Statement on the Use of Generative AI (GenAI) in Problems of Education in the 21st Century (PEC)

For publications submitted to PEC, this policy regulates the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and technology during the research, authoring, review, and editorial stages. It seeks to uphold academic honesty, guarantee openness, and encourage ethical behavior in scholarly writing/communication.

Problems of Education in the 21st Century (PEC) maintains editorial policies that adhere to internationally recognized ethical standards, including those established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

In line with these guidelines, Problems of Education in the 21st Century requires transparency in the use of Generative AI (GenAI) tools in research and manuscript preparation. GenAI may assist in minor aspects of the publishing process (e.g., language editing, visualisation, etc.) but must not replace human intellectual contributions or create fabricated content.

GenAI tools cannot be credited as authors, as they do not meet authorship criteria: substantial intellectual contribution, drafting or revising the work, and accountability for content. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and ethical compliance of their submissions, even if AI tools were used. All work must uphold standards of academic integrity, proper attribution, scientific quality, and originality.

All authors must provide a clear disclosure statement regarding the use of GenAI if employed in writing the paper. The statement should include: The name(s) of the tool(s) used (e.g., ChatGPT, DALL·E); Specific tasks where the tool was applied (e.g., language editing, data visualization, literature synthesis, etc.)

Citing AI-generated texts should adhere to the APA 7th edition guidelines.

Peer review must continue to be a human-led process. While AI technologies can help, they shouldn't take the place of the reviewer's knowledge and intellectual judgment.

These policies reflect evolving best practices and will be regularly reviewed/updated to align with advancements in AI and scholarly publishing.

Editorial Board