Event Name & Details:

The NICE annual Research Symposium

Date: 18 July 2024

Time: 0900 – 1700 (AWST)

Venue: Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre

Contact: Julia.verdouw@nice.edu.cu

The NICE annual Research Symposium aims to bring together Christian education scholars from around Australia and overseas to exchange scholarly research, insights and innovations, in order for our Christian education sector to flourish and grow. The 2024 research symposium will be a full-day, in-person event following the International Transforming Education Conference (ITEC), Nova Diem/A New Day, in Perth, WA.

The current education landscape is changing rapidly, presenting new complexities and challenges across education policy and practice, between generations and their changing social imaginaries, and across social and demographic divides. The 2024 Symposium, Educating for Hope in this Cultural Moment, presents an opportunity to consider how scholarship can explore and investigate the realities and challenges of this cultural moment, while attending to the source of our hope as the psalmist does in Psalm 33: 20-22 (New International Version, 2011):

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Our symposium will bring together scholars and educators who are committed to advancing research on Christian education. We will explore three research areas key to current educational challenges, each through the lens of culture and hope*:

STRAND ONE: Community and Connection

This strand will address questions such as:

• How do current cultural challenges (such as political and social polarisation, generational divides, shifting worldviews, social media use, and changing workforce ethics) necessitate new and effective forms of communication and connection in education environments? How can classroom educators, leaders, or governance bodies respond to challenges in hopeful ways to complex and challenging issues?
• How can education communities kindle, inspire and encourage new forms of hope between/across generations and those who are different than us? How can we foster old or new forms of Christian community that reshape our generational imaginations?
• What processes, programs, technologies, innovations, and imaginations might engage students and scholars in the hopeful work of becoming faithful and connected communities who delight in God and each other?

STRAND TWO: Biblical Love, Justice and Peace

This strand will address questions such as:

• What is the role of Christian education in promoting justice, including the relationship between Christian education and the biblical imperative to practice being loving communities that reflect the diversity of the body of Christ, and are equitable and socially inclusive?
• What does it mean to love like Jesus in Christian education, given shifting social and cultural assumptions around diversity, well-being, and authority? How is this reflected in different roles and spheres of education, such as junior vs. senior or tertiary learning, classroom teaching, leadership, or governance bodies?
• How can our education communities reflect the hope of God’s peace in this time and place where mental illness, uncertainty, isolation and crisis appear ubiquitous?
• What processes, programs, technologies, innovations, and imaginations can assist us to navigate current policy and practice challenges in Christian education with our hearts set on the hope of Christ?

We welcome abstract submissions from researchers in a variety of contexts, including K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and other organizations involved in Christian education. We encourage submissions from scholars, educators, graduate students (for example, NICE graduates), and other researchers exploring these themes in their work*.

Proposals may include different types of scholarly work connected with the conference theme of culture and hope, including:

• Original primary (empirical) research projects, completed or in progress;
• Conceptual or theoretical investigations drawing on the philosophy of education, or theological foundations for relevant themes in education;
• Best practice research for innovative programs, partnerships, community practices in education fields, and/or recommendations for educational or school policy.

The research symposium will include a number of keynote research addresses as well as concurrent (strand-based) research workshops, depending on presenter numbers.

We encourage submission of proposals by February 1, 2024. Proposals received by this date will be reviewed during February and individuals notified of the decision by Feb 29th 2024.

*If your research or work does not appear to fit neatly into the conference theme yet you feel it is significant to the broader mission of NICE and ITEC themes, the committee encourages you to submit a proposal.

SYMPOSIUM ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS:

Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words by the submission deadline. Abstracts should clearly articulate the research questions, methodology, and findings of the proposed paper or presentation. We look forward to reviewing your submissions and building a robust program for our 2024 symposium.

The Submission Process:

Abstract submissions are opening soon; please use a link that will be provided on this page. Please submit your abstract by 01 February, 2024. All submissions will be considered by the research committee and assessed according to the selection criteria (see below).

Submission Selection Criteria

The following selection criteria will apply:

• Submissions should relate either to research or reviews currently being undertaken or recently completed (preferably in the last 5 years).
• Presentations should be related to research in the field of Christian education or the philosophy of Christian education.
• Presenters should be undertaking or have completed research approved by NICE or an accredited higher education institute or university.
• As noted above, proposals may include different types of scholarly work connected with the conference theme of culture and hope, including:
  • Original primary (empirical) research projects, completed or in progress;
  • Conceptual or theoretical investigations drawing on the philosophy of education, or theological foundations for relevant themes in education;
  • Best practice research for innovative programs, partnerships, community practices in education fields, and/or recommendations for educational or school policy.
• Presentations may be collaborative (involving up to 3 presenters).

Presentations

Each presenter will have a half-hour time allocated for their presentation. This will include a presentation up to 20-minutes in length, followed by Q&A time of up to 10 minutes. Presenters are welcome to use PowerPoint (or a similar presentation tool).