CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS

The NRCEC 2022 Planning Committee invites posters, paper symposium, and poster symposium proposals for the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC 2022).

Presentations should highlight relevant and rigorous recent empirical research, including:

• program evaluations: including descriptive, implementation, or effectiveness studies;
• primary or secondary data analyses: including analyses of quantitative, or mixed-methods data; or
• literature reviews or syntheses.

Please click on the headers below to expand each section for important information about the proposal submission process and the requirements for each type of submission.

Google Chrome and Firefox are the preferred browsers for the proposal submission system.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION:
Friday, December 3, 2021 11:59 PM EST

1. RULES OF PARTICIPATION

   • Persons whose presentations are accepted must participate at the time scheduled by the NRCEC 2022 Planning Committee. Any special scheduling requests must be made at the time of acceptance and will be accommodated to the extent feasible. Note that if a presenter has more than two sessions, it may not be possible to accommodate their schedule to allow them to participate in all their sessions.
   • Upon request by the conference organizers, symposia and poster presenters must submit electronic copies of their presentation materials to facilitate post-conference website development. Submitted copies may be made available electronically for general access.
   • Symposia presenters will be supplied with one LCD projector/screen and a laptop computer during their session. Each poster presenter will be supplied with a poster board, chair, and a sign indicating only the poster number. All other audiovisual needs must be requested at the time of acceptance and may be met at the presenter’s expense.
   • The conference does NOT pay the expenses of presenters accepted through this call. All presenters accepted from the call who will be attending the conference (including chairpersons, discussants, and coauthors) must register. Symposium organizers and poster contact authors accepted through the call are responsible for ensuring that all participants in their events are registered. There is no registration fee.
   • Those with submissions accepted through the call are not precluded from publishing their material elsewhere.

2. SUBMISSION FORMATS

   Individual Posters:
   Posters are single free-standing research presentations (with coauthors, where applicable). Poster presentations require the active participation of the primary presenter(s). Posters will be grouped by topical area to foster networking among the presenters and conference attendees. The poster format is especially appropriate when material can be explained briefly, is suited for graphic or visual presentation, and/or the presenter would benefit from high levels of interaction and discussion.
   
   

   Paper Symposia:
   Paper symposia are a cohesive cluster of presentations of 2 to 3 papers with one discussant. Prospective presenters should prepare a session that employs a lively and varied format, as well as audiovisuals and other materials, to enhance learning. Paper symposia will be scheduled for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Each symposium includes an organizer (who submits the application), a chairperson (who facilitates the symposium), presenters of two or three papers, and a discussant. The organizer, discussant, or a presenter may also serve as chair of the session. The discussant offers integrating commentary and critical analysis, questions for discussion, and/or leads audience participation. Discussants should not be involved directly in the presented projects as researchers or academic partners in the research. Paper symposia must involve presenters from two or more projects, universities, institutions, or organizations who represent different perspectives or different aspects of an issue. Proposals that do not conform to this requirement might not be sent for peer review. Submissions are considered particularly strong if they include practitioner or policymaker perspectives as discussants. Paper symposia that foster discussion among persons of diverse interests, culture, perspectives, disciplinary affiliations, and backgrounds are strongly encouraged.
   
   

   Poster Symposia:
   Poster symposia include a display of 4 to 7 cohesive posters, a discussant, and an opportunity for participants to discuss the posters with the researchers. Poster symposia are 1 hour and 30 minutes in length. Poster symposia may be organized in a variety of ways. Presenters and discussants should not all be from the same project or organization. Proposals that do not conform to this requirement might not be sent for peer review. Submissions are considered particularly strong if they include practitioner or policymaker perspectives as discussants. Poster symposia that foster discussion among persons of diverse interests, culture, perspectives, disciplinary affiliations, and backgrounds are strongly encouraged.

3. SELECTION PROCESS AND CRITERIA

   • Submissions in acceptable formats and completed by Friday, December 3, 2021 will be evaluated.
   • The NRCEC 2022 Planning Committee will determine the submission’s appropriateness for peer review.
   • The NRCEC 2022 Planning Committee reserves the right to recommend final selections to ensure a balanced program.
   
   
   All submissions are expected to professionally and clearly articulate proposed research.
   
