Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • The authors authorize the Editorial Team to screen the submission using Crossref Similarity Check (iThenticate) to verify its originality.
  • The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
  • Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
  • The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
  • Accessible and inclusive publishing: The manuscript adheres to requirements outlined in the "The Creating Accessible Content Guide"
    This guide will be useful for authors in preparation of their manuscripts and for editors in formatting materials for publication and adding content to journal websites. Carefully read the Guide here.

Author Guidelines

DOWNLOAD RIEF TEMPLATE

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Editorial guidelines for authors, peer reviewers and editors/proofreaders

(contributions in Italian and English)

(ed. by Paola Caselli, RIEF Copy Editor)

  • RIEF journal accepts articles in the following languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
  • Papers should not exceed 4,000 words, including bibliographic references, abstracts and keywords, and are recommended to be submitted following the journal's editorial standards below.
  • Each submission should be accompanied by an abstract (of max. 100 words) and five (5) keywords.
  • The article file, uploaded in the RIEF platform, must be anonymized for blind peer review. Authors are recommended to submit, separately, their own brief bio-bibliographical presentation, indicating: Name, Role, Department, University, Email.

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MANDATORY EDITORIAL RULE

Although the journal generally follows APA 7 style, it ALWAYS requires page numbers in the final References for journal articles, book chapters and essays.

 

Introduction

The journal adopts APA 7 as its general reference style while maintaining specific editorial conventions that authors, peer reviewers and editors/proofreaders must follow. These guidelines derive from the analysis of the journal template and revised contributions in Italian and English. Authors are strongly encouraged to use the official Word template provided by the journal.

General document layout

  • A4 format
  • Margins: top 4 cm, bottom 4 cm, left 3 cm, right 3 cm (see TEMPLATE)
  • Main text: Times New Roman 12, justified
  • Page numbers: top right, Times New Roman 12
  • Simple layout, without decorative elements
  • Italics only when necessary; mandatory for uncommon foreign words and titles of works/projects/programmes
  • Do not use bold except where expressly required; never use underlining

 

Title, authors and affiliations

  • Article title: justified, bold, approx. 14 pt
  • Authors' names below title, 12 pt
  • Affiliations indicated through numbered footnotes
  • Biographical notes: font 10, first-line indent 0.5 cm, justified
  • Use the official full name of universities, institutions and departments

Example:

Maria Rossi, Associate Professor of General and Social Pedagogy, Department of Human Health Sciences – University of Padua, Italy.

 

Abstract and keywords

  • Italian articles: Italian abstract followed by English abstract (max. 100 words)
  • English articles: English abstract followed by Italian abstract (max. 100 words)
  • Abstract text: Times New Roman 11, justified, no indents
  • After each abstract insert Keywords. The colon after Keywords must be bold.
  • Provide 5 keywords, separated by commas.
  • Keywords should be specific (no words just like, i.e., children, parents, childhood…) and support indexing.

 

Main text

  • Times New Roman 12
  • Justified alignment
  • First-line indent 0.5 cm
  • Headings numbered progressively (1., 2., 3., etc.)
  • Italics for foreign words and titles of books, journals, newspapers, films, TV series, articles, projects and programmes
  • Inclusive language is recommended whenever possible.

 

In-text citations

  • Author-date system: (Author, year)
  • One author: (Rossi, 2024)
  • Two authors in English: (Ellis & Bochner, 2000)
  • Three or more authors may use et al. in the text
  • In References, all authors must always be listed in full
  • Multiple references separated by semicolons
  • For translated works, include both original publication year and translation year
  • Direct quotations always require page numbers.

Please note that, in author-date citations within the text, when multiple authors are cited together, they must be listed in alphabetical order by surname, not by year of publication (whether from the most recent to the oldest or vice versa).

