Call for Conference Proposals

The 15th Annual Summer Institute on Early Childhood Development

Balancing Access and Quality

June 1, 2018
George Brown College, Waterfront Campus, 51 Dockside Drive, Toronto

Please submit completed form to

no later than February 7, 2018.
Presenters will be notified by February 28, 2018

The Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development, OISE/UT, and the School of Early Childhood, George Brown College arepleased to announce their Call for Proposals for the 15th Annual Summer Institute on Early Childhood Development – Balancing Access and Quality. The Conference takes place June 1, 2018 at George Brown College, Waterfront Campus, 51 Dockside Drive, Toronto, Ontario.

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ECE can bring a wide range of benefits – for children, parents and society at large. However, these benefits are conditional on “quality”. Expanding access without attention to quality will not deliver good outcomes for children or benefits for society. Federal funding for the provinces and territories emphasizes more child care spaces for vulnerable communities. Targeted expansion could be problematic given challenges recruiting qualified staff , the limitations of subsidy systems and parents’ inability to pay market fees.

The 15th Summer Institute examines the challenges in promoting quality while targeting expansion.Featured speakers include Sir Kevan Collins, head of the UK Education Endowment Foundation, providing evidenced-based evaluation of the policies and practices that work – and don’t work – to improve children’s outcomes, and Dr. Angela James who draws on indigenous pedagogy to strengthen early years practice.

Proposals may include findings from researchor innovative practices. International topics are welcomed. Areas include:

  1. Putting children first: Meeting the needs of children when the policy driver is parent employment.
  2. When educator demand outstrips supply: The hiring, evaluation and compensation of educators, collective bargaining andoccupational standards.
  3. Training for quality:Post secondary institutions provide a wider range of advanced qualifications for educators, yet in many regions more than two-thirds of child care staff have no formal training. Where to start -- some training for all or higher training for some?
  4. Financing early education: The balance between public and private responsibility; adequacy, equity and transparency in ECE funding and affordability for parents.
  5. Little kids in big schools: Can public education fill the early years access gap?
  6. Indigenous knowledge:How Indigenous knowledge informs early childhood programming.
  7. Parents as quality monitors: Are parents informed consumers of ECE? Can they be?
  8. Approaches to inclusion and equity:Responding to families traumatized by conflict; the inclusive participation of children with special needs/exceptionalities.
  9. Accountability: Evaluating child and program outcomes. Who should do it and how? Can oversight get in the way of good practice?
  10. Early years service planning: Who is responsible? Who is/or should be at the table and in what capacity?

Consideration will be given to regionalrepresentation. Where possible conference organizers will facilitate sessions that include researchers, practitioners and policymakers to synthesize findings.

Presentations that contain commercial marketing will not be accepted.

Presenters will be notified by February 28, 2018.

The conference will be webcast. Presentations should be forwarded two weeks in advance and will appear on the conference website as part of the conference report.

Definition:

The term “early childhood education” (ECE) includes all arrangements providing care and education for children prior to compulsory schooling (Grade 1), regardless of setting, funding, auspice or opening hours. In the context of Canada ECE includes, but is not exclusive of licensed child care, family day homes, nursery schools, pré-maternelle, Aboriginal Head Start, early years centres, family resource and support programs, preschool, pre-primary, primary, kindergarten, pre-kindergarten and junior kindergarten.

Call for Proposals Submission

Presenter
/
Co-Presenter
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Phone: Click or tap here to enter text. / Phone: Click or tap here to enter text.
Type of Presentation

☐Panel

☐Workshop

☐Paper

☐Poster Presentation. Please indicated poster size: Click or tap here to enter text.

AV Requirements

☐Projector & Screen

☐Other – Please explain: Click or tap here to enter text.

Summary

Please provide a 70-word summary of the proposal, as you would like to see it to appear in the conference brochure.

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Please provide a description of the presentation with reference to the conference theme, topics, and how your presentation may further best practices in ECE programming and policies.

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Relevant research, if applicable: Click or tap here to enter text.

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