12th Annual Ontario Education Research Symposium – Call for Proposals

“Experiences of marginalization have left too many children and youth in Ontario struggling—in an environment where all should be thriving.”

—Sylvia Smith, Project of Heart, Founder

The Ministry of Education welcomes proposals for the 12th annual Ontario Education Research Symposium (OERS), which will focus on “Advancing Equity and Achievement in Ontario Classrooms.” Recognizing that some students and educators face unique experiences of discrimination, the symposium will examine issues of systemic bias, practices and processes that often result in differential treatment of racialized and marginalized children and youth.

In this spirit, the Ministry invites you and your partner(s) to submit a proposal to participate in the Ontario Education Research Symposium, which will be held on February 28 to March 2, 2018 in Toronto.

The goals of the 2018 Symposium are:

  • To leverage and support the work of education leaders across the province who are focused on identifying and removing systemic barriers
  • To highlight provincial, national and international research and evidence on equity in education
  • To facilitate partnerships among universities, schools, school boards/authorities, and communities to identify opportunities for research and ongoing collaboration
  • To deepen our understanding around seven key sub-themes (see below)

We are looking for proposals from cross-sector partnerships for workshops, roundtable discussions and poster presentations that are based on the symposium’s sub-themes. All proposed activities should demonstrate how to grow equity-focused practices, build equity consciousness and capacity in the field, and develop an equity-focused lens.

Conference sub-themes are:

  1. Building school-community research partnerships in the space of equity
  2. Empowering student voice
  3. Indigenous education, perspectives and knowledge
  4. Addressing race/inequities in the early years
  5. Multiple identities/intersectionality (e.g., race, gender, other exceptionalities)
  6. Cultural supports in mental health and well-being
  7. Anti-racist education/immigrant and refugee students

Session Formats

Workshops (max. 3 presenters)

  • Workshops should offer relevant learning objectives and provide opportunities for meaningful discussion around a research question or problem.
  • Please consider a non-traditional and innovative strategy for interaction. We seek speakers and moderators who bring depth, experience and energy to a session.
  • Workshop sessions will run for 90 minutes, concurrently with roundtable discussion sessions.
  • We estimate that each individual workshop will have an audience of 25–50 people.
  • Your proposal must indicate the sub-theme that your workshop topic connects with.

Roundtable Discussions (max. 2 presenters)

  • We seek representatives of research/evaluation partnerships to facilitate roundtable discussions of 8–10 people.
  • Roundtable discussions should allow maximum interaction between and among presenters and attendees around a particular research question or problem.
  • The sessions will run for 90 minutes, concurrently with workshop sessions.
  • The sessions will be structured as follows:
    • First 60 minutes: multiple (simultaneous) roundtable discussions. (Discussions should not exceed 30 minutes—to allow attendees to participate in more than one.)
    • Final 30 minutes: full-room conversation/conclusion.
  • Your proposal must indicate the sub-theme that your roundtable topic connects with.

Posters (max. 2 presenters)

  • Poster presentations should combine the graphic display of materials with individualized, informal discussion around the research question or problem.
  • They should provide an overview of key ideas/concepts, methods, findings and conclusions.
  • There will be a scheduled timeslot for poster presentations to give all attendees an opportunity to engage with poster presenters.
  • Your proposal must indicate the sub-theme that your poster connects with.

Selection Criteria

  1. Proposal should focus on the impact of the research or evaluation project. What has changed because of this particular project?
  2. Research/evaluation must be recently completed (within the past 18 months) or currently underway, with clear findings that can be presented.
  3. Research/evaluation must demonstrate work of cross-sector partnerships involving education research, practice and policy partners (e.g., schools, boards, community organizations, universities, colleges, research organizations, ministry).

How to apply

Please submit your proposal by completing the form below and sending it to CRO.Office@ontario.ca.

All proposals are due by 5:00 pm ET on November 30, 2017. If you have questions, please contact us at CRO.Office@ontario.ca.

We are submitting a proposal for the following presentation format(s):

 

☐Workshop

☐Roundtable Discussion

☐Poster

Project title:

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Purpose of the project:

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Key question(s):

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What is/was the timeframe of the project (start/end date)?

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Who are/were the partners on the project?

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Who would be the presenters/exhibitors at the symposium? (Maximum 3 for workshops, maximum 2 for posters and roundtables.)

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What are/were the methodologies and data used in the project?

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What are the key findings and significance of the research (e.g. potential impact of this project on the education sector)?

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Please provide us with a description of the project (max. 150 words) that will appear in the symposium materials.

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Who is our follow-up contact?

 

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E-mail: Click here to enter text.

All submissions will be reviewed and those chosen to participate will be contacted by the middle of December.