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2012 UCEA Conference Theme:
The Future Is Ours: Leadership Matters

When:  November 15 - 18, 2012
Where:  City Center Marriott in Denver, Colorado

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EVENTS AT A GLANCE - Click here for the general Schedule

THE PROGRAM - Click here to access the 2012 Program

The 2012 UCEA Convention Call for Proposals encouraged submissions that explored 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.

This year UCEA will premier two new session formats:

  • Unconference.  These sessions will reflect Open Space Technology principles that honor the expertise present, the power of self-organized social networks, and the value of learning conversations and 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.
  • Ignite.  These sessions provide purposeful opportunities for in-depth, spontaneous dialogues and deliberations on topics critical to educational leadership. Ignite sessions are best summarized by the motto, “Enlighten us, but make it quick.” 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..

The following proposal topics, along with others, will be the center of discussion this year:

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
  • Ethical issues
  • Global leadership practices
  • 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, districts, 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, and 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?

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

SESSION CATEGORIES:

A. Paper Sessions. 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. Each proposal summary should include a statement of purpose, theoretical framework, findings, and conclusions. Research reports will describe data sources and methods. A discussion leader will be assigned to facilitate dialogue for the session.

B. Symposia. Each symposium will 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.

D. Innovative Sessions and Mini-Workshops. These consist of proposals utilizing innovative presentation/interaction strategies, such as web-based projects, films, and the use of technology to increase interaction and participation.

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 is examination of critical issues from multiple international perspectives.

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.

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 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. 

H.  Graduate Student Summit.  Doctoral students from UCEA member institutions will present proposals similar to UCEA’s main format and present them during this preconference session. Further details regarding the call for proposals for this graduate student presession can be found by CLICKING HERE.

I.  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 and are due by July 31, 2012.  For more information CLICK HERE.

QUESTIONS? 

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