Action Civics Survey

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PD

Heli Mishael, a student at Harvard’s Kennedy School, is doing some investigatory research around action civics and what teachers need to effectively implement an action civics approach in their classroom. This is definitely a question we here at FJCC would be interested in getting an answer to, so if you have some time, please take this survey!

Questions on this survey may be directed to Heli Mishael  Thanks for taking the survey and hopefully contributing to the body of knowledge about what might be needed!

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“Teaching the Presidency in the Digital Age” Webinar!!!

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Controversy, online

I am happy to pass this along, as the Teaching for Democracy Alliance is simply fantastic.

WEBINAR: Teaching the Presidency in the Digital Age
Wednesday, January 11th
4pm ET/1pm PT
The Teaching for Democracy Alliance is pleased to announce its first webinar of 2017 on the timely and important topic of “Teaching the Presidency in the Digital Age.” The webinar will feature Professor Joseph Kahne of UC-Riverside, whose most recent work examines the connection between media literacy education and students’ ability to spot fake news, as well as commentary by media literacy experts Dr. Katherine Fry of Brooklyn College and Dr. Paul Mihailidis from Emerson College. The webinar will also highlight free and innovative instructional resources to support teachers as they help their students make sense of the executive branch in today’s digital climate. Register HERE.

This looks to be another excellent webinar from them. I encourage you to check it out.

SecEd King on Civic Education

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Controversy, Voting

Yesterday, Secretary of Education King spoke for quite awhile on civic education and its importance in helping students become the kinds of citizens they should be.

For me, as someone with a passion for civic education and a firm belief in the importance of developing civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions, this was a positive speech. Some of the highlights:

We need to continue to be ever-vigilant to make sure that this right is not taken away. However, as I would tell my students when I was teaching, voting, as important as it is, is only one responsibility of citizenship. The strength of our democracy depends on all of us as Americans understanding our history and the Constitution and how the government works at every level. Becoming informed and thoughtful about local, state and national issues, getting involved in solving problems in our schools, communities, states and nationally. Recognizing that solutions to the complex issues our nation faces today all require compromise. Being willing to think beyond our own needs and wants and to embrace our obligations to the greater good.

Here at the FJCC, we cannot stress enough how important it is that we as citizens understand that we need to do MORE than just vote, no matter your position on issues. In order to be the best citizen that you can you be, you must become involved and engaged within your community. Organizationally, the FJCC has brought on board an Action Civics Coordinator to begin the process of working with students, teachers, schools, and districts in a civics program that moves beyond just civic knowledge and towards a refinement of the other civic competencies that Secretary King stresses here.

Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia make some civics instruction a graduation requirement. Over the past couple of years, 14 states have also begun requiring students to pass a version of the citizenship exam to get a diploma. That could be a good start, but it is civics light. Knowing the first three words of the preamble to the Constitution, or being able to identify at least one branch of government, is worthwhile, but it’s not enough to equip people to carry out the duties of citizenship.

Without a doubt, this emphasizes again the importance of skills in dispositions as well as knowledge in creating a well-rounded and engaged citizen! It also reinforces the concerns that some have raised about the value of the naturalization test as a measure of civic education and preparedness.

And ask teachers and principals and superintendents to help your students learn to be problem solvers who can grapple with challenging issues such as how to improve their schools, homelessness, air and water pollution or the tensions between police and communities of color. It is also critical that these conversations not be partisan. Civic education and engagement is not a Democratic Party or a Republican Party issue. Solutions to problems can and should be rooted in different philosophies of government. We have to make sure classrooms welcome and celebrate these different perspectives.

I recognize that this could lead to uncomfortable conversations and that teachers will need support and training to foster these conversations in productive ways. Principals will need to be courageous and back their teachers up. Superintendents and school boards will need to make sure their communities understand what they are trying to accomplish.

This is so very important. Discussion of current events and controversial issues within a deliberative framework generally has a positive impact on student civic engagement and awareness of issues, as well as willingness to engage in problem solving. Recent work by Hess and McAvoy explore ways in which teachers and students in ideologically different communities approach this, and both the research and the suggestions can be quite beneficial as we contemplate how to safely approach difficult issues.

