Author Guidelines

1. Article Types

Edu Consilium: Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Pendidikan Islam accepts two types of manuscripts: Original Research Articles and Review Articles.

All manuscripts must demonstrate clear academic significance, methodological rigor, originality, and a meaningful contribution to the field of Islamic Educational Guidance and Counseling.

1.1 Original Research Articles

Original Research Articles report original empirical research that contributes to the advancement of knowledge, theory, methodology, or practice in Islamic Educational Guidance and Counseling.

The journal accepts original research using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches, provided that the research design is clearly identified, appropriately justified, and implemented rigorously.

Original Research Articles should clearly present:

  1. The research background and problem;

  2. The research gap;

  3. The significance and rationale of the study;

  4. The research objectives, research questions, and/or hypotheses, where applicable;

  5. The relevant theoretical or conceptual framework;

  6. The research design and methodological approach;

  7. The research setting and participants;

  8. The population and sampling procedures, where applicable;

  9. The criteria and rationale for determining the sample or participants;

  10. The research instruments or data collection procedures;

  11. Whether the instrument was developed, adopted, or adapted;

  12. Evidence of instrument validity and reliability, where applicable;

  13. The data collection procedures;

  14. The data analysis procedures;

  15. Ethical considerations;

  16. The research findings;

  17. The interpretation and discussion of findings;

  18. The theoretical and/or practical implications;

  19. The limitations of the study; and

  20. Recommendations for future research.

The manuscript should demonstrate a clear research gap and substantive novelty or contribution. Novelty may involve a theoretical contribution, methodological contribution, empirical contribution, contextual contribution, or meaningful advancement of practice.

Studies that merely replicate well-established relationships, interventions, or findings without demonstrating a sufficiently justified contribution to the field may not be considered suitable for publication.

1.2 Review Articles

Review Articles must provide a systematic, rigorous, transparent, and critical synthesis of existing scholarly evidence relevant to Islamic Educational Guidance and Counseling.

The journal does not accept literature reviews that merely summarize previous studies without a clearly defined and appropriate review methodology.

The journal welcomes Review Articles using established evidence-synthesis approaches, including but not limited to:

  • Systematic Literature Review (SLR);

  • Systematic Review;

  • Meta-analysis;

  • Scoping Review;

  • Integrative Review;

  • Umbrella Review;

  • Systematic Mapping Review;

  • Meta-synthesis;

  • Qualitative Evidence Synthesis;

  • Meta-ethnography; and

  • Bibliometric Review or Bibliometric Analysis.

Other established review methodologies may be considered when the methodology is clearly defined, theoretically justified, and appropriate to the research questions.

Review Articles should clearly report:

  1. The review objectives and research questions;

  2. The review methodology;

  3. The review framework or protocol, where applicable;

  4. The databases and information sources searched;

  5. The search strategy and search terms;

  6. The publication period;

  7. The inclusion and exclusion criteria;

  8. The study identification and selection procedures;

  9. The duplicate removal procedure, where applicable;

  10. The quality appraisal or risk-of-bias assessment, where appropriate;

  11. The data extraction procedures;

  12. The data synthesis and analysis methods; and

  13. The limitations of the review.

Authors should follow relevant reporting standards appropriate to the selected review methodology, such as PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses and PRISMA-ScR for scoping reviews.

Review Articles must go beyond descriptive summaries of previous studies. They should provide a critical synthesis that identifies patterns, theoretical developments, methodological strengths and limitations, inconsistencies, research gaps, and directions for future research.

2. General Submission Requirements

Authors must ensure that the submitted manuscript meets the following requirements:

  1. The manuscript must be original and must not have been published previously in any journal, book, conference proceeding, or other publication.

