Submitting an abstract for BELMAS conference

Submitting an abstract for BELMAS conference Deb Outhwaite (Chair of BELMAS) Denise Mifsud (Vice-Chair Conference & Events) Ryan Beasley (Executive Officer) 12th October 2024

Why engage with BELMAS? What do we do? 

Important in-field networking

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Publish two SAGE Journals:  Education, Management and Leadership (EMAL)  Management in Education (MiE)

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Annual Educational Leadership Conference

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13 x Research Interest Groups (RIGs)

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Many Awards, Bursaries, Grants (ABGs)

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Additional Member Benefits…

In field networking is really important for PGRs as part of becoming ECRs…  Starting to get a feel for an in-field conference is an important

step in the process of writing up dissertations for MA Eds; EdDs; and PhDs  Sharing/ disseminating your research:  with people in the field  with the potential external examiners of your thesis  with the reviewers of your papers, that will come from your

thesis  with those that you will collaborate with in projects as Early

Career Researchers

Role of an ECR 

Remember that you are an ECR for five years after you have completed your thesis

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There are many steps at BELMAS, and in the conference that help to build the start of your career: 

Present a poster/ Win the Award for Best Poster

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Present a PGR paper/ Win the Award for Best Student Paper

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Present a Paper/ Win the Award for Best Conference Paper

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Submit your research to MiE and EMAL

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Be Awarded Best Paper in MiE and EMAL

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Be Awarded Best Thesis Award

Why submit an abstract to conference?

These processes needs to start somewhere:

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Join BELMAS, student membership (all types, part-time Masters/Doctorate and full-time Masters and Doctorates, just need to show student ID) £25/ year

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Then register for relevant RIG updates and meetings

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Attend RIGs, usually free and often online

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Attend conference: 

Check costs: travel/ accommodation not included with conference place

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Awards, Bursaries and Grants are available but competitive

Conference Theme

Who or What is Educational Leadership for? Thinking about Purposes in Educational Leadership, Management and Administration

Choosing your Title  Titles are very important, and require careful planning

 Typically, titles may indicate theme, context and method, or may

explicitly refer back to conference theme

Preparing your Abstract  This is very important and should not be an ‘afterthought’ 

Choosing your Title

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Sticking to the word count

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Not putting in references

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Thinking about the conference date/ time and location

IMPORTANT NOTICE BEFORE SUBMITTING 

DUE TO A NUMBER OF REQUESTS AND WITHDRAWN PAPERS IN 2023 WE POLITELY ASK THAT ALL AUTHORS ASSUME THAT THEY MAY PRESENT AT ANY POINT DURING THE CONFERENCE.

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IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO BE PRESENT DURING THE ENTIRE CONFERENCE, PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT AS THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN GUARANTEE YOUR PAPER TO BE PRESENTED AT ANY GIVEN TIME.

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HOWEVER, WITH ENOUGH NOTICE WE WILL TRY OUR BEST TO MEET ANY SPECIAL REQUESTS.

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THE CONFERENCE WILL FORMALLY BEGIN ON FRIDAY EVENING WITH FIRST PAPERS PRESENTED FROM 09:00 SATURDAY MORNING. THE CONFERENCE WILL FINISH NO LATER THAN 14:00 ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON. PLEASE PLAN YOUR TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS ACCORDINGLY.

SUBMISSIONS 

We welcome submissions from a wide range of experience within the field. Participants will be limited to two presentations in the programme, including co-presenting.

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Authors should note that reviewers will grade submissions against the following criteria:

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Relevance to BELMAS members

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Clarity of research question and/or focus of enquiry

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Robustness of analytical and/or theoretical framework

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Significance for educational practice, policy and/or theory

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Well-developed non-empirical papers are welcome

Important points for submitting an abstract: •

Abstracts must be relevant to the field of educational leadership, management or administration.

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You will need to select from one of two tracks - Single Paper or Symposium Paper. Only choose Symposium if your abstract has been accepted by the Symposium Lead (see Symposia below for details).

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You will be able to edit your submission online prior to peer review.

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The abstract word limit is 500 words (200 Words each for a Symposium). Please do not include references.

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To facilitate the blind peer review process, individuals and institutions should not be identified in the body of the abstract; e.g. use 'author's institution' instead of using the name of the university or organisation. If accepted, authors will be added to the abstracts.

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Abstracts will be published in conference materials as submitted; authors should check for accuracy before submission.

Topics/Strands for Single Paper Abstract Submissions When submitting your abstract, you will need to align to one or more of the following strands. Please ensure that your abstract STILL RELATES TO THE CONFERENCE THEME. 1.

Critical approached to educational leadership

2.

Leadership for equity, diversity, and social justice

3.

Governance and policy

4.

Leadership in times of crisis

5.

Leadership effectiveness and improvement

6.

Leadership, sustainability, and globalization

7.

Leadership development

8.

Leadership in further and higher education

9.

Teacher and middle leadership

10.

Methodological approaches to leadership research

FORMATS 

Authors may choose between "theatre", "workshop" or "poster" presentation formats.

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"Theatre" format means a presentation by one or more authors to an audience without interaction until audience questions are invited at the end of the presentation.

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"Workshop" format means a wholly interactive discussion between an audience and author(s) often in a round table layout.

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Please note that your proposed format may change following the review process.

EARLYBIRD TICKETS, REGISTRATION AND WITHDRAWAL 

Again, due to last minute withdrawals from authors, BELMAS will now provide a deadline for accepted authors to pay for tickets and register for the 2024 Conference.

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Authors will be given notification of acceptance on the week commencing 18th December 2023.

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The deadline for Registration will be Friday 1st March 2024.

Any presentations with no registered authors by this date will be withdrawn with no exceptions. WE WILL NOT BE EXTENDING THIS DEADLINE SO PLEASE REGISTER IN TIME.

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PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WILL ALSO BE THE DEADLINE FOR TITLE AND AUTHOR EDITS AS WE WILL NEED TO PRINT PROGRAMMES. ANY CHANGES AFTER THIS DATE CANNOT BE MADE.

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The abstracts for this conference are peer reviewed and may be made available online postconference. By submitting to this conference, the author affirms that the work submitted is theirs, original and recent. Abstracts must be related to Educational Leadership, Management or Administration.

The Submission Process

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Careful preparation is required – first impressions count!

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Have your information typed into a Word document that you can cut and paste into the Exordo system

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You are asked for 

Title

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Abstract

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Authors

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Biography

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Topics

Questions?

PLEASE ASK ANY QUESTIONS.

Live Questions  Denise and Ryan are available to answer any questions

live today, and info@belmas.org.uk is available to ask any other questions that you may have on the process after today.  Remember that the deadline for abstracts is:

Midnight GMT on Friday 3rd November 2023

GOOD LUCK!