Abstract submission is now open for British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS) Annual Conference 2018. Contributions are invited on any aspect of the conference theme. For more information on venue and fees, please visit the conference website.

Conference theme: "Education Policy and Sustainability: global perspectives from the field of educational leadership"

Presentation Formats and Submission Criteria

All papers are subjected to anonymous peer review and are selected solely on merit. Submissions must be made online using our abstract submission system by 31st December 2017. Abstracts after this deadline will not be included in the programme.

Abstracts should fall into one of the categories below:

Addresses completed research with outcomes
Addresses projectwhere there is already completed data set to discuss

Offers critical discourse analysis in educational research and/or provides a critical review of issues
Advances understanding of practice within the context of education policy and sustainability.

Reviewers will take this into account when assessing the suitability of papers for inclusion in the conference programme.

All abstracts will be assessed against the following criteria:

Relevance of the topic to BELMAS members
Clarity of research question(s) and/or focus of enquiry
Robustness of analytical and/or theoretical framework
Significance for educational practice, policy and/or theory

All abstracts must be a maximum of 400 words and exclude tables or diagrams. The names and institutions/organisations of all co-authors must be included at the appropriate stage when making your submission. These details will not go forward to the Review Panel.


Presentation Formats

Theatre Style

Authors present abbreviated versions of their papers, followed by audience discussion. The format generally allows for sessions to include three or four papers with approximately 5 minutes for the chair’s introduction, 20 minutes per author presentation and 15 minutes discussion. Session chairs may adjust the timings based on the number of presentations scheduled for the session. In the case of multi-authored papers, more than one person may present, but multiple presenters are urged to be attentive to the total time available to them.


Roundtables
Timing: 45-60 minutes per roundtable

The purpose of roundtable sessions is to allow maximum interaction among the presenter(s) and audience. Roundtable presenter(s) should therefore see themselves as facilitators of wider discussion and be prepared to introduce themselves and their research by a short presentation (maximum five PowerPoint slides) which is designed to engage interest and stimulate reflective audience participation. This format lends itself to any research topic; but we see it as being particularly appealing to those who value peer discussion as a means of validating their research analysis, as a means of stimulating further research, or as a ‘safe haven’ within which controversial topics may be explored. Roundtable sessions will not be chaired as the presenter(s) role as facilitator subsumes the role of Chair.


Workshop
Timing: 45-60 minutes per workshop

The purpose of a workshop session is to actively engage members of the audience. Presentations are brief, allowing adequate time for interaction and discussion. It differs from a roundtable in that the presenter(s) should aim to structure the session such that participants take part in guided activities. As is the case with roundtables this may stimulate wider discussion, but presenters choosing this format will need to outline the nature of the planned activity/activities which will prompt the discussion. This format offers presenter(s) the opportunity to work with their peers to explore a common problem, project or shared interest and has in the past led to new insights prompted by the activities undertaken during the session. Again these sessions will not be chaired as the presenter(s) role is to guide the activities and ensuing discussion.


Poster

Postgraduate Researchers may be allocated space to display posters and will be available to discuss their work. Poster sessions provide an opportunity for informal, interactive presentation and discussion of diverse topics in the field of educational leadership, management and administration.

Selected applicants will be allocated a display area and will be included in a poster session to present and discuss their work in an informal atmosphere.

Display Posters should be eye-catching visual representations of a topic, including graphics, tables, charts, text, and/or images. A maximum of two presenters per poster is recommended. The selection panel will evaluate proposals primarily on their potential to stimulate interesting discussion, facilitate the exchange of ideas, and promote collaboration across research areas.

IGNITE!

Presenters are given 5 minutes to speak about their ideas and personal or professional passions. No visual aids are permitted. Presenters should aim to stimulate debate for the plenary at the end when the audience is invited to engage with presenters on any aspect of the presentations they have heard.

Submission of Abstracts

Abstracts are submitted online and the data entered will be used in the published programme. It is essential that great care is taken in the details of your submission. In particular, authors are asked to ensure that the following are recorded correctly:

Title of Paper
Names of all authors and institutions/organisations
Name(s) of the person(s) who will be presenting at the conference

Full instructions for submitting your abstract are provided in the online system. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 31st December 2017. The decision on acceptances will be communicated to authors in March 2018.

To submit your abstract, please copy this link into your browser:

https://belmas2018.exordo.com/

You will be required to create an account before gaining access to the abstract submission system.