So what are the elements of a robust and relevant civic education? First, students need knowledge. They need to know the Constitution and the legislative process. They also need to understand history. Our students ought to be truly familiar with the primary sources that have shaped our nation’s history, with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, with Sojourner Truth’s, “Ain’t I a Woman” speech, and Dr. King’s letter from a Birmingham jail, to name a few.
But it’s not enough to be able to quote from these documents. They need to know why they remain relevant today. They need to be able to put themselves into other shoes and to appreciate the different perspectives that have shaped our nation’s history.

Well, there is the need for civic knowledge. But is there anything else kids need in order to become the citizens this nation needs them to be?

Beyond knowledge, students also need civic skills. They should be able to write persuasive letters to the editor, or to the mayor, or to a member of Congress, and learn to speak at public meetings. In addition, they should have opportunities to do democracy. When I was teaching, I had my seniors do research projects tackling local problems in the community. I can recall students who worked with a local nonprofit to end the dumping of garbage in their neighborhood, to support urban agriculture projects, and to advocate for more affordable housing.

Ah, there is is! Civic skills! They have to know what to DO with that knowledge! Is there anything else, Dr. King?

We also want our students to learn to look beyond their own interests to their enlightened self interest in the common good. I recently visited Flint, Michigan, and while I may never live in Flint, I recognized it’s in my interest to make sure that children and families in Flint and every other city in the country have safe water to drink and an opportunity to fulfill their potential. Service both helps students understand the challenges in the community, helps them understand themselves and also helps them understand the importance of the common good.

And THERE is is! We need to ensure that students develop those civic dispositions that help them make a difference for the common good! And remember, this is not a partisan issue. No matter the perspective, we want citizens to feel as though they CAN make a difference and that they have the ability to engage in the practice of citizenship!

But the biggest and most important outcome of all is that high quality civic education prepares students to help the nation solve difficult, challenging, complex issues and make it a better, more equitable place to live with genuine opportunity for all. Civic education must be an essential part of a well-rounded education. It must be at the foundation of the future, not only of our economy but of our democracy.

Our schools need to be about more than preparing kids for a job. They need to be about preparing them to be citizens. Another reason we should consider how the C3 Framework can shape our standards, our curriculum, and our instruction.

It was such a pleasure to hear and see strong advocacy for civic education that goes beyond simple rote learning. As this current election season suggests, there is such a great need for building those civic competencies and considering our schools as more than just the place where we send our kids to the spend the day.

You can take a look at the transcript of Dr. King’s remarks here. 

Citrus Ridge: A New PUBLIC SCHOOL Civics Academy in Florida

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C3, Citrus Ridge, Civic Work, Florida

Over the past few months, the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship has worked with teachers, administrators, and district leaders in Polk County to help with the creation of a brand new public school, one dedicated to K-8 civic education: Citrus Ridge.

 

Citrus Ridge, created with the support of local Congressman Dennis Ross, is a K-8 institution that will embed civic learning and civic life throughout school governance, relationships, and curriculum.

Citrus Ridge’s very mission statement is centered around civics and the importance of civic life:

• Community
• Inclusion
• Variety
• Innovation
• Collaboration
• Success

Our own Valerie McVey and Peggy Renihan, as well as our Teacher Practioners in Residence, have been heavily involved in the planning and work with Citrus Ridge. Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the first leadership team meeting for the school, and it was a great joy to see these teachers and administrators hard at work in learning about and understanding how the emphasis on civic life makes Citrus Ridge a unique public school.

A heavy emphasis was placed on ensuring that school culture reflects that civic engagement and civic learning.

T.U.D.E aligns well with both the C3 Framework and with the Six Proven Practices of Civic Education, both of which will play a role in the curriculum and instruction of the school.

So what exactly is T.U.D.E? These principles draw on a number of sources for inspiration: the state of Florida’s civics benchmarks, the C3 Framework, the Six Proven Practices, and others. Take a look at them below. How do you see them reflecting the importance of civic knowledge, civic skills, and civic dispositions?

