RECE 2020: Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education 2020 Bethlehem University Bethlehem, Palestine, October 6-10, 2020 |
Conference website | https://www.receinternational.org/conference.html |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=rece2020 |
Abstract registration deadline | May 22, 2020 |
Submission deadline | May 22, 2020 |
Call for Proposals
We invite proposals from early childhood researchers, scholars, educators, pedagogues, teacher‐educators, and activists for the 28th Annual Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education (RECE) Conference. The conference will be held at Bethlehem University in Bethlehem, Palestine.
The RECE conference invites proposals that challenge traditional assumptions about children, childhood and the theoretical underpinnings of early childhood research, policy, curriculum and pedagogy. The conference welcomes all proposals that point to new directions in research, policy, and practice in early education and care. We emphasize the intersections of theory, collective activism, and reconceptualizing practices in work with children, families, and communities. Within this larger framework, this year’s theme is Equal Rights? Partnerships and Community Engagement in Early Childhood Education.
In 2009, RECE hosted its first conference in Bethlehem, Palestine. For many participants, the 2009 conference was an encounter with a community of educators and scholars working under conditions of illegal occupation and physical and intellectual oppression that have immediate effects on young children and their families and communities. Despite the severity of the daily lived experience of Palestinians we were convinced the conference should serve as a forum to explore ‘Pedagogies of Hope’, making reference to Paulo Freire’s notions of ‘pedagogy’ as political practice, and of ‘hope’ as ‘ontological need that demands anchoring in practice’. As we return to Palestine in 2020, we acknowledge that many more areas in the region have suffered from greater levels of violence, oppression, and disregard for children’s rights and the rule of law than we imagined in 2009.
The world at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, is in a perilous state; deliberate action and irresponsible inaction in the face of the global climate emergency, the erosion of peace, and unsustainable levels of inequality in and between countries and regions make the situation dire.
Young children are significantly affected by the present and unfolding future situation. While tied to the specific local contexts of growing up, children’s lives are, at the same time, embedded in the global whole. The local and the global are inseparable; both are concrete and immediate in the lives of young children, their families and communities. This requires urgent critical interrogation of theories, policies and practices relating to concepts that are both specific and local and universal: rights, community, agency.
With such thoughts in mind, we invite and encourage submission of papers that explore Equal Rights, Partnerships and Community Engagement, as they apply to early childhood research, theory, and practice. Papers that go beyond reconceptualizing possibilities for ECEC and point to a way forward that would provide support for practitioners and others are especially welcomed. We also welcome proposals that fall within the RECE approach but may not be directly related to the main conference theme.
Submission Guidelines
Proposal Submission
The deadline for submissions is 22 March 2020. Proposals can only be submitted to the system beginning from 11 February 2020. Note: To facilitate the timely announcement of the conference program, there will be no deadline extension. Proposals will be reviewed by our international program committee and volunteer reviewers and can only be submitted to the online portal, which can be found on the RECE website (from 11 February 2020):
To promote broad participation in the conference, your name must appear on one submission only. In addition, an individual must not appear on the program more than once (e.g., in the role of presenter, convener, or performer).
Proposals must be no more than three single‐spaced pages in length. All proposals must be submitted as a Word document.
Please include the following in your proposal:
- Names, affiliations, addresses, and e‐mail addresses of all presenters
- Brief title, capturing the primary focus, concern, or topic of the session
- One-line summary of the session
- 3‐5 keywords
- Indication of session type and duration (e.g. interactive discussion, roundtable paper presentation, workshop, themed panel, discussion forum)
- Indication of provisions for involving audience participation, and format (overhead, PowerPoint, etc.)
- Abstract for inclusion in the conference program (100‐word maximum)
- Brief rationale outlining the theoretical grounding of the session/paper, and its relevance ti the theme and interests of the conference (500 words max without references):
The rationale should include, and will be evaluated based on the following four criteria:
- Significance of the topic/concern within the RECE’s foci on research, theory, practice, policy, advocacy and activism
- Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
- Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
- Warrants for arguments/point of view
9. Themed panel proposals only: a 100 word abstract for each of the panel papers
Specific format or style, such as APA, is not required.
You will be notified of the outcome of your proposal for presentations no later than 10 May 2020.
Indication of whether “fast-track” reviewing is needed: Experience from prior conferences shows that participants from some countries – especially from the global south – may experience prolonged time getting visas. In order to counter that we will review proposals with anticipated visa difficulties as fast as possible. Please indicate if you think this is needed.
