UCEA Convention 2012 >> Call for Proposals

Call for Proposals: UCEA Convention 2012 

 The deadline for proposals is Monday, May 7, 2012

Videos for the Film Festival must be submitted by July 6, 2012

l. General Information

The 26th annual UCEA Convention will be held at the City Center Marriott in Denver, Colorado. The convention will commence Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 12 noon and will conclude Sunday, November 18, 2012 at 1 p.m. The purpose of the 2012 UCEA Convention is to engage participants in discussions about research, policy, and practice in educational leadership and administration. Members of the Convention 2012 Program Committee are Cindy Reed (Auburn University), Cosette Grant-Overton (University of Cincinnati), Lisa Kensler (Auburn University), and Susan Korach (University of Denver).

II. Theme

 The 26th Annual UCEA Convention theme, “The Future Is Ours: Leadership Matters,” recognizes that not only is the field of university-based leadership preparation changing in response to numerous political, demographic, technological, and economic dynamics, but also we, as leaders in the field, must help create that future. This year’s convention theme addresses the reality that our various roles in educational leadership, as scholars, scholar-practitioners, or advocates, have never been more important. Consequently, the convention will offer opportunities for scholars, scholar-practitioners, advocates, and our professional partners to critically examine research and practices, to strategically influence policy and practice, and to purposefully develop new partnerships and networks. These opportunities aim to enhance our work both at and beyond the convention.

Based on feedback from 2011 convention attendees, the 2012 convention will premier two new session formats—unconference1 and Ignite2 sessions. These sessions provide purposeful opportunities for in-depth, spontaneous dialogues and deliberations on topics critical to educational leadership. The unconference sessions will reflect Open Space Technology3 principles that honor the expertise present, the power of self-organized social networks, and the value of learning conversations. We invite all attendees to step out of our traditional formats and boldly think “as if there is no box” by being prepared to share innovations, collaborate, network and learn through these unconference sessions. Unconference sessions offer a unique opportunity to engage in intense discussions and expand collaborative networks for exploring topics or research of interest, building off of ideas generated by a prior session or keynote, sharing submissions that were not accepted, etc. No proposal, only attendance, is needed for participation in unconference sessions.

 1 Boule, M. (2011). Mob rule learning: Comps, unconferences, and trashing the talking head. Medford, NJ: Information Today.

 2 See “Ignite” on the Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignite_(event)

 3 Owen, H. (2008). Open Space Technology: A user’s guide. San Francisco, CA: Berrett‐Koehler. 

 4 Ignite. (2012). Homepage. Available at http://www.igniteshow.com 

Ignite sessions are best summarized by the motto, “Enlighten us, but make it quick.”4 The Ignite sessions follow a specific structure for sparking interest and awareness of multiple topics while encouraging additional thought and action from the audience. Presenters focus on a single message that shares personal and professional passions and/or unique strategies and approaches. The submission of a proposal is needed for an Ignite session, and details are included in the Session Descriptions section of this call. It is our hope that new research, publications, collaborations and professional relationships will emerge from these nontraditional sessions.

The 2012 UCEA Convention Call for Proposals encourages submissions that explore broadly the landscape of quality leadership preparation, including research and engaged scholarship on global issues and contexts influencing the field of educational leadership; emerging trends influencing educational leadership; effective preparation program designs and improvement efforts; innovative and synergistic partnerships that enhance leadership, policy work and politics; and other issues that impact the current and future practice of educational leaders and enhance the scope of influence of educational leadership research.

To address the 2012 UCEA Convention theme, “The Future Is Ours: Leadership Matters,” we invite members of the UCEA community and other educational leaders to come prepared to learn from each other by (a) sharing their research and proposing innovative ways to utilize research that informs leadership preparation, practice, and policy at national, state, local, and international levels; (b) developing ways in which educational leaders can enhance academic excellence, equity, and social justice in P-20 transnational educational contexts; and (c) engaging in dialogue, planning, and collaborative scholarship to enhance our efforts to create quality leadership preparation. The following proposal topics are provided to stimulate ideas for the 2012 UCEA Convention. We invite other topics addressing the convention theme, especially research on tools for enabling the field to take a proactive role in reframing current policy debates, allowing and encouraging inclusion of student voice, and promoting innovative and socially just leadership practices.

A. Global Issues and Contexts Influencing the Field of Educational Leadership: How does or should the increasing globalization of educational policies and practice influence educational leadership and high-quality leadership preparation? What do these changing contexts suggest for the future of our field?

