QSE: Qualitative Studies in Education Guide

The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (frequently referred to as QSE) is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Routledge, an imprint of Taylor & Francis. The journal serves educational researchers, qualitative methodologists, and research administrators evaluating submission venues and verifying scholarly citations.

What it is

The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education is an international forum dedicated to the practice, theory, and critique of qualitative research in educational settings. While general education journals often prioritize post-positivist frameworks, QSE concentrates on how qualitative paradigms examine cultural dynamics, institutional hierarchies, and pedagogical systems.

Bibliographically, the publication carries print ISSN 0951-8398 and online ISSN 1366-5898 (historical catalog records also reference online ISSN 1464-5173). In international indexing databases, QSE is indexed in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) within the Clarivate Web of Science Core Collection under Education & Educational Research, in Elsevier’s Scopus database, and in the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). Understanding these indexing distinctions helps researchers gauge disciplinary visibility, which can be further understood in our overview of journal impact factor and quartile rankings.

Publishing under a hybrid open-access model via Taylor & Francis Open Select, QSE allows authors to publish through the traditional subscription route without paying author-facing fees. Authors with institutional funding or mandates may alternatively select paid Gold open-access licensing. Because the journal maintains a subscription model alongside optional open-access choices rather than full open access across all articles, it is not indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

Who runs it and what it covers

QSE is published by Taylor & Francis under its Routledge imprint. The journal is led by an international editorial collective that evaluates qualitative contributions across global educational landscapes. QSE interprets education broadly to encompass schools, community organizations, family literacy environments, workplace learning programs, and informal social movements.

The substantive scope of QSE emphasizes critical scholarship that challenges structural inequities in learning environments. Prominent themes across its regular and special issues include:

Racial and Ethnic Dynamics: Systemic racism, white supremacy, critical race theory, and indigenous epistemologies in curriculum and school policy.
Class and Political Economy: Socioeconomic stratification, capitalism, labor market pressures, and critiques of neoliberal education reforms.
Gender and Sexuality: Feminist theory, queer studies, heterosexism, and LGBTQI+ experiences across educational institutions.
Linguistic and Cultural Coloniality: Language bias, xenophobia, immigrant community experiences, and decolonial research paradigms.
Methodological Inquiry: Philosophical essays investigating ontological assumptions, research ethics, and innovative representation styles.

Methodologically, the journal welcomes critical ethnography, narrative inquiry, grounded theory, phenomenology, autoethnography, case study research, curriculum criticism, and post-structural genealogy.

How to search or use it

Scholars engaging with QSE typically interact with the journal during literature syntheses or when preparing original manuscripts. Navigating Taylor & Francis Online and the ScholarOne Manuscripts submission system involves specific operational stages:

Locating the Journal Profile: Search for the journal using its Taylor & Francis journal code (tqse20) on Taylor & Francis Online to access current volumes, forthcoming articles, and editorial announcements.
Browsing Collections: Use the “Latest articles” and “Browse list of issues” options to review recent thematic special issues gathering qualitative methodologies on pressing policy topics.
Confirming Manuscript Fit: Review recent articles to verify that your manuscript aligns with the journal’s focus on qualitative theory and critical inquiry rather than descriptive quantitative reporting.
Blinding the Manuscript File: Because QSE enforces double-anonymized peer review, remove all author names, institutional affiliations, and identifiable grant acknowledgments from the main text and file properties. Ensure self-citations are referenced neutrally in the third person.
Preparing the Title Page Separately: Compile author bios, affiliations, corresponding author email addresses, funding disclosures, and conflict-of-interest statements in a separate title file that is uploaded independently to prevent reviewer exposure.
Formatting Citations and References: Format headings, tables, references, and citations according to American Psychological Association (APA) style as specified in the Taylor & Francis author instructions.
Submitting via ScholarOne: Navigate to the ScholarOne submission portal linked from the journal page, sign in with author credentials, enter manuscript metadata, and upload blinded files and supplementary documents.
Designating Publishing Model: Upon acceptance, choose between standard zero-fee subscription publishing and Taylor & Francis Open Select open-access licensing based on institutional funding and funder mandates.