Example:

Correct: (Castelli, 2025; Nanni, 2014; Zavalloni, 2026)

Incorrect: (Zavalloni, 2026; Castelli, 2025; Nanni, 2014)

 

Quotations

  • Long quotations (more than five lines): separate block quotation, times New Roman 11, justified, NB: left and right indent 0.5 cm, and no “prima riga”.
  • Short quotations remain in the text within quotation marks.

 

Footnotes

  • Automatic progressive numbering
  • Times New Roman 10, single spacing, justified, first-line indent 0.5 cm
  • Use only when genuinely necessary
  • May contain methodological notes, project information, editorial notes or non-essential clarifications.

 

Tables, figures and graphs

  • Progressive numbering
  • Recommended font size: 8–9 pt
  • Caption below the item
  • English format: Graph 1 – Xxxxxxxxxxx, Fig. 1 – Xxxxxxxxxx, Table 1 – Xxxxxxxxvvv
  • Always refer to tables/figures/graphs within the text.

 

References

  • Section title: References (Times New Roman 12, justified)
  • For the list of References quoted: Times New Roman 11, justified
  • Hanging indent 0.5 cm
  • Alphabetical order
  • Surname followed by initials
  • Book and journal titles in italics
  • Always include final period
  • Do not include DOI
  • Use the publisher names exactly as specified by the journal

To quote RIEF (ex.):

  1. Silva (2025), Title of the paper, RIEF-Rivista Italiana di Educazione Familiare, 2(4), pp. xx-xx.
  2. Mandatory rule on page numbers

Even though APA 7 is the general reference style, the journal ALWAYS requires page numbers for journal articles, essays and book chapters in the final References.

 

Edited books, translations and chapters

  • Edited volume: Surname N. (Ed.) (Year): Title. City, State/Country: Publisher.
  • Multiple editors: (Eds.)
  • Translators and editors may be indicated after the title.
  • Book chapters must include page numbers.

 

Places of publication

  • For U.S. publishers always indicate city and state abbreviation (e.g., New York, NY; Austin, TX).
  • For non-U.S. cities use the form consistent with the language of the article.

Type/Example

  • Book: Bronfenbrenner U. (1979): The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Essay/Paper: Bruner J.S. (1991): The Narrative Construction of Reality. Critical Inquiry, 18(1), pp. 1-21.
  • Chapter in ENG book: Ellis C., & Bochner A. (2000): Autoethnography, Personal Narrative, Reflexivity: Researcher as Subject. In N.K. Denzin, & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.): Handbook of Qualitative Research (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 733-768.
  • Chapter in ITA book: Gallese V. (2003): Neuroscienza delle relazioni sociali. In F. Ferretti (Ed.): La mente degli altri. Rome: Editori Riuniti, pp. 13-43.
  • Institutional source: United Nations (2015): Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York, NY: United Nations.
  • Web ref.: LiBeR (2018): Rapporto sull’editoria per ragazzi: seconda parte: la produzione editoriale, https://www.liberweb.it/... (ultima consultazione: 14.07.26).

 

Web references

  • If numerous, place in a separate section called Web References
  • Times New Roman 11, justified, hanging indent 0.5 cm
  • Include full URL
  • Always indicate date of access
  • URLs must appear as plain text, not active hyperlinks
  • Verify accessibility before submission.

Ex.: https://www.education.ec.europa.eu/it/education-levels/school-education/wellbeing-at-school (last access: 16.03.26).

 

Specific editorial conventions

  • Standardise punctuation, quotation marks, apostrophes, spacing and accents
  • Check italics, capitalisation, acronyms and project names
  • Ensure perfect correspondence between citations and references.

 

Final checklist for authors, editors and proofreaders

  • Correct title, authors and affiliations
  • Abstracts and keywords in both languages
  • Accurate citations and quotations
  • Correctly formatted notes
  • Complete references in alphabetical order
  • Page numbers included where required
  • State abbreviations for all U.S. cities
  • Complete web references
  • Numbered tables, figures and graphs
  • Proofreading completed.

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Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY-4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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