  2. The manuscript must not be simultaneously submitted to another journal.

  3. The manuscript must make a clear contribution to the field of Islamic Educational Guidance and Counseling.

  4. The manuscript must demonstrate adequate research significance, originality, and methodological rigor.

  5. Manuscripts may be written in English or Indonesian.

  6. The manuscript should generally consist of 15–20 pages, including references, tables, and figures.

  7. The manuscript should be prepared using A4 paper size and the formatting specified in the journal template.

  8. Authors must use the official Edu Consilium manuscript template.

  9. Manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the journal's Open Journal Systems (OJS).

  10. Authors must complete all required metadata fields in OJS accurately and completely.

  11. All authors listed in the manuscript must also be entered into the OJS submission system.

  12. Author names must be entered using their full names and must be consistent between the manuscript and OJS metadata.

  13. Authors are encouraged to provide their ORCID iD.

  14. The corresponding author must provide a valid email address and is responsible for communication with the Editorial Office.

  15. The corresponding author must ensure that all authors have read and approved the submitted manuscript.

  16. Authors must be willing to participate in the editorial and peer-review processes and respond to reviewer comments when revisions are requested.

  17. Authors are responsible for ensuring that the manuscript complies with the journal's publication ethics and authorship requirements.

The journal may decline manuscripts that do not meet the journal's scope, quality, originality, methodological, ethical, or formatting requirements.

3. Manuscript Preparation

3.1 Title

The title should be:

  • concise, specific, informative, and relevant;

  • clearly related to the main research problem or argument;

  • representative of the manuscript's principal contribution;

  • free from unnecessary words;

  • free from uncommon abbreviations and acronyms; and

  • generally no more than 15 words.

The title should identify the central issue, phenomenon, population, variables, or context where appropriate.

Authors should avoid titles that are excessively broad, vague, promotional, or merely describe the research location.

3.2 Authors and Affiliations

The manuscript must include:

  • Full name of each author;

  • Institutional affiliation;

  • Department or study program, where applicable;

  • Institutional address;

  • City and Country;

  • Email address; and

  • ORCID iD, where available.

Academic degrees, professional titles, and honorifics should not be included in author names.

The corresponding author must be clearly identified.

Authors should ensure that the order and composition of authorship are agreed upon by all contributors before submission.

Authorship should be based on substantial intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript. Individuals who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be justified and approved by all authors.

4. Abstract

The manuscript must include an abstract in both Indonesian and English.

The abstract should:

  • be written in one paragraph;

  • generally contain 150–200 words;

  • clearly state the research background or problem;

  • state the research objective;

  • briefly describe the research design and methods;

  • report the principal findings;

  • state the main conclusion and/or implication; and

  • avoid citations, tables, figures, and unnecessary abbreviations.

For empirical studies, the abstract should provide sufficient methodological information to enable readers to understand how the findings were obtained.

Keywords

Authors should provide 3–5 keywords or key phrases that accurately represent the central concepts of the manuscript.

Keywords should be specific, relevant, and commonly recognized within the field.

5. Introduction

The Introduction should establish the academic rationale and significance of the study.

The Introduction should include the following elements:

5.1 Research Background

The manuscript should explain the broader issue or phenomenon being investigated and establish its relevance to Islamic Educational Guidance and Counseling.

5.2 State of the Art

Authors should critically discuss relevant previous research rather than merely provide a chronological or descriptive summary.

The literature review should demonstrate:

  • what is already known;

  • what remains uncertain or insufficiently understood;

  • limitations in previous studies; and

  • how the present study responds to these limitations.

5.3 Research Gap

The research gap must be explicitly identified.

The gap may relate to:

  • theoretical limitations;

  • empirical inconsistencies;

  • methodological limitations;

  • contextual limitations;

  • population or setting limitations;

  • insufficient integration of Islamic perspectives;

  • cultural or indigenous dimensions; or

  • emerging issues that have not been adequately investigated.

5.4 Research Significance and Novelty

Authors must clearly explain why the study is important and what it contributes beyond existing research.

The manuscript should demonstrate a meaningful contribution rather than claiming novelty solely because the research was conducted in a different geographical location, institution, or population.

