AEFP 48th Annual Conference
Grand Hyatt Hotel, Denver, Colorado
March 23–25, 2023
Call for Proposals
Submission Dates: September 19–October 28, 2022
A Great Upheaval: Research and Evidence in a Time of Political and Social Transformation
The Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) is pleased to announce its call for proposals for the 48th Annual Conference, which will be held March 23-25, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Denver, Colorado. Submissions will be accepted for individual papers, posters, and policy talks from Monday, September 19, through Friday, October 28, 2023, at 11:59 pm PT.
The 48th conference theme is A Great Upheaval: Research and Evidence in a Time of Political and Social Transformation, a reference to Levine and Van Pelt’s (2022) The Great Upheaval. They describe a higher education sector that – like the newspaper industry before it – “projected tomorrow to mirror yesterday” and “failed to see or even monitor the dramatic changes in competitors, technology, and the marketplace” (p. 205). These changes are just a few examples of broader shifts in our education policy and fiscal landscape in recent years, including the altered perception of the value of a high school or college degree that is leading many to rethink their education choices. These changes are set against the backdrop of social and political transformation that formed the basis for our conference theme last year: COVID-19 and the struggle for racial justice continue to define the context in which we live and work. With declining public school enrollments – from PK12 to postsecondary – and diminishing support for public higher education in the US, we aim to underscore the importance of public education in a properly functioning, modern, diverse civil society and the promise education continues to hold as the great equalizer in a democracy.
AEFP aims to define and inform the changing education finance and policy environment, increase the use of research in policymaking, and build a solid evidence base for education and social policy decisions now and in the future. To this end, we welcome submissions from across disciplinary and methodological backgrounds, from practitioners and scholars, and from a diversity of opinions and perspectives. The quality of evidence and thought demonstrated at our annual conference is our priority. To quote the introduction to Hess and Noguera’s (2021) A Search for Common Ground, “We’ve tried to offer an alternative model, one for those who desire to disagree with grace and explore differences without rancor.” We share this approach and goal, and our general session will underscore this message and set the tone for the conference.
This call for proposals is also an announcement of a new conference section called “Work Relevant to the Local Context.” The area has been established to encourage inquiry into issues particularly timely and pertinent to the cities and states hosting our conferences and to encourage conference participation by researchers and practitioners in the state and region. In the online proposal submission system, you will be able to choose one of our traditional conference sections (listed below) for your work as well as to identify your proposal as work relevant to the local context. In addition to informing conference programming decisions, this information will be used in outreach efforts. Possible issues relevant to Denver and to Colorado could include, but are not limited to:
- Educator shortages and staffing turnover; teacher labor markets
- Institutional accountability and school ratings
- Fiscal “shocks” and their impact on students, staff, and schools
- Short- and long-term effects of universal preschool programs
- The interplay of health policy and education
Paper and Poster Proposals
We welcome paper and poster proposals on any topic in education finance and policy and in any context. We will review proposals under 17 topic areas. Many proposals can reasonably fit into more than one topic area; authors should choose the topic area that fits the proposal best.
- Local context (new)
- Causes and consequences of racial and other forms of inequity in education
- Early childhood
- Educator preparation, professional development, performance, and evaluation
- Educator labor markets (e.g., compensation, pensions, mobility, supply and demand)
- K-12 standards, accountability, assessment, and curriculum
- K-12 school finance
- K-12 school choice
- K-12 school politics, governance, leadership, and organizations
- K-12 interventions and short-term outcomes (academic and non-academic)
- Post-secondary student access and success
- Post-secondary financial aid and student debt (new)
- Post-secondary institutions and systems: Finance, governance, and accountability
- Long-term outcomes of education (e.g., employment, wages, civic participation)
- COVID-19
- Intersections between education and other policy areas
- Methods, data, and emerging areas of inquiry that do not fall under other topic areas
Only paper or poster submissions will be accepted; panel submissions will not be accepted.
Submissions should be a maximum of 1,000 words. Proposals should clearly articulate the following elements, which the program committee suggests using as headings:
- Background/Significance
- Research Questions
- Data Sources
- Methods
- Findings (including preliminary or forthcoming findings)
Description of these sections. The proposal should:
- provide context for the study and describe its contribution;
- clearly state research questions;
- describe data sources and methods in sufficient detail; and,
- explain its results and substantiate conclusions, or, if the work is still in progress, explain how it expects to substantiate its conclusions by the time of the conference.
You may upload supplemental tables and figures. However, please do not upload a working paper in place of a proposal.
You may only submit one proposal as a presenter. You may be an author on multiple proposals so long as you present only once at the meeting. Proposals should be submitted through AEFP’s submission portal no later than October 28, 2022.
Policy Talk Proposals
In addition to individual papers, we encourage proposals for policy talks that are panel sessions of up to four presenters, focusing on a topic of broad policy relevance. Topics that are relevant to this year’s conference theme are of particular interest and will be prioritized, but all topics are welcome. These panels bring together researchers and policy makers/practitioners to inform and address challenges in education.
Policy talk proposals can be up to 1,000 words in length and should include the following, which could serve as proposal headings:
- Background/Significance
- Policy Topic Addressed
- Description of Panel
- Panelists and their Expected Contributions
Description of these sections. The proposal should:
- explain the session’s policy relevance;
- provide a clear statement of the policy topic it addresses;
- describe the panel’s format;
- name and justify the panelists (including providing relevant information on panelist backgrounds); and,
- describe the contributions it expects each panelist to make.
Policy talk proposals should include at least one practitioner or policymaker, with more than one preferred. Proposals that do not to include a practitioner or policymaker must include a statement justifying the omission and make clear why the panel will be of relevance to practice or policy audiences.
Conference Format
AEFP anticipates an in-person conference in 2023, with online streaming of select sessions. For in-person participants, we will follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to ensure a safe conference. As these guidelines are changing, we will communicate specifics to our membership closer to the conference.
—Colin Chellman, Program Chair and President-Elect, on behalf of the AEFP Program Committee