to fulfil and go beyond these aims. Peer Review Policy: All research articles appearing in this journal have undergone a rigorous anonymized peer review system carried out by experienced reviewers overseen by members of the editorial board.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 1, United Kingdom 1, Japan 1, Netherlands 1 (4 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Teacher Education and Leadership StudiesSocial Sciences28.2%
- Collaborative Teaching and InclusionSocial Sciences10.3%
- Innovative Education and Learning PracticesSocial Sciences9.1%
- Reflective Practices in EducationSocial Sciences5.7%
- Educational and Psychological AssessmentsPsychology5.5%
- Educational Assessment and ImprovementDecision Sciences4.5%
- Education Systems and PolicySocial Sciences3.8%
- Innovative Teaching and Learning MethodsPsychology3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Education Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Education Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Education Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 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
ERICPublisher website
Other: British Education Index, Contents Pages in Education, Education Journal, Educational Administration Abstracts, Educational Research Abstracts online (ERA), Research into Higher Education Abstracts
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
- 2.87LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 8.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.34LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 1.34Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.42LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 2.42Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 83OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 720OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.14OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 17.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 25.21%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 86LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 467,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,304 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 82 | 43 | 20 |
| 2025 | 101 | 41 | 236 |
| 2024 | 100 | 64 | 632 |
| 2023 | 73 | 42 | 960 |
| 2022 | 34 | 14 | 342 |
| 2021 | 95 | 41 | 1,680 |
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
224 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 169 days – 316 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 15 days (100 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 258 days
- Sample
- 100 articles with submission and acceptance dates (219 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)
- 10%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 156 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 15 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
- research articleResearch ArticleLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Professional Development 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? Increase the disco…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review policy: rigorous anonymized peer review overseen by editorial board members. Model summary
All research articles appearing in this journal have undergone a rigorous anonymized peer review system carried out by experienced reviewers overseen by members of the editorial board.
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
- 1941-5257
- Electronic ISSN
- 1941-5265
- Society / sponsor
- International Professional Development Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 52, Issue 2-3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Professional Development in Education
What CAS zone is Professional Development in Education in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Professional Development in Education is in Zone 2 of Education, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Education & Educational Research. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Education. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Professional Development in Education?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.87; CiteScore 8.2, h-index 83.
How long does peer review take at Professional Development in Education?
Based on the dates recorded on 100 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 224 days (interquartile range 169–316 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 10%. 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 Professional Development in Education in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1 (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 2 of Education.
Where are the editorial board members of Professional Development in Education based?
Of the 4 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (1), United Kingdom (1) and Japan (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Professional Development in Education?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Professional Development in Education is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists ERIC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Professional Development in Education open access, and what is the APC?
Professional Development 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .