The journal Education in the 21st Century is unequivocally committed to preserving the absolute integrity of the academic record. This policy delineates the statutory and procedural mechanisms for amending published literature, operating in strict adherence to the COPE Retraction Guidelines.

1. Errata and Corrigenda (Corrections)

The Editorial Board will issue a formal correction (Erratum or Corrigendum) when a substantive scientific, methodological, or authorial error is identified in a published corpus that does not invalidate the primary empirical conclusions. Authors must promptly notify the Editor-in-Chief upon the discovery of such inaccuracies. The correction will be promulgated as a distinct, formally indexed document that is dynamically and bidirectionally linked to the original article within the digital repository.

2. Retractions

A published manuscript shall be formally retracted if the Editorial Board secures conclusive, empirically verifiable evidence of unreliable findings resulting from egregious academic malfeasance (e.g., data fabrication or falsification), substantive honest error (e.g., critical miscalculation), redundant publication, plagiarism, or the unauthorized deployment of intellectual property. The retraction procedure is executed independent of authorial consent, following an exhaustive editorial arbitration. A formal notice of retraction will be published, explicitly articulating the rationale and the adjudicating entity. The original text will be permanently retained in the archives, definitively watermarked as "Retracted," to ensure historical transparency.

3. Expressions of Concern

The Editor-in-Chief retains the discretionary authority to issue an official "Expression of Concern" if there are substantive, pending allegations of research misconduct, or if a formal investigation is structurally inconclusive yet raises severe, substantiated doubts regarding the methodological or ethical integrity of the published work.