Most excitingly, we are in the process of finding ways to integrate the concept of action civics into the school and curriculum. It will involve students in addressing problems within their school and community, developing the skills of citizenship such as collaboration, critical thinking, deliberation, and discussion, and encourage students to ‘live’ their citizenship. Some examples are: providing towels for an animal shelter, discussing more recess time versus special area versus free choice, deliberating the school dress code, and thinking critically about the causes and effects of current event that effects our community, state, or nation. Indeed, our new action civics coordinator (reviewing applications now!) will spend a great deal of time at Citrus Ridge as we start to launch this school into the civic stratosphere.

There is so much more to say and do concerning Citrus Ridge: A Civics Academy. We will keep you updated as we get closer to the start of the year and into the new school year. FJCC is excited and grateful for the opportunity to work with some excellent people on this, and let me just thank all of the team that has worked so hard to get this off of the ground. It is a great step forward for civic education in Florida and, we hope, it will be a model for this state and the nation!

The Role of Instruction in Encouraging Civic Engagement

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Civic Studies, Civic Work, Florida, iCivics, Lou Frey Institute, online, social studies education

The Florida Joint Center for Citizenship is quite proud to be a member of Florida’s Partnership for Civic Learning. One of the most promising research projects that the Partnership has undertaken is to explore the role of classroom experience in student civic participation. In other words, are students more likely to engage in civic life if they learn about civics in a classroom with a variety of instructional practices? This is a question that we believe deserves an answer, as it can help districts, schools, teachers, and other stakeholders what quality civics instruction should look like. And it is such an important one for Florida and the nation.

In the spring of 2015, the Lou Frey Institute administered the Civic Attitude and Engagement Survey to 7th grade students enrolled in Miami-Dade, Clay, and St. Lucie County schools here in Florida. 7,436 students in 75 middle schools across these three districts were surveyed. It should be pointed out here that a huge amount of the data sample was drawn from Miami-Dade schools, in part because of certain time and district issues. 88% of the schools that took part were in Miami-Dade, 10.7% in Clay County, and 1.3% in St. Lucie County. We are grateful to all those that participated.

The survey itself consisted of 20 items of question blocks that focused on a number of areas connected to civic attitudes, knowledge, dispositions, and engagement. Ultimately, we want to provide districts with a tool that would connect completion of Florida’s 7th grade civics course to student (1) civic proficiency and readiness for future engagement as informed citizens; (2) commitment to democratic values and rights; (3) knowledge of current events; (4) efficacy/self-confidence about one’s ability to contribute to society; and (5) experience with recommended pedagogies for civics. We hope to expand the number of participants in this survey, and to provide this as a yearly examination of what is happening in civic education classrooms.

So, what did this first offering of the survey find? Let’s take a look.

Learning in Classroom

 This is, perhaps, no surprise. The more students are engaged in the practices of civic life through classroom instruction, the more they are likely to engage in the practices of civic life outside of the classroom. Of course, there are caveats that must be taken into account when considering this data. For example, it is highly unlikely that 10% of students are taking part in debates every day. I do not find it surprising however that 40% of students said that they NEVER engage in debate in the classroom, and that 58% of students never participate in a mock trial (though students in Florida are SUPPOSED to experience the jury process. See SS.7.C.2.3—Experience the responsibilities of citizens at the local, state, or federal levels) . In my experience, some teachers are uncomfortable with the structure of debates and simultations and the possibility that there could be controversial (and possibly job-threatening, especially in a state with no tenure) topics involved. And of course, there is the time factor!

It is important to note having even one visitor from the community seemed to have a positive impact on broader civic engagement. This suggests to us that perhaps the FJCC should work on making that more possible (hint: we are).