Supporting Multiple Languages
For RECE 2020, we welcome a portion of the conference proposal to be submitted in the languages listed below. Due to the logistics of managing proposal reviews and program production, at this time, only section eight outlined in proposal requirements (the 500 word rationale explicating the theoretical grounding of the session/paper, and its relevance to the theme and interests of the conference) may be submitted in one of the following languages:
- Arabic
- French
- Korean
- Mandarin
- Spanish
Please note that all other parts of the proposal are required and must be written in English. We also welcome the proposal to include section seven (the 100-word abstract) written in both the presenter’s primary language and English. Accepted presenters will have both versions of their 100-word abstracts appear in the final online program.
Modes of Presentation: Presentations will be offered in multimodal formats, including:
- 90-minute themed panels (ideally, 3 -5 presenters, no discussant and allowing 15 of these minutes for discussion)
- 30-minute individual papers/presentations (20 minutes presentation, 10 minutes discussion)
- 90-minute roundtable paper presentations (a combination of 3 individual papers presented and discussed at the roundtable)
- 90-minute themed interactive workshops
- 90-minute themed open space discussion forums
- 90-minute collaborative arts‐based performances/AV presentations
- Poster presentation
Types of Sessions
Paper sessions. In paper sessions, authors present abbreviated versions of their papers, followed by audience discussion. Each session will be scheduled for a 90-minute time slot, usually combining three papers. Individuals must be attentive to the time allocation for presenting their work in paper sessions. In the case of multiple-authored papers, more than one person may present, but multiple presenters must divide among the presenters the total time available to them. They should take steps to ensure that including more than one speaker does not detract from the overall presentation of the work or infringe on the time allotments for other presentations.
Themed panel proposals combine several papers by a self-organized group of presenters under a common theme. The panel papers relate to each other and encourage connection across individual presentations. We recommend that 3-5 papers be part of panel proposals. Because they afford dialogue among the individual papers in a session, panel proposals are especially welcome.
Roundtable Sessions. Roundtable sessions allow maximum interaction among presenters and with attendees. Papers accepted for a roundtable session will be grouped by the program chair into tables with three papers per table, clustered around shared interests. Each roundtable at a roundtable session will have a designated chair, who is knowledgeable about the research area, to facilitate interaction and participation. Because the emphasis is on interaction, there will be no discussants. Each roundtable session will be scheduled for a 90-minute time slot. Because of the physical configuration of this type of session, no additional audiovisual equipment, such as a screen or LCD projector, is provided. Authors wishing to display information may do so from their own laptop computer screens. If you plan to use a laptop, please be sure the battery is charged, as a power source will not be provided. Roundtable sessions are encouraged for new scholars to the RECE conference.
Important Information
If you have any questions about abstracts and the theme of the RECE conference or questions about the RECE conference program, please contact Mathias Urban at mathias.urban@dcu.ie
If you have any questions about visa and invitation letters for presenters and attendees at the RECE conference, please contact Hala Rashed at halay@bethlehem.edu
Proposal Reviewing
The presentations and discussions rely on dialogue during the conference, but also on the reviewing of the proposals by other RECE volunteer reviewers. We therefore encourage members of the RECE community, regardless of whether you plan to be a conference participant, to volunteer as a reviewer.
If you are interested in reviewing proposals, please put “RECE volunteer reviewer” in the subject of an email to Mathias Urban (mathias.urban@dcu.ie ). In the body of your email, please include your position (e.g., graduate student, faculty, educator) and areas of research interest.
Conference theme
- Equal Rights? Partnerships and Community Engagement in Early Childhood Education
Committees
Program Committee
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Mathias Urban (Chair), Dublin City University
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Samara Akpovo, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
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Sonya Gachez, University of Otago
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Diana Paola Gómez Muñoz, Dublin City University
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Jennifer Guevara, Dublin City University
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Janice Kroeger, Kent State University
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Colette Murray, Technological University Dublin
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Martin Needham, Manchester Metropolitan University
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Lacey Peters, Hunter College, City University of New York
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Ayesha Rabadi-Raol, Teachers College
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Mara Sapon-Shevin, Syracuse University
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Ashley Sullivan, Penn State University
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Marek Tesar, University of Auckland
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Germán Camilo Zárate Pinto, Dublin City University
Organizing committee
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Hala Rashed, Bethlehem University
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Ferdoos Al-Issa, Bethlehem University
Venue
The conference will be held in Bethlehem, Palestine
Contact
All questions about submissions should be emailed to mathias.urban@dcu.ie . Please quote 'RECE2020' in the subject line of your email