Strengths and limits

When selecting an appropriate publication outlet or conducting institutional citation assessments, research teams must evaluate the specific profile of QSE:

Strengths

Methodological Openness: Explicitly provides a home for innovative, provocative, and non-traditional qualitative presentations.
Equitable Peer Review: The double-anonymized review protocol shields submissions from prestige bias, ensuring manuscripts are evaluated purely on scholarly contribution within Taylor & Francis peer-reviewed publications.
Zero-Cost Option: Authors without grant funding or institutional open-access agreements can publish without Article Processing Charges (APCs) through the standard subscription route.
Recognized Indexing: Comprehensive indexing across Clarivate ESCI, Scopus, and ERIC guarantees broad discoverability among academic libraries globally.

Limits

Methodological Exclusivity: The journal does not accept purely quantitative, psychometric, or experimental designs lacking qualitative methodology.
Paywall Restrictions: Under the traditional subscription track, published articles require individual subscriptions or institutional library licenses for full-text access unless authors arrange green open-access repository self-archiving.
Thematic Specialization: Authors focusing on technical curriculum delivery without addressing underlying sociocultural or theoretical dimensions may find general education journals more aligned with their objectives.

Alternatives

Educational researchers frequently consider alternative publication venues depending on whether their research centers on qualitative methodology, international comparative policy, or general empirical education.

Journal of Studies in International Education and Disciplinary Variants

Researchers often encounter journals with similar titles that serve distinct academic audiences. For example, the Journal of Studies in International Education (JSIE), published by SAGE Publications, concentrates specifically on internationalization strategies in higher education, student cross-border mobility, and institutional globalization policies, rather than qualitative inquiry methodology. Similarly, titles such as the International Journal of Educational Studies or the Elsevier-published International Journal of Educational Research focus on broad empirical, quantitative, and mixed-methods investigations across international educational systems.

Journal Name	Publisher	Primary Scope & Focus	Review Model	Access Model
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE)	Taylor & Francis / Routledge	Qualitative methodology, critical theory, systemic equity in education	Double-anonymized	Hybrid (Subscription / Open Select)
Journal of Studies in International Education (JSIE)	SAGE Publications	Higher education internationalization, student mobility, institutional policy	Double-anonymized	Hybrid (Subscription / SAGE Choice)
International Journal of Educational Research (IJER)	Elsevier	Broad empirical education research, quantitative, mixed-methods, policy	Single-anonymous	Hybrid (Subscription / Open Access)
Qualitative Inquiry	SAGE Publications	Cross-disciplinary qualitative methodologies across the social sciences	Double-anonymized	Hybrid (Subscription / SAGE Choice)

FAQ

Is the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education peer-reviewed?

Yes. The journal uses a double-anonymized peer review process where manuscripts are reviewed by at least two independent expert referees without author or reviewer identities being disclosed.

Does QSE charge mandatory article processing charges (APCs)?

No. QSE operates as a hybrid journal. Authors can publish their accepted manuscripts through the standard subscription route with zero publication fees, or choose optional Gold open access via Taylor & Francis Open Select.

What reference and citation style does QSE require?

QSE requires manuscripts to follow American Psychological Association (APA) style for references, in-text citations, and formatting as specified in the official Taylor & Francis author instructions.

Is QSE indexed in Scopus and Web of Science?

Yes. QSE is indexed in Elsevier’s Scopus database, in the Clarivate Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) under Education & Educational Research, and in ERIC.

Why is QSE not listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)?

DOAJ lists only fully open-access journals where all articles are immediately open access. Because QSE is a hybrid journal operating primarily on an institutional subscription model, it is not eligible for DOAJ indexing.

Sources

Taylor & Francis Online. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education: Aims and Scope. Official journal information (journal code: tqse20). Checked 2026-11-08.
Taylor & Francis Online. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education: Instructions for Authors. Official author submission guidelines and peer review policies. Checked 2026-11-08.
Clarivate. Web of Science Master Journal List. Emerging Sources Citation Index record for International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (ISSN: 0951-8398 / 1366-5898). Checked 2026-11-08.
Elsevier. Scopus Source List. Coverage record for International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. Checked 2026-11-08.
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Journal title and ISSN indexing verification. Checked 2026-11-08.