Bahir Dar University College of Education in Ethiopia has initiated a project to enhance the quality and sustainability of the Bahir Dar Journal of Education, an esteemed educational journal in Ethiopia, with a rich history of 25 years.

The Bahir Dar Journal of Education is published twice a year by Bahir Dar University College of Education. It is a peer-reviewed no-fee open access academic journal that seeks to broaden understanding of the processes that advance issues related to education, from an educational perspective. The journal publishes original research articles, systematic reviews, reflections, document reviews, letters to the editor, book reviews, and short communications focused on education affecting all communities and societies, and practiced in different classroom settings and academic environments.

The journal has been open access since 2014. Despite success in publishing quality manuscripts, achieving national accreditation in 2020 and 2024, and getting indexed in international databases (including the Directory of Open Access Journals), the journal faces significant challenges. Among these are a limited budget for essential editorial activities and a lack of capacity development opportunities for journal editors and reviewers. The journal also needs to develop meaningful collaborations and partnerships with research institutions, libraries, other journals and organizations that could assist with publishing, increase access to resources and expertise and improve the journal’s visibility and reputation locally and globally.

The ‘Enhancing the Quality and Sustainability of Open Access Publishing at Bahir Dar Journal of Education’ project seeks to address these challenges. It is one of 17 projects that have received grant support through a three-year project to strengthen no-fee open access publishing in Africa implemented by EIFL, AJOL (African Journals Online) and WACREN (the West and Central African Research and Education Network), with funding from Wellcome.

Timeline:

October 2024 - September 2025

Activities

• Equipping the journal with IT hardware and software for editing and review;
• Providing training in editing, reviewing, publishing guidelines, ethics and software, and research integrity;
• Increasing international knowledge and experience through participation in an international conference / workshop on open access publishing or journal / editorial management;
• Establishing strategic partnerships and collaboration with relevant local and global institutions.

Further information about the Bahir Dar Journal of Education.