Peer Review Process

Al-Athfaal: Journal of Early Childhood Islamic Education is a peer-reviewed
peer-reviewed journal. Every paper submitted to Al-Athfaal: Journal of Early Childhood Islamic Education
for publication is subject to peer review. Peer review in this journal is an evaluation of
paper submitted by two or more people who have the same competence as the author. It is
aims to determine the eligibility of academic papers for publication. The peer review method is
used to maintain quality standards and give the paper credibility. Peer Review of Scientific Papers:
Al-Athfaal Journal takes place in 9 steps with the following description

1. Paper Submission
The corresponding author or submitter submits the paper to the journal. This is done through an online system
online system supported by the Open Journal System (OJS).

2. Editorial Assessment
The submitted papers are first assessed by the editors of Al-Athfaal: Journal
Early Childhood Islamic Education. The editors check whether they are in line with the focus and scope of the Journal.
The focus and scope of the Journal. The composition and organisation of the paper is evaluated against
Journal Writing Guidelines to ensure that the paper includes the required sections and language style. In addition, an assessment is also made of
In addition, an assessment of the minimum quality of the paper required for publication begins at this stage.
this step, including assessing whether there are any major methodological weaknesses. Each paper that
submitted and passed this stage will be checked by Turnitin/iThenticate to measure similarities that lead to plagiarism.
that point to plagiarism, before being reviewed by the reviewers.

3. Assessment by the Editor-in-Chief
The Editor-in-Chief checks whether the manuscript is suitable for the journal, original enough, interesting enough, and significant enough to be published,

original, interesting, and significant enough to be published. Otherwise, the paper may be rejected without
further review.

4. Invitation to Reviewers
The managing editor sends invitations to individuals he/she believes would be appropriate reviewers
(also known as referees) based on expertise, closeness of research interests, and no conflicts of interest.
interest considerations. The peer review process in Al-Athfaal: Journal of Early Childhood Islamic Education
involves a narrowly defined community of experts in their respective fields who fulfil the
requirements and is capable of conducting an impartial review. Impartiality is also maintained
also maintained by the double-blind peer review used in this journal. In other words, the reviewers do not know the
identity of the authors; conversely, the authors do not know the identity of the reviewers. Papers
are sent to the reviewers anonymously.

5. Response to Invitations
Potential reviewers weigh the invitation against their own expertise, conflicts of interest, and
availability. They then decide to accept or decline. In the invitation letter, the editor may
ask the potential reviewer to suggest an alternative reviewer if he or she declines to review.
to review.

6. Review Performed
The reviewer allocates time to read the manuscript several times. The first reading is used to
form an initial impression of the work. If major problems are discovered at this stage, the reviewer may feel comfortable rejecting the work without further work.
reviewers may feel comfortable rejecting the work without further work. Otherwise, they will
read the manuscript several times, making notes to conduct a detailed point-by-point review. The review
is then submitted to the journal, with a recommendation to accept or reject it or with a
revision requests (usually marked as major or minor) before reconsideration.
7. Evaluation of Journal Reviews The editor-in-chief and managing editor consider all returned reviews before making an overall decision.
overall decision before making a decision. If reviews differ greatly between two reviewers, the responsible editor may
invite additional reviewers to get additional opinions before deciding. 8. Decision Communicated The editor emails the decision to the author, including relevant reviewer comments.
Reviewers' comments are sent anonymously to the corresponding author for necessary action and
necessary responses. At this point, the reviewer will also be sent an email or letter informing them of the decision.
notified of the outcome of their review. 9. Final Steps If accepted, the manuscript will be sent to editing. If the article is rejected or sent
back to the author for major or minor revisions. In this case, the handling editor will
include constructive comments from the reviewers to help the author improve the article.
The author should make corrections and revise the paper according to the comments and instructions of the reviewers.
and instructions from the reviewers. After revision, the author should resubmit the revised paper to the editor. If the paper is sent back for revision, the reviewers should receive the revised version unless they choose not to.
unless they choose not to participate further. However, if only minor changes
minor changes are requested, the handling editor may conduct this follow-up review. If the editor is satisfied with the revised manuscript, it is considered accepted. Accepted
Accepted papers will be published online and made freely available as downloadable pdf files.