Policy paper

Nordic Educational Research Association [Nera] Policy on Networks, Keynotes, Symposia, Paper Sessions, Roundtables, Poster Sessions and Workshops

The congress organizers organize the congress in keynotes, symposia, paper sessions, roundtables, poster sessions, workshops and other activities.

The Congress Language

The congress language is English. Abstracts are always in English.

It is possible to present a paper in one of the Nordic languages but it must be clear announced in the program. Presentations in Nordic languages will be placed at the end of the sessions.

The Organizing Committee

The organizing committee decides on the keynotes in consultation with the board of NERA and decides which papers will be accepted/not accepted for presentation at the conference. Authors of abstracts will be notified approximately eight weeks after the deadline for proposals whether the proposal has been accepted or not.

The organizing committee informs the network of how many slots will be given to the network and the place and time of the slots.

NERA Network Organization

Each NERA Network is expected to have a convenor and the members of the network must represent at least three different Nordic countries.

The main purpose of a NERA network is to facilitate and foster dialogue, discussion and collaboration between Nordic researchers, educators and practitioners in the field of education. A network organizes meetings and sessions in connection with NERA's annual congresses. The networks serve as a meeting ground for researchers within the field of education and other interested people.

The role of the convenor varies from network to network, depending in part upon the size and ambitions of the networks. As the networks are the main actors at each NERA conference, it has increasingly become necessary for the convenors to liase with their members and with the NERA board and the organizing committee of the NERA conference. After each NERA conference, the convenors are expected to produce a report on the activities of the network at the conference and during the year.

Each of the NERA networks has a convenor, which takes care of the planning of network-related sessions in cooperation with the congress committee.

The Network Convenor

The main responsibilities of the network convenor are:

1. To communicate with network members;
2. To maintain contact with the NERA board and the organizing committee of the NERA conference;
3. To organize network activities at the NERA conference in collaboration with the organizing committee of the NERA conference, including the Multiple-Presenter Symposia, Multiple-Paper Sessions, Roundtable Discussions, Poster Sessions and Workshops.
4. To enable quick feedback on proposals the organising committee will go through them and inform those that have had their proposals accepted about this. When necessary the organising committee will advise contributors to revise or to submit to another format (see description of the different session formats). The network convenors will be informed about the processes and decisions. This procedure does not take full advantage of the competencies of the network convenors and conference organisers are therefore advised to communicate with the network convenors in this matter to ensure a common understanding.
5. To prepare a detailed plan for the paper session and to submit it to the organizing committee by a date set by the organizing committee. The plan must include:
6. The title of the network
7. The plan for the presentations
8. The names of the contributors
9. The addresses of the contributors' institutions
10. The title of the presentation
11. The organizing committee makes the final decisions of the program.
Each paper session has one chair
12. The convenor appoints the chairs for the individual sessions
13. The convenor informs the organizing committee of the names of the chairs.
14. To attend convenors' meetings and the Annual General Meeting [AGM] at the NERA conference;
15. The convenor is responsible for making a description of the aims and intentions of the networks that is posted on the web site.
16. To make a report on the activities of the network during the last year. The report may be the minutes from the network meeting at the NERA conference. The convenor sends the report to the chair of NERA and posts it on the web site.
17. The board of NERA will in accordance with economic means support network activities. Support will only be given to network activities between the conferences, particularly activities for PhD-students and other network activities and symposiums in connection with pre- or post-NERA network conferences. In addition to this, the Board of NERA will in accordance with economic means support a group of Nordic researchers from a NERA network, that has been chosen to represent NERA at the American Educational Research Association's Annual Meeting. Routines and time schedule for AERA submission and support will be announced yearly.
18. Applications must be submitted by the convenor of the network to the chair of the NERA board by 15 August the year before the next NERA conference. The convenor will be informed of the decision of the NERA board in September the year before the next conference.
19. Documentation for all expenditures must be sent to the treasurer of NERA no later than one month after the NERA conference has taken place.