• Cultural competencies • Global leadership practices • Ethical issues • Social justice issues • Advanced technologies and social media

B. Emerging Trends and Issues Influencing the Field of Educational Leadership: What are the emerging trends and issues influencing our field? In what ways do these trends and issues influence our work now and in the coming years?

• Sustainability

• Environmental and Health Issues

 • Accountability

• Diversity

• Economic Issues

• Competition or Competitive Markets

• Legislation

C. Leadership Preparation and Program Development: How do leadership preparation programs reflect the characteristics of high-quality leadership preparation? How do leadership preparation programs evaluate quality and execute improvement? How effective are current leadership preparation programs at preparing leaders for the schools, district, and states? How do preparation programs examine and measure their impact and track their impact? How do preparation programs ensure relevance and support their students and partners?

• Recruitment and selection

• Coherent and relevant curriculum

• Active, problem-focused learning

• Cohort designs

• Coaching, mentoring, and other supportive structures

• Impact of preparation to practice at the individual, school, district and state levels including teacher and student performance

• Advances in program relevancy to the problems of leadership practice, particularly issues of equity, social justice, achievement

• Alumni support and professional development

• Job-embedded leadership development

• University partnerships with schools, districts, and states

D. Innovative and Synergistic Partnerships: What constitutes an effective partnership? Who should be “at the table?” How do we develop less traditional partnerships—like other professional organizations, businesses/corporations—especially those that are engaged in and/or support educational initiatives? Once at “the table,” how do we keep partners actively engaged? How do we sustain healthy partnerships?

• University partnerships with schools, districts, states, professional and community organizations, businesses/corporations, and foundations

• Exemplars of partnership practices and lessons learned • P-20 partnerships • Student, parent, and community engagement • Innovative and nontraditional partnerships

• Mutually beneficial partnerships

E. Politics and Policy: What are the politics of leadership preparation and practice? How do institutions of higher education, and other leadership development programs, actively engage with decision makers and influence policies that impact leadership preparation and P-20 environments? How does research and evaluation inform how scholars engage with decision makers and policy makers?

• Non-university-based preparation (e.g., alternative, nonprofit, for-profit, and district providers)

• Foundation involvement in leadership preparation and practice • Nonpublic schools (e.g., charter schools, private schools, and home schooling)

• Financing public and higher education (e.g., state funding, university funding, supplemental sources, grant funding) and vouchers 

• Implications of Race to the Top on leadership preparation and practice 

• State and national standards and requirements 

• Accreditation

F. Knowledge is Power: How do scholars and their collaborative partners broaden their scope of influence through research?

• Creation of research-based products

• Dissemination efforts

• Research utilization

• Use of technology

• Alternate venues and audiences

• P-20 student voice

• School, district, and community change 

III. Session Categories

A. Paper Session. These sessions are intended for reporting research results or analyzing issues of policy and practice in an abbreviated form. Presenters are expected to provide electronic copies of papers. The proposal summary should include a statement of purpose, theoretical framework, findings, and conclusions. For research reports, also describe data sources and methods. A discussion leader will be assigned to facilitate dialogue for the session.

B. Symposia. A symposium should examine specific issues, research problems, or topics from several perspectives and should allow for dialogue and discussion. Session organizers are expected to chair the session and facilitate discussion. Symposium participants are expected to develop and provide electronic copies of papers.

C. Critical Conversations/Dialogue. These sessions are intended to stimulate informal, lively discussions using a series of provocative questions or vignettes. Session organizers may organize a panel of participants who facilitate and guide the conversation about critical issues, concerns, and perspectives. Alternatively, these sessions may be organized as a dialogue where the organizers and audience discuss an issue or series of questions in small groups. The proposal summary should describe the purpose of the session, the ways in which participants will engage in conversation/dialogue, and examples of questions or areas to be addressed.

D. Innovative Sessions and Mini-Workshops. Proposals utilizing innovative presentation/interaction strategies are encouraged, such as web-based projects, films, and the use of technology to increase interaction and participation. The proposal summary should describe the focus and purpose of the session or mini-workshop (to be held during the convention), the innovative format, and how the format will enhance adult learning and discussion.

E. International Community-Building Sessions. These sessions, regardless of format (i.e., paper, symposia, conversation, etc.), require participants to be from two or more different countries. The focus of these sessions must be examinations of critical issues from these multiple international perspectives. The proposal summary should describe the purpose of the session, the format participants will employ, and a list of the national contexts that will be represented.

