From Challenges to Opportunities: Building an Open Access Future for Revista Educación Global

• In Event: Open Access Journals & Publishing: Inclusion Within Neoliberalism Contexts

Proposal

Revista Educación Global, founded in 1996 as a platform for sharing knowledge on international education in Mexico, faces significant challenges as it seeks to navigate the complexities of open-access (OA) publishing within a neoliberal context. Initially serving as a space for practitioners associated with the Mexican Association for International Education (AMPEI), the journal has gradually shifted towards a hybrid model that includes both best practices and academic research. However, the lack of consistent funding and professionalization of its editorial team, combined with frequent leadership changes tied to AMPEI’s presidency, has hindered its growth and prevented it from establishing itself as a fully OA journal.

Financial sustainability is a critical issue for Revista Educación Global. AMPEI's funding sources, primarily membership fees and temporary institutional hosting of its office, are insufficient to support the journal's development. This financial instability, coupled with the absence of a dedicated editorial team and the journal's outdated infrastructure (e.g., no dedicated website or DOIs for articles), has placed the journal at a disadvantage in a highly competitive academic landscape where impact metrics and prestige matter. As a result, attracting high-quality research, especially from Latin American scholars, remains a challenge, as authors with well-developed manuscripts often seek more established journals that offer greater visibility and career advancement opportunities.

Despite these obstacles, Revista Educación Global has a unique strength in that it charges no fees to authors or readers, aligning with the principles of Diamond OA. The journal operates through the voluntary efforts of peer reviewers and seeks to provide a platform for practitioners and emerging scholars in international education. Recently, Revista Educación Global entered a collaboration with the University of Guadalajara, aiming to improve its operations, increase its visibility, and transition towards a true OA model. This partnership is expected to mark a turning point in the journal's trajectory, potentially enabling it to address key barriers, such as financial constraints and lack of professionalization, while enhancing its role as a platform for Latin American voices in international education.

The journal’s future goals include achieving indexing in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), implementing DOIs for all articles, and securing additional funding to support its operational needs. However, challenges remain, particularly the need for ongoing financial investment beyond human resources to ensure the journal’s sustainability and ability to compete with other OA journals. As Revista Educación Global continues its evolution, it strives to contribute to the democratization of knowledge in international education, particularly for Spanish-speaking scholars in Latin America.

Author

• Magdalena L. Bustos-Aguirre, University of Guadalajara