Presentations of Research

NERA paper/symposium guidelines for writing proposals

The NERA proposal shall contain a maximum of 350-500 words and shall be composed according to these themes:

1. Title of paper
2. Author(s) of proposal
3. Research topic/aim
4. Theoretical framework
5. Methodology/research design
6. Expected conclusions/findings
7. Relevance for Nordic Educational research. Since the conference is a Nordic forum aimed at developing the scientific knowledge base of education, sharing leading edge perspectives on critical policy issues and practical information and creating a new space for educational research in the Nordic countries, it is important that papers in symposia and paper sessions reflect these intentions.

All presenters in symposia and paper sessions are expected to bring copies of papers.

Multiple-Presenter Symposia

A symposium consists of papers focusing on a common theme to demonstrate a range of perspectives or a variety of approaches. A symposium is planned and proposed by a symposium organizer, a network convenor e.g. and has a chair (often the organizer) and a discussant who has read the different papers in advance.

The congress organizers decide how many symposia are feasible at the congress. The congress organizers also decide on the time and place of symposia.

Each symposium has one organizer, who takes care of the planning of the symposium and coordination with the congress organizers.

The organizer should solicit proposals and submit them together. The organizer is expected to chair the session and to facilitate discussion. The proposal should include the purpose of and rationale behind the session, a description of each presentation and a statement regarding audience involvement.

The organizer makes an agreement with the organizing committee about the organization of the symposium. The organizing committee informs the organizer of the place and the time of the symposium.

The organizer of the symposium prepares a detailed plan for the symposium including:

1. The title of the symposium,
2. The names of the contributors,
3. The addresses of the contributors' institutions,
4. An abstract describing the entire symposium,
5. Abstracts from the contributors (max. 200 words), and
6. The plan for the presentations.

The plan must be submitted to the organizing committee.

Multiple-Paper Sessions

Paper sessions consist of a presentation and a discussion of papers about an ongoing or completed research project. Time frame for each paper: 30 minutes including discussion. 3-4 different papers will be presented at each parallel session.

All abstracts for paper sessions must be submitted to the congress committee before the deadline declared by the congress committee and announced in second call for the conference but no later than December 1. Abstracts may be no longer than 200 words. Taking their point of departure in the subject of the abstract, the organizing committee allocates the abstracts within the framework of the networks.

Other Formats of Presentations

Roundtable Discussions

A roundtable session is a forum for the presentation and discussion of developmental work and research plans. Roundtable sessions are intended for focused discussions in small groups of research in progress, practitioner experiences, educational improvement initiatives and issues in institutional effectiveness and improvement

The proposal summary should describe the focus and purpose of the session and ways in which participants will be engaged.

Unless other nominations are made, the organizing committee will appoint a researcher to act as organizer and leader of the roundtable session.

Poster Sessions

Poster sessions offer a more informal opportunity to present a project visually rather than orally by means of one (or very few) posters.

During poster sessions, participants peruse poster stations, a format maximizing interaction between participants and presenters.

Workshops

Workshops are intended to be interactive sessions at which researchers, practitioners or policymakers present a theme. The proposal should include the purpose and the rationale of the session, a description of the presentation and a statement regarding audience involvement.

NERA affiliation to AERA

The main link being that NERA gets a symposium at the AERA Annual Meeting.

The procedure of submitting a proposal to the NERA board is the following:

1. Networks interested send a proposal for arranging a symposium by AERA the latest May 15th. The principles decided in the Policy paper on keynotes, symposia etc. approved by the Annual meeting of NERA, is the form to be used.
   A symposium consists of papers focusing on a common theme to demonstrate a range of perspectives or a variety of approaches.
   There should be participation from a minimum of 3 Nordic countries in the proposal.
   The organizer of the symposium prepares a detailed plan for the symposium including:
   
   1. The title of the symposium,
   2. The names of the contributors,
   3. The addresses of the contributors' institutions,
   4. An abstract describing the entire symposium,
   5. Abstracts from the contributors (max. 200 words), and
   6. The plan for the presentations.
2. The NERA board will draw lot among the applicants and announce the result before June 16th.
3. The selected network prepares the final application for the symposium and sends it to the president of NERA no later than September 1rd. The normal AERA review procedure does not apply to this symposium because the quality assurance has been done by the networks.