Open access : an international case study

Abstract

THE MEDITERRANEAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES (MJES) is a biannual peer-reviewed international journal with a regional focus, founded under the auspices of the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Educational Research (EMCER) at the University of Malta. The journal features educational research carried out in Mediterranean countries, as well as studies related to the diaspora of Mediterranean people worldwide. It draws on a range of academic disciplines and sub-disciplines, including comparative education, critical social science, policy analysis, Mediterranean studies, cultural and post-colonial studies, intercultural education, peace education, and migrant studies. Over the years, the journal has offered a forum for debate, facilitating dialogue in a region that has vibrant and varied educational traditions. There is a strong international dimension to this dialogue, given the profile of the Mediterranean in the configuration of the new world order, recent developments in the Arab world, and the presence of Mediterranean peoples in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Initially, the MJES was produced in print format, and sold internationally to individual and institutional subscribers. From the start, the project could probably best be described as a labour of love, having all the characteristics of a cottage industry. Seed funding was made available by the University of Malta, and complemented by subscriptions. Much of the work was done by volunteers. Academic credentials were ensured by a network of international referees, and by reputable patrons who agreed to feature on the journal's regional and international editorial boards. Key among these was the late Pierre Bourdieu, whose humble origins in rural Bearn made him sympathetic to projects from other peripheries and semi-peripheries of this world. The late Edward Said's support was also immensely influential in ensuring the journal's legitimacy in the Arab region. Efforts by heavyweight publishers to 'adopt' the journal once its subscription base was guaranteed were resisted, for fear that some of the founding principles underpinning the journal would be jeopardised.