Conflict of Interest

Kajian Pendidikan, Seni, Budaya, Sosial dan Lingkungan (KPSBSL) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, transparency, objectivity, and academic integrity. All authors, editors, reviewers, and other parties involved in the publication process are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the objectivity, integrity, or impartiality of research findings and publication decisions.

A conflict of interest may arise from financial, professional, personal, academic, or institutional relationships that could affect the conduct of research, the interpretation of findings, the peer-review process, or editorial decision-making. Such conflicts may include, but are not limited to, employment, consultancies, honoraria, research funding, financial investments, personal relationships, professional affiliations, competing academic interests, institutional interests, or other circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as influencing scholarly judgment.

KPSBSL recognizes that conflicts of interest do not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose or appropriately manage relevant conflicts may compromise the credibility of scholarly publications. The journal therefore requires transparent disclosure and appropriate management of conflicts throughout the research, submission, peer-review, and publication processes.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to KPSBSL must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may be relevant to their research or publication. Disclosures should include financial support, funding sources, institutional affiliations, professional relationships, personal interests, and other circumstances that may influence the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or presentation of findings.

Relevant conflicts may arise in research concerning education, arts, culture, social sciences, environmental studies, and related interdisciplinary fields. For example, a researcher may have a professional relationship with an educational institution being evaluated, a financial interest in an environmental project under investigation, or a personal or institutional connection with a community or organization discussed in the manuscript.

Authors must ensure that all relevant conflicts are disclosed accurately and completely in the manuscript or the designated submission documents.

If no conflicts of interest exist, authors should include the following declaration:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.”

The disclosure of a conflict of interest does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from consideration. Editorial decisions are based on the manuscript's originality, scholarly quality, relevance to the journal's aims and scope, methodological rigor, and compliance with research and publication ethics.

2. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors of KPSBSL must ensure that editorial decisions are made fairly, objectively, independently, and transparently. Editors are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest concerning manuscripts assigned to them.

Editors who have a conflict of interest must withdraw from handling the relevant manuscript whenever the conflict could compromise, or reasonably be perceived to compromise, their impartiality. In such cases, an independent editor will be assigned to manage the editorial assessment, peer-review process, and publication decision.

Editors must not use unpublished information obtained through manuscript handling for personal, professional, financial, or academic advantage. They must also ensure that personal relationships, institutional affiliations, research collaborations, or competing academic interests do not improperly influence editorial decisions.

KPSBSL expects editors to maintain confidentiality and protect the integrity of the peer-review process throughout manuscript evaluation and publication.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may affect their ability to evaluate a manuscript objectively and impartially.

A conflict may arise when a reviewer has recently collaborated with an author, has a personal or professional relationship with an author, belongs to the same research team or institution under circumstances that may compromise impartiality, has a competing research interest, or may benefit directly or indirectly from the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript.

If a reviewer identifies a conflict that could compromise their impartiality, they must promptly notify the editor and decline the review when necessary.

Reviewers must treat all manuscripts and related materials as confidential documents. They must not use unpublished information, research findings, ideas, data, or interpretations obtained through peer review for personal, professional, financial, or academic benefit.

Reviewers are expected to provide independent, evidence-based, constructive assessments and to avoid allowing competing interests to influence their recommendations.

4. Types of Conflicts of Interest

KPSBSL recognizes several categories of conflicts of interest that may be relevant to scholarly publishing.

4.1 Financial Conflicts of Interest

Financial conflicts may involve research grants, sponsorships, employment, consultancies, honoraria, investments, commercial interests, or other financial relationships that could influence research or publication decisions.

Authors must disclose relevant financial support and explain the role of funders or sponsors in the research, where applicable.

4.2 Personal and Professional Conflicts of Interest

Personal or professional conflicts may arise from family relationships, friendships, personal disputes, supervisory relationships, professional competition, or other connections that could affect scholarly judgment.

Individuals involved in editorial or peer-review decisions must disclose relevant relationships and withdraw when necessary to preserve impartiality.

4.3 Academic and Institutional Conflicts of Interest

Academic or institutional conflicts may arise from research collaborations, competing scholarly interests, institutional affiliations, supervisory arrangements, or professional responsibilities that could influence the evaluation of a manuscript.

KPSBSL requires individuals involved in the publication process to disclose relevant academic and institutional relationships and to avoid decisions that may be improperly influenced by institutional or professional interests.

4.4 Research-Related and Community Conflicts of Interest

Research in education, arts, culture, social sciences, and environmental studies may involve relationships with schools, universities, government agencies, cultural institutions, local communities, non-governmental organizations, or environmental organizations.

Authors should disclose relevant relationships when these could influence research design, access to participants, interpretation of findings, or reporting of results. Researchers must also ensure that relationships with research participants, community representatives, sponsors, or other stakeholders do not compromise the integrity of their work.

5. Management of Conflicts of Interest

KPSBSL will assess disclosed conflicts of interest and implement appropriate measures to safeguard the integrity, independence, and transparency of the publication process.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the conflict, the journal may:

Request additional information or clarification from authors, editors, or reviewers.
Require a clear conflict-of-interest statement in the manuscript.
Assign an independent editor to manage the submission.
Appoint alternative reviewers who have no relevant conflicts.
Document disclosures and the measures taken to manage the conflict.
Request additional disclosure of funding sources or relevant relationships.
Take other appropriate actions in accordance with the journal's editorial and publication ethics policies.

Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may result in editorial action, including a request for clarification, manuscript rejection, publication of a correction, or retraction of a published article when warranted by the evidence and applicable publication ethics standards.

The journal will assess each case individually and take proportionate action to protect the credibility of the research and the integrity of the scholarly record.

6. Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support relevant to the research, including grants, institutional funding, government support, private sponsorship, or support from other organizations.

Where applicable, authors should explain the role of the funding organization in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and decision to submit the work for publication.

If the research received no specific external funding, authors may include the following statement:

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

Funding disclosure is intended to promote transparency and enable readers to assess whether financial relationships may have influenced the research or its interpretation.

7. Conflicts of Interest Discovered After Publication

If a previously undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after an article has been published, KPSBSL will assess the circumstances and determine whether corrective action is necessary.

Depending on the nature and impact of the undisclosed conflict, the journal may request additional information from the authors, publish a correction or clarification, issue an expression of concern, or retract the article when justified by the evidence and applicable publication ethics standards.

The journal will handle such cases fairly and transparently, taking into account the potential effect of the conflict on the research findings, the interpretation of results, and the reliability of the published article.

8. Confidentiality and Transparency

KPSBSL is committed to handling conflict-of-interest disclosures fairly and confidentially. Information will be shared only with individuals who need it to assess or manage the relevant conflict, subject to applicable legal and ethical requirements.

At the same time, relevant disclosures must be reported transparently when necessary to maintain trust in the research and publication process.

The journal recognizes that appropriate disclosure allows editors, reviewers, and readers to evaluate scholarly work more effectively and helps protect the independence of academic research.

9. Commitment to Publication Ethics

KPSBSL recognizes that the disclosure and appropriate management of conflicts of interest are essential to maintaining trust among authors, editors, reviewers, readers, research participants, and the wider academic community.

All parties involved in the publication process are expected to act honestly, responsibly, and transparently. Conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed appropriately to ensure that research findings and editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit rather than undisclosed competing interests.

Through this policy, Kajian Pendidikan, Seni, Budaya, Sosial dan Lingkungan (KPSBSL) seeks to uphold high standards of publication ethics, promote responsible research practices, and protect the credibility, independence, and integrity of scholarly communication across education, arts, culture, social sciences, environmental studies, and related interdisciplinary fields.