5.5 Research Objectives, Questions, or Hypotheses

The Introduction should conclude with clearly stated research objectives, research questions, and/or hypotheses, as appropriate.

6. Theoretical or Conceptual Framework

Where appropriate, manuscripts should present a clear theoretical or conceptual framework.

The framework should:

  • define the central concepts or constructs;

  • identify relevant theories;

  • establish relationships among major concepts or variables;

  • be supported by appropriate scholarly literature; and

  • explain how the framework informs the research design and interpretation of findings.

Theoretical discussion should be directly relevant to the research problem and should not consist merely of definitions or summaries of theories.

7. Method

The Method section must provide sufficient information for readers and reviewers to assess the rigor, appropriateness, and credibility of the research.

Authors must clearly identify the type and design of research.

7.1 Research Design

Authors should clearly state whether the study uses:

  • quantitative research;

  • qualitative research;

  • mixed-methods research;

  • experimental research;

  • quasi-experimental research;

  • survey research;

  • correlational research;

  • case study;

  • phenomenology;

  • ethnography;

  • action research; or

  • another scientifically justified research design.

The selected design should be appropriate to the research objectives and research questions.

7.2 Research Setting and Participants

Authors should clearly describe:

  • the research setting;

  • population or research context;

  • participants or research subjects;

  • participant characteristics relevant to the study; and

  • the period during which the study was conducted.

7.3 Sampling

For studies involving samples or participants, authors must clearly explain:

  • population size, where applicable;

  • sample size;

  • sampling technique;

  • inclusion and exclusion criteria, where applicable; and

  • the basis or rationale for determining the sample size.

For qualitative studies, authors should explain the rationale for participant selection and, where appropriate, how data saturation or information sufficiency was determined.

7.4 Research Instruments

For studies using research instruments, authors must provide sufficient information about the instruments used.

The manuscript should state:

  • the name of the instrument;

  • the construct or variable measured;

  • the theoretical basis of the instrument;

  • whether the instrument was developed by the authors, adopted, or adapted from an existing instrument;

  • the development or adaptation procedure;

  • the number and type of items;

  • the response or scoring scale;

  • evidence of validity;

  • evidence of reliability; and

  • the scoring and interpretation procedures, where applicable.

For adapted instruments, authors should identify the original instrument and clearly describe the adaptation process.

Where appropriate, authors should provide the instrument blueprint as supplementary material.

7.5 Data Collection

Authors should describe:

  • the data collection period;

  • data collection setting;

  • data collection techniques;

  • research procedures;

  • instruments or protocols used;

  • the sequence of data collection; and

  • procedures used to ensure data quality.

For qualitative research, authors should describe interview, observation, documentation, or other data collection procedures sufficiently to establish methodological transparency.

7.6 Data Analysis

Authors must clearly describe the analytical techniques used.

For quantitative research, authors should report the statistical techniques used and provide a rationale for their appropriateness.

For qualitative research, authors should describe the analytical approach, including coding, categorization, thematic analysis, content analysis, phenomenological analysis, or other procedures used.

For mixed-methods research, authors should explain how quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed and integrated.

8. Research Ethics

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional requirements.

Where applicable, manuscripts should provide information regarding:

  • ethical approval;

  • the name of the ethics committee or approving institution;

  • ethical approval number, where available;

  • informed consent;

  • confidentiality and anonymity;

  • protection of participants' personal information; and

  • procedures for minimizing potential risks or harm.

Research involving children, adolescents, vulnerable groups, or sensitive personal information must receive particular attention to informed consent, confidentiality, privacy, and participant protection.

Where ethical approval was not required, authors should provide an appropriate explanation.

9. Results

The Results section should present the findings clearly, systematically, and objectively.

