Philosophy of Coaching: An International Journal is a biannual, open-access publication that invites academic researchers, educators, supervisors and coach practitioners to share conceptually rich knowledge, ideas and expertise with the international coaching community.

We publish two issues per year – in May and November. All submissions undergo a double-blind peer review process, meaning that both the authors and the reviewers remain anonymous to each other. This ensures that manuscripts are evaluated solely on their scholarly merit, free from bias related to identity or affiliation. For more information, refer to this PPT.

We welcome papers that offer profound insights and perspectives into coaching through rigorous, reflexive, critical thinking. Submissions should engage with concepts, theory and practice, and aim to stretch the boundaries of existing knowledge by reflecting on the discipline of coaching, its challenges, opportunities and essence, in its broader social and organizational context.

The journal encourages debate about the nature and purpose of coaching, including the dilemmas, ambiguities and complexities of coaching theory and practice- past, present and future. We prioritize interdisciplinary, diverse and critical analyses of coaching in contemporary organizations and society.

While we welcome the proposition of new coaching models in your papers, they should serve as vehicles for deeper inquiry—supporting a central argument, enriching a broader debate, or illuminating a conceptual or empirical insight. We do not publish models for their own sake, nor as promotional tools.

For more on the journal’s mission and scope, please refer to the Purpose section of the website.

We invite papers in the following categories:

1. Theoretical and Conceptual Research Papers

Theoretical and conceptual papers offer critical analyses and propose a new theoretical perspective on an existing topic and/or consider an alternative angle to an existing theoretical position.

Word count: between 3000 and 6000 words.

Here are some examples of conceptual papers published in the Journal:

https://philosophyofcoaching.org/v5i1/03.pdf

https://philosophyofcoaching.org/v2i2/03.pdf

2. Empirical papers

Empirical papers present original research, preferably using qualitative methods, that investigates coaching practices, experiences, or outcomes. We welcome studies based on interviews, case studies, ethnographies, etc.

Word count: between 6,000 and 8000 words.

3. Review articles

Review articles include critical reviews of the literature, systematic reviews, narrative reviews and meta-analyses.

Word count: between 1500 and 3000 words.

4. Position papers

Position papers comment on general trends in the field or provide a novel perspective on a topic.

Word count: between 1500 and 3000 words.

5. Case studies

Case studies draw on specific coaching experiences or interventions to offer in-depth reflections that sustain learning outcomes and illuminate the challenges, tensions, and situated nature of coaching practice, education or supervision.

Word count: between 2,000 and 4,000 words

6. Teaching note

Teaching Notes share best practices, tools, resources, and processes to inform classroom practice and reflective review.

Word count: between 1,000 and 2,000 words

7. Book reviews

Book reviews critically engage with recent publications relevant to coaching theory, practice, education, or supervision.

Word count: between 1000 and 1500 words

Originality

Submissions must be your own work, and must not have been published or submitted for publication elsewhere, except as a brief abstract in the proceedings of a scientific meeting or symposium. While AI tools may assist in the writing process, fabricated content (“AI hallucinations”)—such as non-existent references—may lead to rejection. Any use of AI during the research or writing process must be transparently disclosed at the time of submission.

Timeline

Philosophy of Coaching operates on a relatively tight publication schedule. Once an article is submitted through our platform, it is typically screened by an editor within a week to assess its suitability for the journal. If deemed appropriate, the manuscript is sent for peer review.

Authors usually receive reviewer feedback within six weeks. If the article is accepted with revisions, authors are given approximately one month to revise and resubmit. We aim to finalize articles within two rounds of revisions whenever possible.

Please note that as we approach the biannual publication dates (May and November), deadlines become more compressed to ensure timely release.

Informal review

Authors are welcome to contact the editorial team prior to formal submission process to receive informal feedback on the suitability of their article project. Please note that such feedback is advisory only and does not imply acceptance or guarantee publication.  Use this form to send your query.

To formally submit a manuscript

To formally submit a manuscript for peer review please use this form.

If you have any difficulties, please  contact us using this form.

Preparing your paper

Your paper should be written considering the following guidance. It should include ALL of the following:

• A separate title page – the journal operates a double-blind review, so we need author information on a separate page. This page should include:

1. The title
2. The type of paper submitted i.e. theoretical, review, empirical, position etc.
3. Total word count (not including references/bibliography)
4. The full names of the authors
5. The authors’ institutional affiliations
6. Full contact details (address, email and telephone) of the corresponding author. The present address of any author, if different from that where the work was carried out, should be supplied in a footnote.
7. Acknowledgements. Contributions from anyone who does not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed, with permission from the contributor, in an acknowledgments section. Financial and material support should also be mentioned.
8. Conflict of Interest statement. Provide a conflict of interest statement if necessary. 

• Your manuscript should be a single file including text, figures and tables. Figures and tables should have legends. References may be submitted in APA 7^th edition style and be consistent throughout the manuscript. As papers are double-blind peer reviewed the main text file should not include any information that might identify the authors.
• The main text in the manuscript should be presented in the following order.

1. Title, abstract (200 to 250 words) and keywords (up to 6)
2. Main text. The sections will vary according to the paper. For research papers, they should include introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion.
3. References
4. Appendices (as appropriate)
5. Authors may submit using either British or American English.

Style Guide

Initial submissions must follow the American Psychological Association 7th edition style guidelines. Any submission that does not will be returned unread.

Accepted manuscripts must be in APA (American Psychological Association) style and formatted using this style template.

For a complete guide to APA consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition, available from all good booksellers. Or access this online resource: https://apastyle.apa.org/products/publication-manual-7th-edition

Copyright

Philosophy of Coaching is an open access journal and we encourage authors to license their work under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license. Under the CC BY license, authors retain copyright for their article, and give license for users to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and/or copy articles, as long as the original author is credited, and the source is cited. No permission is required from the author or the publisher. Creative Commons has several licensing options that include further restrictions beyond CC BY.

CC BY is considered the most liberal, affording the widest possible distribution of an author’s work. For more information on copyright licenses please visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Plagiarism

By submitting an article, you are declaring that the work contained therein is your own work and/or properly references the work of others where applicable. The editors reserve the right to check for plagiarism prior to publication, and to retract a paper after publication if they believe it to be plagiarized in whole or in part.

Peer Review

All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the editors and, if found suitable for further consideration, are submitted for peer review by independent, anonymous expert referees. Peer reviewers are provided with Evaluation Criteria contained in this document. All peer review is double blind. The journal gratefully acknowledges the contribution of academics and researchers from around the world.