About the Journal

Apprentice Insights: Journal of Vocational Research and Practice (JVRP) (ISSN 2977-7275) is an independent, interdisciplinary online journal primarily providing the opportunity for apprentices and wider work-based learners to showcase projects which have yielded signficant organisational, industrial, social, or environmental impact. Hosted by University of Staffordshire, JVRP accepts submissions by apprentices of any provider, in addition to papers containing innovative educational practices by provider and employer staff:

  • Research article (<5,000 words) - emcompasses a wide scope including work-based project reports, literature reviews, research papers, and teaching/pedagogy articles. Must carry academic rigour and subject to double-blind peer review.
  • Poster presentation (10 minutes) - an informative poster with accompanying MP3 audio narration as an alternative format to the above. Not subject to peer review but screened by the editorial board.
  • Viewpoint article (<2,500 words) - a short opinion piece ideal for non-academic project narratives. Not subject to peer review but screened by the editorial board.
  • Special issue article (<2,500 words) - a short response to a specific theme or topic curated by guest editors to encourage innovative thinking. Not subject to peer review but screened by the editorial board.
  • Editorial - expresses the editor's views on a topic of interest or the content of the journal issue.

 

Scope and Aims

JVRP publishes quarterly, including special issues focusing on emerging themes, led by guest editors. Our aims are to:

  • Provide a channel where apprentices can share cutting-edge approaches and / or findings, to stimulate innovation in a range of industries
  • Foster community by giving apprentices the opportunity to celebrate their achievements amongst like-minded ambitious peers
  • Further the apprenticeship agenda by highlighting the vast impact apprentices have in the work setting via their valuable contributions, and supporting provider approaches to apprenticeship provision by hosting a platform to share good practice

 

Values

Our values are:

  • Sustainability - we are committed to environmentally responsible publishing practices by minimising the journal's ecological footprint, for example, being a solely digital publication thus embracing paperless practices
  • Inclusivity - we encourage contributions from a range of work based learners, including apprentices at all levels with varied types of provider. Similarly, journal staffing should represent this wide community. Furthermore, we do not charge article processing charges (APCs) or any other kind of publication fee. Publishing is completely free-of-charge
  • Transparency - we foster collaboration by driving openness in submission, review, and publication processes. For example, we encourage organisations to be open and transparent by being named in apprentice publications