Author Guidelines

Community Empowerment and Learning Journal (CELJ) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to disseminating high-quality scholarly articles on community service, community empowerment, participatory development, and lifelong learning. CELJ welcomes evidence-based manuscripts that demonstrate innovative community engagement, practical problem-solving, and sustainable impacts on communities through collaboration among higher education institutions, community partners, government agencies, industries, and other stakeholders.

The journal publishes manuscripts in, but is not limited to, the following areas:

Community-Based Education and Lifelong Learning
Community Empowerment and Participatory Development
Service-Learning and Civic Engagement
Health Promotion and Community Well-Being
Economic Empowerment and Entrepreneurship
Environmental Sustainability and Disaster Preparedness
Digital Literacy and Community Technology
Local Wisdom, Culture, and Indigenous Knowledge
Social Innovation and Inclusive Development
Capacity Building and Human Resource Development
Community Partnership and Institutional Collaboration
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Sustainability of Community Service Programs

1. General Requirements

Manuscripts may be written in English or Bahasa Indonesia.
Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by another journal.
Submissions must align with the aims and scope of CELJ.
Manuscripts should present evidence-based community service activities that demonstrate innovation, measurable outcomes, community participation, and sustainable impact.
Authors must prepare manuscripts using the official CELJ Manuscript Template.
All submissions undergo an initial editorial screening before peer review.
To ensure a double-blind peer review, manuscripts must not contain any information that reveals the identities of the authors.

2. Accepted Manuscript Types

CELJ accepts the following categories of manuscripts:

Community Service Articles
Best Practice Papers
Community Case Studies
Program Evaluation Reports

Recommended manuscript length:

Community Service Articles: maximum 12 pages, including references, tables, and figures.
Best Practice Papers, Community Case Studies, and Program Evaluation Reports: maximum 16 pages, including references, tables, and figures.

3. Manuscript Format

File format: Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx)
Paper size: A4
Layout: Single column
Line spacing: Single
Font: Times New Roman, 11 pt
Text alignment: Justified

Margins

Left: 5 cm
Top: 2 cm
Right: 2 cm
Bottom: 2 cm
Do not include page numbers, headers, or footers.
Section headings should be numbered and written in sentence case.

4. Manuscript Structure

Title

Maximum 15 words.
Concise, informative, and specific.
Written in sentence case.
Avoid abbreviations whenever possible.

Author Information

Full names without academic titles.
Institutional affiliation (Department, Institution, City, Country).
Corresponding author identified with an asterisk (*).
Email address of the corresponding author only.

Abstract

The abstract should contain 150–250 words in one paragraph and include:

Community background or identified problems
Program objectives
Community service methods
Main outcomes
Practical impact and sustainability

Do not include citations or undefined abbreviations.

Keywords

Exactly five keywords.
Written in lowercase.
Separated by commas.
Specific and searchable.
Avoid overly general terms.

5. Main Text Structure

Introduction

Explain the community background, identified problems, needs assessment, relevant literature, objectives of the community service program, and its significance.

Method

Describe clearly:

Community partners or beneficiaries
Needs assessment
Program design
Implementation procedures
Empowerment strategies or intervention methods
Educational approaches, technologies, or media used
Monitoring and evaluation methods
Indicators of program success

Results and Discussion

Present and discuss:

Program implementation
Community participation
Outputs and outcomes
Evidence of impact
Challenges encountered
Lessons learned
Program sustainability
Comparison with relevant community service or empowerment literature where appropriate

Conclusion

Summarize the major achievements of the program, practical implications, recommendations, and opportunities for future community service initiatives.

Additional sections (where applicable):

Acknowledgments
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflict of Interest
Ethical Considerations

6. References

CELJ follows the APA 7th Edition referencing style.

Every cited source must appear in the reference list.
Every reference listed must be cited in the manuscript.
Community Service Articles generally include around 15–25 relevant references.
At least 80% of references should be journal articles published within the last 5–10 years.
Books, government documents, technical guidelines, and official reports may be cited where relevant to community service implementation.
Include DOI whenever available.
Reference managers (e.g., Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote) are strongly recommended.
Do not cite blogs, Wikipedia, predatory journals, or other unreliable sources.

7. Tables and Figures

Tables

Create tables using Microsoft Word.
Number consecutively.
Place table titles above each table.

Figures

Minimum resolution: 300 dpi.
Number consecutively.
Place captions below figures.
Editable formats are preferred.
Photographs documenting community service activities may be included where appropriate, provided participants' privacy and consent are respected.

8. Ethical Considerations

Community service activities must comply with applicable ethical standards and respect community rights, dignity, and cultural values.

Where applicable, authors should:

Obtain permission from partner institutions or community representatives.
Obtain informed consent from participants when personal data, interviews, photographs, or identifiable information are collected.
Protect participant privacy and confidentiality.
Describe measures taken to ensure ethical community engagement.
Comply with institutional or national ethical requirements where applicable.

Ethics committee approval should be stated when required by institutional policy or when community service activities involve human research components.

9. Plagiarism Policy

All manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin.

Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 25% (excluding references, quotations, and commonly used phrases) may be returned for revision or rejected at the discretion of the Editorial Office.

Authors are fully responsible for ensuring originality and proper citation.

10. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

AI tools may be used for language editing or writing assistance.

AI tools must not be listed as authors.
Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the manuscript.
Significant use of AI tools should be disclosed appropriately within the manuscript.

11. Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence the community service program or its evaluation.

If no conflict exists, include the following statement:

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

12. Self-Citation Policy

Reasonable self-citation is acceptable when directly relevant to the manuscript. Excessive self-citation or inappropriate citation practices intended to manipulate citation metrics should be avoided.