Authors should:

  • present findings relevant to the research questions or hypotheses;

  • provide sufficient evidence to support the findings;

  • report statistical results accurately, where applicable;

  • distinguish empirical findings from interpretation;

  • avoid unnecessary repetition;

  • present tables and figures appropriately; and

  • ensure consistency between the text, tables, figures, and reported data.

Tables and figures should be used only when they improve the clarity of the presentation.

10. Discussion

The Discussion should interpret the findings and explain their significance in relation to the existing literature.

Authors should address:

  1. How do the findings answer the research questions or objectives?

  2. What do the findings mean?

  3. Why might the findings have occurred?

  4. How are the findings related to previous studies?

  5. Do the findings confirm, extend, or contradict previous research?

  6. What theoretical contribution does the study provide?

  7. What practical contribution does the study provide?

  8. What are the implications for Islamic Educational Guidance and Counseling?

  9. What cultural, spiritual, educational, or contextual factors may explain the findings?

The Discussion should not simply repeat the Results section.

11. Conclusions

The Conclusion should directly address the research objectives or research questions.

The conclusion should:

  • synthesize the principal findings;

  • emphasize the main contribution of the study;

  • avoid merely repeating the Results, Discussion, or Abstract;

  • present relevant theoretical and practical implications; and

  • provide appropriate recommendations for future research where necessary.

Recommendations should be based on the findings and limitations of the study rather than presented as generic suggestions.

12. Limitations

Authors should explicitly acknowledge important limitations of the study.

Limitations may include:

  • sample size or sampling strategy;

  • research setting;

  • research design;

  • measurement instruments;

  • self-reported data;

  • duration of the study;

  • methodological constraints;

  • potential sources of bias;

  • generalizability or transferability; or

  • other factors that may influence the interpretation of findings.

Authors should explain how these limitations affect the interpretation of the findings.

13. Tables

Tables should:

  1. be numbered consecutively;

  2. have clear and informative titles;

  3. be referred to in the main text;

  4. contain clearly defined variables, categories, or measures;

  5. avoid unnecessary duplication of information presented in the text;

  6. include notes or source information where necessary; and

  7. be presented in an editable format.

Tables should not be submitted solely as images.

14. Figures

Figures may include charts, diagrams, conceptual models, photographs, or other visual materials relevant to the manuscript.

Figures should:

  • be numbered consecutively;

  • have clear captions;

  • be referred to in the main text;

  • have sufficient resolution for publication; and

  • comply with applicable copyright and permission requirements.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material where necessary.

15. Supplementary Materials

Authors may submit supplementary materials that support the manuscript, including:

  • Research instruments;

  • Instrument blueprints;

  • Interview protocols;

  • Additional tables;

  • Additional figures;

  • Research protocols;

  • Datasets, where ethically and legally permissible; and

  • Other relevant research materials.

Supplementary materials should be clearly identified and referenced in the manuscript where appropriate.

16. References

The reference list must contain only sources cited in the manuscript.

Authors must ensure that:

  1. Every source cited in the text appears in the reference list;

  2. Every reference listed is cited in the manuscript;

  3. References are accurate and complete;

  4. Author names and publication years are consistent;

  5. DOI information is provided whenever available;

  6. References are relevant to the research problem;

  7. Recent scholarly literature is appropriately represented; and

  8. The reference list follows APA 7th Edition consistently.

Authors are encouraged to prioritize peer-reviewed journal articles and other authoritative scholarly sources, particularly recent publications relevant to the topic.

As a general recommendation, authors should ensure that a substantial proportion of the references come from scholarly publications published within the last five years, while seminal and foundational works may be cited when they remain theoretically or methodologically relevant.

Authors should avoid excessive reliance on textbooks, non-scholarly websites, blogs, and other sources that do not provide appropriate scholarly evidence.

The use of reference management software such as Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote is strongly recommended.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that references are authentic, verifiable, and accurately cited.

17. Citation and Reference Consistency

Authors must carefully check the consistency between in-text citations and the reference list before submission.

