Given the multidisciplinary nature of the Continuity of Education journal, two different types of ethics and consent code are applicable, depending on the nature of the reported activity.
This includes clinical and psychological therapeutic activities, conducted in a therapeutic setting (i.e. hospital, clinic) or under the aegis of a specific and certified therapeutic entity (e.g Hospital or clinic, mental health service, Pet Therapy centre, Child life service, etc.)
Clinical research involving human subjects, human material, or human data, must have been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Where applicable, studies must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee at least at a local level and the authors should include a statement within the article text detailing this approval, including the name of the ethics committee and reference number of the approval. The identity of the research subject(s) should be anonymised. For research involving human subjects, informed consent to participate in the study must be obtained from participants (or their legal guardian) and added to this statement. Any raw data and material should be protected, kept safe and secure in accordance with applicable privacy law.
As a minimum standard, regardless of their age, participants should always be made aware that:
Research involving animals must follow national standards of care or comply with the consensus guidelines on animal ethics and welfare of the International Association of Veterinary Editors.
This includes educational and educational-psychological activities, conducted in a formal or informal educational setting. For these kinds of activities individual or parental consent should have been obtained (for instance, at the time of the child’s enrollment in the activity, or even retrospectively, when the decision to write an article based on the activity was taken).
If the reported research or practice was based on a school activity that was part of the approved school curriculum, the authors should state such circumstance and state that:
Educational or psychological research involving human subjects, human material, or human data, must have been performed in accordance with a relevant code of ethics in the field, issued by an established local, national or international institution, such as an association, a university, a school board. Examples of such codes of ethics include:
As a minimum standard, regardless of their age, participants in educational research should always be made aware that:
For research involving human subjects, informed consent to participate in the study must be obtained from participants (or their legal guardian). For retrospective studies using school-related products made in the past (e.g. student’s essays, drawings, interviews), such consent may also be obtained after the activity is included, but before it is used for the article being written. Any raw data and material should be protected, kept safe and secure in accordance with applicable privacy law.
Activities involving animals (for instance: pet therapy, some outdoor activities) must follow national standards of care or comply with the consensus guidelines on animal ethics and welfare of the International Association of Veterinary Editors.