Best Bang for Your Buck 

So, what sorts of activities did seem to have the greatest impact on promoting student engagement? Preliminary review and analysis of survey data suggests that, as mentioned above, having a visitor from the community come to a class was huge. These visitors, of course, should be connected in some way to civic life (perhaps a mayor, city manager, council member, school board member, elections supervisor, etc). Naturally, actually participating in some sort of civic project was huge, as students are more likely to continue engaging in civic life once they have been out in the community. Personally, I expected a greater correlation with playing civics-oriented games (in this case, likely to have been iCivics), but I suspect that some of that could depend on how the game is actually used in class, and how often it is used. This is an area for further research on our part.

Best Practices

Best Practices in Civics, at least according to the most recent research from our friends at CIRCLE , Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, and others, tends to emphasize the Six Proven Practices in civic learning:

1. Classroom Instruction: Schools should provide instruction in civics & government, history, economics, geography, law, and democracy. Formal instruction in these subjects increases civic knowledge and increases young people’s tendency to engage in civic and political activities over the long term. However, schools should avoid teaching only rote facts about dry procedures, which is unlikely to benefit students and may actually alienate them from civic engagement.

2. Discussion of Current Events and Controversial Issues: Schools should incorporate discussion of current local, national, and international issues and events in to the classroom, particularly those that young people view as important to their lives. When students have an opportunity to discuss current issues in a classroom setting, they tend to have a greater interest in civic life and politics as well as improved critical thinking and communication skills.

3. Service-Learning: Schools should design and implement programs that provide students with the opportunity to apply what they learn through performing community service that is linked to the formal curriculum and classroom instruction.

4. Extracurricular Activities: Schools should offer opportunities for young people to get involved in their schools or communities outside of the classroom. Studies show that students who participate in extracurricular activities in school remain more civically engaged then those who did not, even decades later.

5. School Governance: Schools should encourage meaningful student participation in school governance. Giving students more opportunities to participate in the management of their classrooms and schools builds their civic skills and attitudes.

6. Simulations of Democratic Processes: Schools should encourage students to participate in simulations of democratic processes and procedures. Evidence shows that simulations of voting, trials, legislative deliberation and democracy, leads to heightened civic/political knowledge and interest.

As the chart suggests, engaging students in a greater number of school and classroom-oriented civic practice opportunities tends to encourage greater engagement. Is there a point at which we receive diminishing returns however? Do students who might otherwise fall on the low end of civic engagement suddenly jump to moderate or high levels if they take part in all six elements of the proven practices? Just how can we get a control group for this? No one wants to, not should they want to, provide future citizens with a lower quality civic education for the sake of further research. Nonetheless, this remains an area of inquiry that we need to further explore.

Outcomes

So, what does it all mean. Basically, engaging students in civic practice, even to a low degree, encourages further participation within the broader community!  Now, we must consider that all of this information we have discussed relies on self-reported student data, and the Lake Woebegon Effect should always be in the back of our minds. Still, there are promising methods which can encourage greater student engagement in civic life; teachers just need to do them, and curriculum should be written in such a way that we give students that opportunity.

This is, certainly, a great deal to take in. The Partnership for Civic Learning is eager to continue this research and to see how these findings compare to data gathered from the next iteration and administration of the survey, especially outside the three districts that took part here. We are in the process of developing a brand new website that will share Partnership for Civic Learning research and projects, and this post will be updated to reflect where you can find this entire infographic, among other things.

Advocacy in Action Student Video Contest!

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C3, Civic Work, High School

Our colleague in Escambia, Cherie Arnette, sent this my way, and it fits so perfectly with the civic mission of schools and the work we do as a community in helping students grow into an engaged citizenship. The Center for Effective Government is sponsoring an ‘Advocacy in Action’ video contest for high school students.

From the CEG website: 

The Advocacy in Action video contest and lesson plan help students make real-world Social Studies connections. Students will:

• Use our interactive map to locate their school and identify nearby facilities that may be putting them at risk
• Learn how our government regulates these facilities and how they can be made safer
• Explore essential communications strategies
• Become active, engaged citizens

Together, we can advocate for companies to use safer chemicals, and make our communities healthier. Our student video contest is one way to do this. And you could win $1,000!

