Journal profile · EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Vocations and Learning
ISSN 1874-785X · eISSN 1874-7868 · Springer Nature · 3 issues per year
Vocations and Learning: CAS Zone 4 · Education (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.14; fully open access; APC about USD 3,090; median 217 days to acceptance (42 articles, last 24 months); 24 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Vocations and Learning is published by Springer Nature 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 Innovative Education and Learning Practices, Higher Education and Employability and Higher Education Learning Practices, together about 47.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Education. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Vocations and Learning: Studies in Vocational and Professional Education is an international peer-reviewed journal that provides a forum for strongly conceptual and carefully prepared manuscripts that inform the broad field of vocational learning. The scope of the journal and its focus on vocational learning is inclusive of vocational and professional learning albeit through the very diverse range of settings (e.g. vocational colleges, schools, universities, workplaces, domestic environments, voluntary bodies etc) in which it occurs. It stands to be the only truly international journal that focuses on vocational learning, as encompassing the activities that comprise vocational education and professional education in their diverse forms internationally. Vocations and Learning aims to: enhance the contribution of research and scholarship to vocational and professional education policy; support the development of conceptualisation(s) of vocational and professional learning and education; improve the quality of practice within vocational and professional learning and education; and enhance and support the standing of these fields as a sectors with its own significant purposes, pedagogies and curriculums. Vocations and Learning: Studies in Vocational and Professional Education encourages the submission of high-quality contributions from a broad range of disciplines, as well as those that cross disciplinary boundaries, in addressing issues associated with vocational and professional education. It is intended that contributions will represent those from major disciplines (i.e. psychology, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, history, cultural studies, labour studies, industrial relations and economics) as cross overs within and hybrids with and amongst these disciplinary traditions. These contributions can comprise papers that provide either empirically-based accounts, discussions of theoretical perspectives or reviews of literature about vocational learning. In addition, books, reports and policies associated with vocational learning will also be reviewed. Topics addressed through contributions within the proposed journal might include, but will not be restricted to: curriculum and pedagogy practices for vocational learning the role and nature of knowledge in vocational learning the nature of vocations, professional practice and learning the relationship between context and learning in vocational settings the nature and role of vocational education the nature of
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Editor-in-chief Stephen BillettPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 3%); most named Germany 5, Finland 4, United Kingdom 3, France 3, Australia 3 (32 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Innovative Education and Learning PracticesSocial Sciences23.3%
- Higher Education and EmployabilitySocial Sciences15.7%
- Higher Education Learning PracticesSocial Sciences8.1%
- Job Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorBusiness, Management and Accounting5%
- Education Systems and PolicySocial Sciences4.1%
- Management and Organizational StudiesBusiness, Management and Accounting3.9%
- Youth Education and Societal DynamicsSocial Sciences3.6%
- Teacher Education and Leadership StudiesSocial Sciences3.4%
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 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Education Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEERICCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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
- 2.14LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.66LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.17LetPub ·
- h-index
- 52OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 251OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.53OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 18.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 24LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 295,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 392 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 18 | 18 | 8 |
| 2025 | 24 | 24 | 94 |
| 2024 | 13 | 13 | 92 |
| 2023 | 31 | 31 | 236 |
| 2022 | 25 | 23 | 330 |
| 2021 | 22 | 20 | 451 |
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
217 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 170 days – 324 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 32 days (42 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 249 days
- Sample
- 42 articles with submission and acceptance dates (41 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
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 42 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | EUR 2,490 / USD 3,090 / GBP 2,190 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,990 / EUR 2,390 / GBP 2,090 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Images
LLM use does not satisfy authorship criteria; use must be documented Model summary
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
Competing interests disclosure required Model summary
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Data transparency policy Model summary
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Articles in Springer Nature open access journals do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Vocations and Learning, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double anonymous peer review (SNAPP) Model summary
SNAPP Double Anonymous Peer Review Guidelines
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
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 3 issues per year
- ISSN
- 1874-785X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1874-7868
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Vocations and Learning
What CAS zone is Vocations and Learning in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Vocations and Learning 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 2 of Education. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Vocations and Learning?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.14; CiteScore 4.3, h-index 52.
How long does peer review take at Vocations and Learning?
Based on the dates recorded on 42 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 217 days (interquartile range 170–324 days). 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 are the manuscript requirements of Vocations and Learning?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Vocations and Learning based?
Of the 32 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (5), Finland (4) and United Kingdom (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Vocations and Learning?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Vocations and Learning is indexed in SSCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists SCIE, ERIC and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Vocations and Learning open access, and what is the APC?
Vocations and Learning is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,090.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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: .