Submissions

Author Guidelines

Aulad: Journal on Early Childhood welcomes original research and review articles on early childhood education and development that fit the journal's Focus and Scope. These guidelines follow the 2026 national journal accreditation guidelines. Please read them carefully and prepare your manuscript using the Aulad Article Template 2026. Manuscripts that do not follow these guidelines and the template will be returned to the authors before review.

1. General Requirements

• The manuscript is original, has not been published before, and is not under consideration by another journal.
• Manuscripts are written in English (preferred) or Indonesian. Every manuscript must include a title, abstract, and keywords in English. Manuscripts in Indonesian also include an Indonesian abstract and keywords.
• Submissions are made online through the journal system. Authors must register and log in to submit. Submissions by email are not accepted.
• The manuscript file is in Microsoft Word format (.docx), prepared in the Aulad template using Times New Roman 11 pt.
• Every author must have an ORCID iD, which is entered in the submission metadata and shown in the published article.
• There is no submission fee. An Article Processing Charge applies only after acceptance (see Author Fees).

2. Manuscript Types

*Excluding the abstract and references. See also Manuscript Types.

3. First Page of the Article

Title. Concise and informative, maximum 15 words, reflecting the main finding or focus and the participants (e.g., children aged 5–6 years). Avoid abbreviations.

Authors. Full names without academic titles, affiliations (study program, institution, city, country), the corresponding author's email, and the ORCID iD of every author. Remove this information from the file sent for review (see Section 8).

Abstract. One paragraph of 150–250 words in English, written in the past tense, presenting the purpose, method (design, participants, instruments, analysis), main findings with key figures, and implications. Do not include references or undefined abbreviations. Articles in Indonesian also include an Indonesian abstract with the same content.

Keywords. 3–5 keywords that reflect the key concepts, separated by semicolons. Use the same keywords in both languages.

Article information. The editorial team completes the article history (received, revised, accepted, and published dates), the suggested citation, the DOI, and the license statement during production.

4. Main Text

1. Introduction. Explain the background and importance of the problem, summarise relevant studies from the last 10 years, state the research gap and the novelty of the study clearly, and end with the research objectives, questions, or hypotheses. Do not use subheadings.

2. Methodology. Describe the method in enough detail for others to replicate the study, using these subheadings where they apply:

• Research design: the type of study and design. The description must match the procedure actually carried out.
• Participants and setting: location (district/city and province), time, number and age of participants in each group, sampling technique, and inclusion/exclusion criteria.
• Instruments: the instruments used, the indicators measured, the scoring scale and score range, and evidence of validity and reliability.
• Procedure: the steps of data collection and, for experimental studies, the treatment given to each group, its duration, and the number of sessions.
• Data analysis: analysis techniques and software. Experimental and quasi-experimental studies must include a between-group comparison (e.g., independent t-test or Mann–Whitney U on posttest or gain scores) and report effect sizes; within-group pretest–posttest tests alone are not sufficient to claim an effect. Qualitative studies describe the coding process and how trustworthiness was ensured.
• Ethical considerations: see Section 7.

For review articles, replace these subheadings with the search strategy and databases, inclusion and exclusion criteria, screening process (with a PRISMA flow diagram), quality appraisal, and synthesis method.

3. Results. Present the findings in logical order according to the research objectives. Do not present the same data in text, tables, and figures.

4. Discussion. Interpret the findings, compare them with previous studies and relevant theories, explain the implications for early childhood education practice and policy, and state the limitations of the study.

5. Conclusion. Answer each research objective briefly in paragraph form (no bullet points), without repeating statistics from the results, and give recommendations for practice or further research. The figures in the conclusion must be consistent with the results.

6. Acknowledgements (optional). Thank people or institutions who supported the study but do not meet the authorship criteria, and funding bodies.

7. Declarations (required). Include all of the following statements under their own subheadings:

• Author Contributions, using the CRediT taxonomy (e.g., Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing – original draft).
• Declaration of Generative AI Use, naming the tool and its purpose, or stating that no generative AI tool was used. See the Generative AI Policy.
• Conflict of Interest. If none: "The authors declare no conflict of interest." See the Conflict of Interest policy.
• Funding: the funder and grant number, or "This research received no specific funding."
• Ethical Approval and Informed Consent (see Section 7).
• Data Availability: where or how the data supporting the findings can be obtained.

8. References. See Section 6.

5. Tables and Figures

• Tables are numbered (Table 1, Table 2) with the title above the table, use horizontal lines only, and are editable (not images).
• Figures are numbered (Figure 1, Figure 2) with the caption below the figure, have a resolution of at least 300 dpi, and are clearly readable in black and white.
• Each table and figure is cited in the text before it appears. Do not repeat the same table under different titles.
• Photographs of children must not show identifiable faces unless written consent for publication has been obtained from parents or guardians.
• Use SI units. Use a decimal point (e.g., 3.75) in English articles and a decimal comma (e.g., 3,75) in Indonesian articles.

6. Citations and References

• Citations and references follow the APA 7th edition style. Use reference management software such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote, and check its output, because automatic imports often produce wrong author names or journal titles.
• Include at least [25] references, of which at least [80%] are primary sources (journal articles) and most were published in the last 10 years.
• Include the DOI for every reference that has one, written as a full link (https://doi.org/...), and check that each DOI leads to the cited work. Books and regulations do not have DOIs.
• Every in-text citation must appear in the reference list, and every reference must be cited in the text. Author names and years must match exactly.
• Cite regulations by their correct type and number (e.g., Peraturan Menteri, not Undang-Undang, where applicable).

Examples:

• Journal article: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2024). Title of the article. Journal Name, 8(2), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
• Book: Author, A. A. (2022). Title of the book (2nd ed.). Publisher.
• Book chapter: Author, A. A. (2023). Title of the chapter. In B. B. Editor (Ed.), Title of the book (pp. 45–60). Publisher.
• Regulation: Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi. (2022). Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi Nomor 5 Tahun 2022 tentang Standar Kompetensi Lulusan pada Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, Jenjang Pendidikan Dasar, dan Jenjang Pendidikan Menengah.

7. Research Ethics

Research involving children, parents, or teachers must have ethical approval from an ethics committee or, at minimum, written permission from the institution or local education office where the study took place. Written informed consent must be obtained from the parents or guardians of all participating children, and children's assent should be sought in an age-appropriate way. State this, with the name of the approving body and the approval or permission number, in the Ethical Approval and Informed Consent declaration. Statements must reflect the facts of the study. See also Publication Ethics and Allegations of Research Misconduct.

8. Preparing for Double-Blind Review

Aulad uses double-blind peer review. Before uploading the manuscript file:

• Remove author names, affiliations, emails, ORCID iDs, acknowledgements, and author contributions from the file. Enter author details in the submission metadata.
• Replace self-citations in the text with "Author (Year)" where they would reveal the authors' identity.
• Remove author names from the document properties (in Word: File › Info › Inspect Document).

The removed information is restored in the final version after acceptance.

9. After Submission

1. The editor screens the manuscript for scope, template compliance, and similarity (see Plagiarism Policy).
2. Manuscripts that pass screening are reviewed by at least two reviewers.
3. Authors revise the manuscript and include a response table addressing each reviewer comment.
4. After acceptance, authors upload the final version with complete author information and declarations, and the APC is paid. The manuscript then proceeds to copyediting, layout, and proofreading, and authors check the galley proof before publication.
5. The article is published online with a DOI in the current issue (see Publication Schedule).

10. Copyright and License

Authors retain copyright, and articles are published under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. See the Copyright Notice and Publication Ethics.