Here’s how it works: Create a short video that explores the safety of your community from harmful chemicals. Your video could raise awareness on this issue, pressure facilities to do better, and encourage the government to require the use of safer chemicals.

You can choose to submit your video in one of two categories: a 60 second “Public Service Announcement” video category or a 5-7 minute mini-documentary category that explores the risks your community or state faces from chemical facilities.

The contest is open to high school students in the United States. Videos, along with all required forms, must be completed by 11:59pm on March 18, 2016. We will announce winners in May. Please carefully read our guidelines and contest rules before submitting a video.

I encourage you to consider engaging your students in this project! What is also exciting, to me at least, as that we can connect this to dimensions of the C3 framework. It lends itself well to developing key questions, using a particular disciplinary lens, researching a problem and solution, and communicating findings and taking action! We would LOVE to share it if anyone take a C3 approach to this advocacy contest!

You can find all information about the contest here, including the guidelines, rubric, and FAQ. Good luck!

Guest Blog: The College Student as Engaged Citizen

Tags

Civic Work

One of the pleasures of working at the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship is that we are housed in the environs of the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government. Because the LFI is a part of the broader University of Central Florida community, it is available to students as a work-study opportunity. Happily, this means that we are blessed with young college students who are wonderfully engaged in civic life. It is important to note, however, that the mission statement of the Lou Frey Institute includes “Promoting the development of enlightened, responsible, and actively engaged citizens”. This does not mean creating a generation of liberals or conservatives, Republicans or Democrats, Libertarians or Greens. It means citizens. So we welcome students from all perspectives, and we encourage them to pursue their civic passions.
One of these students, Brittany Turner, is an active member of the Libertarian-leaning organization Young Americans for Liberty, and she had the opportunity to serve as an intern at the Institute for Humane Studies. As a civic educator, I am thrilled by the idea of young people living the life of an engaged citizen, and I thank Brittany for her efforts to make a difference. Today’s post describes her experience working in the heart of our nation’s capital.

This past summer, I had the pleasure and honor of participating in an internship program in Washington DC. The program I interned through was the Koch Internship Program (KIP), which is run by the Charles Koch Institute. The KIP program is a educational program where attendees receive hands on professional development training and education on Classical Liberal knowledge and skills, while building a valuable professional network and an understanding of the non-profit career path. My actual internship was at the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS). The Institute for Humane Studies supports the achievement of a freer society by discovering and facilitating the development of talented students, scholars, and other intellectuals who share an interest in liberty and in advancing the principles and practice of freedom. At IHS, I interned in the Events Management department where I took on many big projects throughout the summer. For example, I was involved in the creation of the readers IHS sends out to their fall and spring seminar participants.

One of the best things about interning in Washington DC was the atmosphere. So many important events are going on every single minute of the day in DC: policy decisions are being made, citizens are trying to influence their congress-person to have a particular stance on a specific issue, the Supreme Court is deciding liberty-affecting cases, and so much more. Another great characteristic of the DC atmosphere is how professional it is. This is the best environment for a young professional that seeks to be engaged in civic life. I felt involved and engaged as a young professional and as a citizen. It made me want to strive for better. When everyone else around you is achieving great things and demonstrating their passion for civic engagement and politics, it is contagious. It’s an ongoing joke in DC that if you can schedule your day right, you can rely on feeding yourself (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) by attending networking events (because so many go on everyday of the week).

Participating in a internship program and interning was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made. I learned a lot about working in events at a non-profit, polished my professional development skills, learned so much more about Classical Liberal philosophy, and made the best group of friends anyone can ask for. Interning in Washington DC was a dream not many achieve and is something I recommend, especially if you are looking for ways to be involved and make a difference that go beyond simply voting. Truthfully, you don’t even have to go to DC to volunteer as a citizen! Check out your local campaigns and nonprofits and see if there are opportunities for civic engagement and practice. It doesn’t matter what your politics are; it only matters that you act as a citizen should and be involved! My experience in DC taught me this and so much more.

Thanks, Brittany, for the post, and for your desire to step up and engage as both a college student and a citizen!