F. Ignite Sessions. These sessions are intended to stimulate informal, lively discussions using a cluster of four to five 5-minute presentations with no more than 20 slides per presentation, where each slide is displayed for approximately 15 seconds while the speaker addresses the audience. The intent of an Ignite session is to spark interest and awareness of multiple yet similar topics while encouraging additional thought and action on the part of presenters and members of the audience. Ignite sessions are an ideal way to present innovations, effective strategies and tools, problems of practice, collaborations, etc. The proposal summary should be for an individual (5-minute) Ignite presentation that describes the purpose and topic of the 5-minute presentation, relevant literature, findings (if relevant), and examples of questions or areas to be addressed. Examples of "Ignite" Sessions:

http://www.youtube.com/user/iGNiTe?blend=1&ob=4#p/u/3/rqSkuIkwQ98

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9790118FDAAA1D9A

G. Pre- and Postconvention Work Sessions and Workshops. These sessions, which provide both 2- and 4-hour sessions for scholars of similar interest, are encouraged for (a) groups of scholars who are working on projects directly related to the core mission of UCEA and (b) scholars who wish to present a workshop for faculty members attending the convention. Proposals should describe the purpose of the session, relevant literature, how the time will be used, the role and expertise of facilitators, outcomes for participants, and plans for disseminating information from the session/workshop to UCEA member institutions and the field.

Additionally, UCEA is offering two other ways for engagement in the 2012 Convention. First, for graduate students, UCEA has established a first-of-its-kind Doctoral Student Symposium as a preconference session. It will be launched for our 2012 Conference in Denver. Doctoral students from UCEA member institutions will be invited to submit proposals similar to UCEA’s format and present them during this preconference session. Further details regarding the call for proposals for this graduate student presession will follow later this month and can be found on the Graduate Student portion of the UCEA Website: http://www.ucea.org/graduate-student- development/.

Second, for those who are handy with audio-visual technology, the 2012 UCEA Convention will play host to a Film Festival! UCEA has opened an opportunity for submissions of 5-minute videos that explore broadly the landscape of quality leadership preparation, including our research and engaged scholarship, our preparation program designs and improvement efforts, our policy work, and the practice of educational leaders. Video submissions may relate to the conference theme or share educational leadership program features, innovations, and impacts. Additional details are posted in the UCEA Review and on the UCEA website: http://www.ucea.org.

IV. Criteria for Review of Proposals

All proposals will be subject to blind, peer review by two reviewers, which will occur electronically. The proposal must not include names of session organizers or presenters. Primary authors of submitted proposals agree to serve as proposal reviewers.

Proposals for papers and posters will be evaluated for

• relevance of research problem/topic to the convention theme and/or broader discourse in the field regarding leadership preparation;

• thoroughness and clarity of the proposal; • theoretical framework, methods, analysis, and presentation of findings (for empirical

research); and • significance.

All other proposals will be evaluated for

• relevance of research problem/topic to the convention theme and/or broader discourse in the field,

• thoroughness and clarity of the proposal, and

• alignment between proposed format and purpose of the session

V. Participation Guidelines and Proposal Deadlines

Those engaged in research, policy, or practice in educational or youth-serving agencies may submit proposals for consideration.

Proposals must be received by Monday, May 7, 2012. All proposals must be submitted electronically at the link to be provided at the UCEA homepage (http://www.ucea.org). This site will officially open April 1, 2012.

Submission length must not exceed 3 single-spaced pages (approximately 2,000 words or 8,000 characters) using 12-point font (Times New Roman). References are required and must not exceed 1 single-spaced page (approximately 400 words or 2,200 characters).

The lead author of papers is required to upload an advance copy of the paper into the All Academic System through the UCEA Convention site 3 weeks prior to the convention (October 23, 2012). By submitting a proposal, the lead author of each proposal also agrees to serve as a reviewer. An author’s failure to live up to either of these commitments may lead to the paper being removed from the convention program.

VI. Participation Limits

To promote broad participation in the annual convention, an individual may appear as first author on no more than two proposals. In addition, an individual may appear on the program no more than four times in the role of presenter. The participation limit does not include service as chair or discussant or participation in invited sessions or any session connected with UCEA headquarters, committees, or publications.

QUESTIONS?

 Please call UCEA Headquarters at (434) 243-1041 or email us uceaconvention@gmail.com