Particular attention should be given to:

  • author names;

  • publication year;

  • spelling;

  • citation format;

  • DOI;

  • journal title;

  • volume and issue;

  • page numbers; and

  • correspondence between in-text citations and references.

The journal may return manuscripts for correction when substantial inconsistencies are identified.

18. Originality and Plagiarism

All manuscripts submitted to Edu Consilium are subject to plagiarism screening.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the submitted manuscript is original and does not contain plagiarism, duplicate publication, inappropriate text recycling, fabricated information, manipulated data, or other forms of publication misconduct.

Plagiarism includes presenting another person's words, ideas, data, theories, findings, or other scholarly materials as one's own without appropriate acknowledgment.

Authors must:

  • properly cite all sources;

  • clearly identify direct quotations;

  • appropriately paraphrase cited material;

  • report data honestly;

  • avoid fabrication and falsification; and

  • disclose relevant overlapping publications.

A similarity score does not automatically establish plagiarism. The Editorial Office may assess the nature, source, and context of identified similarities when making editorial decisions.

Manuscripts containing substantial plagiarism or other forms of publication misconduct may be rejected.

19. Duplicate and Simultaneous Submission

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal.

Manuscripts that substantially overlap with previously published or concurrently submitted work must be disclosed to the Editorial Office.

The journal may request clarification or take appropriate editorial action if duplicate, redundant, or overlapping publication is suspected.

20. Authorship

All individuals listed as authors must have made substantial contributions to the research and/or manuscript and must be able to take responsibility for their contributions.

Before submission, all authors should agree on:

  • authorship;

  • author order;

  • the final manuscript;

  • submission to Edu Consilium; and

  • responsibility for the integrity of the work.

Individuals who provided limited assistance but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged rather than listed as authors.

Changes to authorship after submission require justification and approval from all authors.

21. Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, the research or its interpretation.

If no competing interests exist, authors may state:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

22. Funding

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research and/or publication.

If the research received no specific funding, authors may state:

Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

23. Author Contributions

For manuscripts with multiple authors, authors may be required to provide a statement describing individual contributions to the research and manuscript.

A contribution statement may include:

  • conceptualization;

  • methodology;

  • data collection;

  • data analysis;

  • investigation;

  • writing;

  • review and editing; and

  • supervision.

All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript.

24. Acknowledgments

Individuals or organizations that contributed substantially to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship may be acknowledged.

Acknowledgments may include contributions related to:

  • research assistance;

  • administrative support;

  • technical assistance;

  • language editing; or

  • institutional support.

Authors should obtain permission from individuals before including their names in the Acknowledgments section.

25. Data Availability

Authors are encouraged to make the data and materials supporting the findings available whenever ethically, legally, and practically possible.

Authors should provide a data availability statement indicating whether the research data are:

  • publicly available;

  • available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request;

  • deposited in a research repository; or

  • unavailable due to ethical, privacy, confidentiality, or other legitimate restrictions.

For example:

Data Availability: The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to ethical and confidentiality restrictions.

26. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and scholarly validity of their manuscripts.

Generative AI tools may be used for limited purposes such as language improvement, grammar checking, or other forms of editorial assistance, provided that their use does not replace the authors' intellectual contribution or responsibility.

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools when such tools have been used in preparing the manuscript.

The disclosure should include:

  • the name of the AI tool;

  • the version, where applicable;

  • the purpose of its use; and

  • the extent of its use.

Generative AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Authors must carefully review and verify all AI-assisted content, including factual claims, interpretations, citations, references, and other scholarly information.

AI tools must not be used to fabricate or manipulate research data, findings, citations, images, or other research evidence.

If generative AI was used, authors may include the following statement:

Declaration of Generative AI Use: During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [name of AI tool] for [describe purpose]. The authors reviewed and verified all AI-assisted content and take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript.

If no generative AI was used:

Declaration of Generative AI Use: The authors declare that no generative AI tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript.