Civic Renewal: A Webinar with Peter Levine and Joan Blades

Tags

CIRCLE, Civic Studies, Civic Work

Recently, Peter Levine and Eric Liu issued a report on the Civic Renewal Movement, which seeks to re-energize and re-engage the public in participation within the civic life of this country. 

The report discusses the leadership of the movement, the perspective of citizens, and ways in which the movement can continue to grow and succeed. I encourage you to check out the report. Following this week’s webinar, I will be sharing my own thoughts, and look forward to hearing yours. You can read the report here.

Did I mention a webinar? That’s right! There will be a webinar on Wednesday, 23 Sep at 2pm to discuss the report, featuring Peter Levine and Joan Blades of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation. It will be worth your time, and as a reminder, it is free and open to the public, but they do request that you register in advance! It will no doubt be as enlightening as the report.

Are we teaching citizenship that matters?

Tags

Civic Studies, Controversy, Florida

Our own Dr. Terri Fine has shared her first column for the UCF Forum. In it, she raises an interesting question: have we in Florida actually learned citizenship, and what it means to live together, and to pursue justice, as citizens? Using the horrific Groveland Four case as a starting point, the column makes an unfortunate, but important, point about Florida:

Despite its reputation for racial moderation, Florida’s white society brutally enforced segregation and discrimination into the 1960s as lawmakers enacted policies that curtailed minority rights. Florida’s reputation for racial moderation during those years has focused on Gov. LeRoy Collins’ measured response to the Brown case as compared to the massive resistance advocated by other southern politicians.

Governor Collins certainly deserves some level of praise for his refusal to follow the pattern established in places like Arkansas and Mississippi, but is that really enough to say that Florida handled integration well? Perhaps not. As Dr. Fine writes,

During that time, the Legislature passed a number of bills designed to fight integration. In addition, after Collins, Floridians elected governors who campaigned against integration, civil rights and busing, and made little effort to promote racial equality in the three elections that followed.

Of course, the violence in Florida concerning racial justice and civil rights tended toward the brutal as well. Besides Groveland, we need only think back to the crime that was Rosewood.

And yet, here in Florida, where we indeed have come far as compared to some of our Southern neighbors, have we learned the lessons of the past? Have we learned what it means to be a citizen? I never taught about the Groveland Four, though I spent a decade teaching in Levy County (the home of the Rosewood Massacre). If we don’t teach it, if kids don’t learn it, are we truly teaching what it means to be a citizen in Florida, a citizen in the United States, and the obligations that go with that citizenship? If we don’t teach kids about the struggles that our neighbors, that perhaps their parents and grandparents, had to endure to live as free citizens, are we really teaching them anything? ARE we teaching them citizenship that matters?

Florida CUFA October Conference Call for Proposals!

Tags

CUFA, Florida

Good morning, friends in Civics and Social Studies. Dr. Scott Waring, who leads the new College and University Faculty Assembly branch of the Florida Council for the Social Studies, has asked me to share a call for proposals for the upcoming October conference. Please take the time to review the call, and if you are interested, you can click at the end of this sentence to download the FL-CUFA_Proposal_15. All proposals should be sent directly to Dr. Waring at swaring@ucf.edu. I encourage you to consider joining us in October!

Presentation Formats

Paper Presentations (50 minutes)

An individual paper presentation gives authors an opportunity to present abbreviated versions of their empirical or theoretical/conceptual scholarship. After the papers are presented, a discussant will offer commentary on key revelations, vexations, and themes raised by the papers, and a chairperson will moderate questions and responses by audience members. For the sake of effective presentation and discussion, individual papers should be limited to 3,000 words, excluding references. The typical structure for a session with two papers includes a brief introduction by the chairperson, 15 minutes for each author’s presentation, 10 minutes for the discussant’s commentary, and 10 minutes of audience participation.

