Format your manuscript to the School Psychology requirements — abstract, APA 7th references, and required declarations — and submit through the APA journal submission portal without a formatting rejection.
4.5
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 24 August, 2026
A strong study can still bounce at School Psychology before review if the manuscript ignores the journal’s formatting requirements. This template is built around School Psychology’s actual requirements — its abstract rules, APA 7th references, and the required declarations — so your submission clears screening on the first pass. Everything below tracks the School Psychology author guidelines; check it directly if anything looks out of date by the time you submit.
It’s a manuscript shell set up to School Psychology’s specifications for school psychology and educational psychology. School Psychology is published by the American Psychological Association (APA). The shell covers the title page, the abstract, a body in Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) order, and a reference list in APA 7th style.
Start with the title page (authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs). The abstract is an abstract of ≤250 words following the journal's APA requirements. The body follows Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD), and the reference list uses APA 7th. Close with the declarations block: ethics approval, conflict of interest, funding, and data availability.
The details that trip up most first submissions: references and in-text citations not in APA 7th format, an abstract or keyword list outside APA limits, and missing author-note, disclosure, and data-availability statements. Beyond that, match your article type’s specific limits rather than assuming the defaults apply, keep APA 7th formatting consistent from the first draft, and submit only through the APA journal submission portal — email submissions aren’t processed.
The shell mirrors what School Psychology’s editorial staff check first: abstract format and length, APA 7th reference formatting, and a complete declarations block. For the journal’s full aims and scope, see the School Psychology journal home page. School Psychology offers an open-access option; check the current article-processing charge and any waiver before you commit. Manuscripts go in through the APA journal submission portal, which also tracks your paper through peer review.
| Element | School Psychology requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | an abstract of ≤250 words following the journal's APA requirements |
| Main text | Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) |
| Declarations | Ethics approval, conflict of interest, funding, and data availability |
| Figures / tables | Captioned, cited in order; check format and resolution rules in the guide |
| Supplemental | Large datasets, extra tables, code — uploaded separately and cited in text |
| Submission | the APA journal submission portal |
Read the School Psychology author guidelines once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after your results are stable so it matches the paper. Set APA 7th as your reference style before adding a single citation — retrofitting it later is where errors creep in.
Skim two or three recent School Psychology papers to calibrate depth, structure, and figure style. State your contribution in the first two paragraphs, not on page ten. Write a data-availability statement that names a real repository rather than a placeholder, and disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in your cover letter. Confirm current open-access pricing and any institutional agreement before committing to a fee.
Do one focused pass against the School Psychology author guidelines: scope fit, abstract format, length, APA 7th references, required declarations, and figure quality. Re-check the items that most often cause a bounce here — references and in-text citations not in APA 7th format, an abstract or keyword list outside APA limits, and missing author-note, disclosure, and data-availability statements. Then submit through the APA journal submission portal.