House Style

The following conventions in relation to presentation should be taken into account when submitting material for consideration in the journal.

Figures and diagrams

These must be clearly labelled and numbered: Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. and not with roman numerals. They should be incorporated into your article at the relevant part and also supplied on a separate sheet - in case of any problems .. Where charts are provided, data tables must also be provided to ensure accurate reproduction of the charts in the print and online version of the article.

Tables

These should be kept to a minimum. Tables must be referred to in the text and should supplement rather than duplicate data. They should be numbered consecutively, Table 1, Table 2, etc. and given adequate titles and headings. Tables must be incorporated into the relevant part of the article but also supplied on a separate sheet.

Appendices

Please note that we do not accept appendices.  If the information is critical to the article, it should be contained in the text within the word count limits.  The other alternative is for the information to be stored in a repository and linked to from your article.

Photographs and illustrations

These should be kept to a minimum. They must be supplied as good quality originals. Photographs and illustrations must be supplied on a separate sheet and referred to in the manuscript as place photo 1.1, etc.

Abbreviations and acronyms

Explain all abbreviations and acronyms at the first occurrence, bearing in mind the international readership. Try not to use abbreviations or acronyms at the start of a sentence.

References

In-text citations and page numbers: Use the author-date style Cite Them Right (CTR) Harvard. See the ‘In-text citations’ and ‘Page number and timestamps’ sections on the Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right) for guidance on how to structure your in-text citations. Please do not use ‘ibid’, instead please use the relevant in-text citation.

At the end of the article, references should be presented in a References section as follows:

You should include a full list of references in the Cite Them Right Harvard style, arranged alphabetically by author surname.

You can find templates and examples for the most common source types on Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right).

An example reference list is included below:

Adams, R. (2025) ' We ask the experts: does it still pay to go to university? ‘It’s complex’', The Guardian, 13 September. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/sep/13/experts-does-it-pay-go-to-university (Accessed: 3 July 2026).

Bryson, J. (2023) ‘University dropout rates reach new high, figures suggest’, BBC News, 28 September. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-66940041 (Accessed: 2 July 2026).

Byrne, N. and Butcher, C. (2020) 'Education in the UK', in An Introduction to Teaching in UK Higher Education. Routledge, pp.21-42.

Clouder, L. et al. (2020) 'Neurodiversity in higher education: a narrative synthesis', Higher Education, 80(4), pp.757-78.

Rees, G. (2026) 'Politicians serious about growth need to support universities', The Times (London), 20 May, p.33.

Tilley, E. and Priestner, A. (2012) Personalising Library Services in Higher Education: The Boutique Approach. Taylor & Francis Group

Universities UK (2023) The UK higher education system in an international context. Available at: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/features/opportunity-growth-and-partnership/uk-higher-education-system-international (Accessed: 3 July 2026).