27. Peer Review and Editorial Process

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening before being sent for external peer review.

The initial screening evaluates:

  • relevance to the journal's focus;

  • research significance;

  • originality and novelty;

  • methodological rigor;

  • academic quality;

  • ethical compliance;

  • manuscript completeness; and

  • compliance with the Author Guidelines.

A manuscript may be declined at the editorial screening stage if it:

  • does not sufficiently relate to Islamic Educational Guidance and Counseling;

  • lacks clear research significance;

  • does not demonstrate sufficient novelty or contribution;

  • has substantial methodological weaknesses;

  • does not meet ethical requirements;

  • has serious deficiencies in academic writing or manuscript structure; or

  • fails to comply with essential submission requirements.

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial screening are sent for peer review according to the journal's peer-review policy.

28. Revision

When revisions are requested, authors should:

  1. Submit the revised manuscript through OJS;

  2. Carefully address the comments and recommendations of the reviewers and editors;

  3. Provide a response to reviewer comments when requested;

  4. Clearly indicate how substantive comments have been addressed;

  5. Provide a reasoned explanation when a recommendation has not been followed; and

  6. Carefully proofread the revised manuscript before resubmission.

Failure to submit a revision within the specified deadline may result in the manuscript being considered withdrawn or requiring resubmission as a new manuscript, subject to the Editorial Office's decision.

29. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are based on the scholarly quality, originality, significance, methodological rigor, relevance, and ethical standards of the manuscript.

Editorial decisions are not based on:

  • Authors' academic rank;

  • Institutional affiliation;

  • Nationality;

  • Gender;

  • Religion;

  • Personal relationships;

  • Commercial interests; or

  • Authors' ability or willingness to pay publication charges.

30. Submission Checklist

Before submitting a manuscript to Edu Consilium, authors should ensure that:

The manuscript is relevant to Islamic Educational Guidance and Counseling.

The manuscript is an Original Research Article or a Review Article.

The research problem is clearly formulated.

The research significance is clearly established.

The research gap is explicitly identified.

The novelty or contribution of the study is clearly explained.

The title accurately represents the manuscript.

The title does not exceed 15 words.

The abstract is provided in Indonesian and English.

The abstract contains 150–200 words.

Three to five keywords are provided.

The research design is clearly identified.

The research methodology is sufficiently described.

The population and sample or participants are clearly described.

The sampling technique and basis for determining the sample are explained.

The research instrument is clearly described, where applicable.

The instrument is identified as developed, adopted, or adapted.

Validity and reliability evidence is reported, where applicable.

The instrument blueprint is provided where appropriate.

Data collection procedures are clearly explained.

Data analysis procedures are clearly explained.

Ethical considerations are addressed where applicable.

Results are presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The Discussion interprets the findings in relation to previous research.

The theoretical and/or practical contribution is clearly explained.

Limitations are acknowledged.

Conclusions directly address the research objectives or questions.

Tables and figures are appropriately numbered and cited.

All in-text citations appear in the reference list.

All references in the reference list are cited in the manuscript.

References follow APA 7th Edition.

DOI information is provided where available.

Reference management software has been used where appropriate.

The manuscript has been checked for plagiarism.

The manuscript has not been submitted to another journal simultaneously.

Funding information is disclosed.

Conflict of interest is disclosed.

Author contributions are stated where applicable.

Data availability is stated where applicable.

Generative AI use is disclosed where applicable.

All authors have approved the final manuscript.

The manuscript follows the Edu Consilium template.

All required OJS metadata have been completed accurately.

31. Manuscript Template

Authors are strongly encouraged to use the official Edu Consilium manuscript template when preparing their manuscripts.

Journal Template

The template provides the recommended structure and formatting requirements for manuscripts submitted to Edu Consilium: Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Pendidikan Islam. Authors are advised to follow the template carefully to ensure consistency with the journal's publication standards.