Symposium Sessions (50 minutes)

A symposium offers presenters, discussants, and audience members the opportunity to explore a particular problem or theme from various perspectives. Organizers of symposium sessions typically establish the topic, identify and solicit participation from appropriate scholars, and assemble and submit a single proposal representing the collective work of participants. Symposium proposals should include no more than four participants. The organizer must obtain permission and input from each individual represented in a symposium proposal. Symposium proposals must specify a discussant for the session. All presenters in a symposium should submit to the discussant a paper or commentary addressing the central theme or questions under consideration; symposium papers should be limited to 3,000 words. The chair, presenters, and discussant will determine how time is to be allocated during symposiums.

Contemporary Issues Dialogue (50 minutes)

The contemporary issues dialogue format offers conference attendees an opportunity to explore contemporary issues or dilemmas in social education via a unique forum not represented by paper sessions and symposiums. Contemporary issues dialogues can include informal discussions, town hall meetings, roundtables, papers-in-progress, structured poster sessions, research planning and methodological activities, video presentations and performances, and book talks. Sessions that promote active participation and open dialogue among audience members are strongly encouraged. Proposal authors will determine how time is to be allocated during contemporary issues dialogues.

Research-Into-Practice Sessions (50 minutes)

Research-into-practice sessions offer FL-CUFA members the opportunity to discuss and demonstrate the implications of research for educational practice. Given their association with the regular FCSS Conference program, audience members typically are classroom teachers, teacher educators, supervisors, and school administrators. With that audience in mind, presentations should feature scholarly, yet accessible, discussions and activities of interest to practicing educators. Proposal authors will determine how time is to be allocated during research into practice sessions.

Submission Guidelines

Presenters must provide, in an email to the Program Chair, Scott Waring (swaring@ucf.edu), the following:

1. The names of all presenters and corresponding affiliations
2. Lead presenter’s mailing address, email, and phone number
3. A PDF or Microsoft Word compatible document, as described below, that includes a narrative of 3,000 words or fewer, excluding title, abstract, and references.

Because proposals will be reviewed in a blind peer review process, please do not include the names or affiliations of authors and presenters in the proposal document and ensure that no identifying information is embedded in the proposal document as metadata.

The Program Chair reserves the right to reject without review any proposal that exceeds the 3,000-word limit. The Program Chair reserves the right to disqualify submissions in which authors’ identifying information is revealed.

The submission deadline is Monday, August 31, 2015 11:59 p.m. No submissions will be accepted after that date and time.

Individual Paper and Symposium Proposal Contents

Each proposal should include the following elements: a) the title; b) an abstract of 35 words or less; c) the purposes and/or objectives of the study; d) the theoretical framework or perspective; e) research design and/or methods of inquiry; f) findings or arguments and their warrants; g) the importance of the work’s contribution to scholarship; and h) references. To preserve the integrity of the blind peer review process, please do not include the names or affiliations of authors and presenters in the proposal document. The Program Chair reserves the right to disqualify submissions in which authors’ identifying information is revealed. The review criteria will incorporate the clarity, organization, and perceived scholarly significance of elements c) through g) above.

Contemporary Issues Dialogue and Research Into Practice (RIP) Proposal Contents

Contemporary Issues Dialogue and RIP session proposals should include the following elements, as appropriate: a) the title of ten words or less; b) an abstract of 35 words or less; c) the purposes and objectives of the session; d) theory and research in which the session is grounded; e) methods of presentation or modes of activity for the session; f) findings or arguments and their warrants; and g) references.

To preserve the integrity of the blind peer review process, please do not include the names or affiliations of authors and presenters in the proposal document. The Program Chair reserves the right to disqualify submissions in which authors’ identifying information is revealed. The review criteria will incorporate the clarity, organization, and perceived significance of elements c) through f) above.

Participation Requirements

It is expected that all authors or presenters represented in a proposal will register for the FCSS Annual Meeting and attend and participate in conference sessions. If an emergency or other unforeseen circumstance precludes a participant from attending, she or he should immediately contact the Program Chair, Scott Waring, at swaring@ucf.edu. To promote diversity among perspectives and participants, no presenter shall appear as author or co-author on more than two proposals, or as chair or discussant on more than two proposals.