   Evaluation criteria for peer review of all submissions:
   
   

   1. Appropriateness of subject matter as articulated in Conference Goals section of the Call for Presentations. This includes, but is not limited to, appropriateness for expected attendees, alignment with goals of the conference, focus on populations of interest, and/or examination of research topics of particular interest.
   2. Quality of the research methods: For all types of research submissions (e.g., program evaluations, primary or secondary data analyses, literature reviews or syntheses) reviewers will assess the soundness of research design, methodology, and data analysis and appropriateness to address the research questions of interest. Regardless of whether findings are available at the time of submission, reviewers will examine, as applicable, the quality of the sampling approach, hypotheses, research questions, measures, methodology, and data analytic strategy. If findings are not available at the time of the submission, reviewers will also assess the feasibility of the proposed timeline to complete the research.
   3. Clearly articulated and appropriate applied implications for early childhood programs and policies including but not limited to Head Start and Early Head Start, child care, special education, child welfare, home visiting, pre-k, and/or other early childhood relevant programs and services. Degree to which the work is strongly linked to informing practice and policy of importance to early childhood programs and policies.
   4. Strong demonstration of how the presentation represents leading edge research and furthers knowledge in the field. If original research, the extent to which the presentation represents a new or significant contribution to the early childhood field (e.g., filling gaps in research, exploring new methods or frameworks, identifying new factors, or advancing understanding of program and policy evaluation).
   
   Additional evaluation criteria for peer review of integrative statements for multi-presenter formats (paper and poster symposia):
   
   
   5. Varied points of view or perspectives that will contribute to a dynamic presentation. This could include such factors as branching theoretical approaches, contrasting methodologies, presenters from multiple projects/organizations, inclusion of non-research voices as a discussant, inclusion of diverse cultural perspectives, or diverse interpretations of the findings.
   6. Cohesiveness of presentations that will produce more information or insight on a particular topic, program, or population than would be derived from each presentation separately (e.g., new connections, directions, and/or implications).

4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

   For all submission types: The online submission system will guide you through each step of the process and prompt you to provide all required information.

   To ensure a blind review, no presenter or author names, agencies, organizations, or other identifying information should appear anywhere in the submission. Submissions involving a particular early care or education program may not name the program, location, staff members, or affiliate organizations. Submissions that do not conform to these standards may not be reviewed.

   
   For all submissions (paper and poster symposium and individual poster), you will need to prepare:

   • Type of submission (poster, paper symposium, or poster symposium).
   • Title (limited to 250 characters).
   • Submission identifiers (see table below for more information).
   • Complete contact information for submission organizer (full name, academic degree, title, organization, phone number, and email address).
   • Select information for session chairperson, discussant, and all authors (full name, academic degree, organization, and email address).

   
   For symposium submissions (both paper and poster), you also will need to prepare:

   • An ABSTRACT of the submission. (Up to 75 words; may be copied/pasted into the system.) The abstract should provide a clear and concise description of the symposium. If the submission is selected for inclusion in the conference, the abstract will be published in conference materials.
   • An INTERGRATIVE STATEMENT. (Up to 500 words; may be copied/pasted into the system.) The integrative statement should include the following elements:
     • Brief summary of the topic, themes, and papers/posters as well as the links between the papers/posters, and the benefit of combining these works
     • Variety of perspectives or points of view and how they will contribute to a dynamic session
     • Implications for policy, practice, and research
   • An OVERVIEW of each paper/poster included in the submission. (May be copied/pasted into the system.) Each overview must include the following components:
     • Introduction (100 words maximum) including background and hypotheses/research questions
     • Methods (200 words maximum) including research design, methodology, and analytic techniques (if appropriate) and explanation of how the work represents leading edge research and furthers knowledge in the field
     • Results (100 words maximum) including preliminary or final findings or, if results are not ready at the time of submission, include variables under study, methodology, proposed data analytic strategy, and proposed timeline (Up to two tables or figures may be included, as appropriate, but must be uploaded as attachments to your submission)
     • Implications (100 words maximum) including applied implications for early childhood programs and policies

   Key references for the overview must be included but do not count toward the word limit and will be collected in a separate field once the overview component fields and any table/figure attachments have been saved.

   
   For individual poster submissions, you also will need to prepare:

   • An ABSTRACT of the poster. (Up to 75 words; may be copied/pasted into the system.) The abstract should provide a clear and concise description of the poster. If the submission is selected for inclusion in the conference, the abstract will be published in conference materials.
   • An OVERVIEW of the poster. (May be copied/pasted into the system.) Each overview must include the following components:
     • Introduction (100 words maximum) including background and hypotheses/research questions
     • Methods (200 words maximum) including research design, methodology, and analytic techniques (if appropriate) and explanation of how the work represents leading edge research and furthers knowledge in the field
     • Results (100 words maximum) including preliminary or final findings or, if results are not ready at the time of submission, include variables under study, methodology, proposed data analytic strategy, and proposed timeline
       (Up to two tables or figures may be included, as appropriate, but must be uploaded as attachments to your submission)
     • Implications (100 words maximum) including applied implications for early childhood programs and policies

   Key references for the overview must be included but do not count toward the word limit and will be collected in a separate field once the overview component fields and any table/figure attachments have been saved.

   
   

   If these items are prepared prior to beginning your submission, be aware that an average individual poster submission takes approximately 15 minutes to input online; symposia of both kinds take approximately 20–30 minutes.

5. DECISION NOTIFICATION

   Decision notification will be sent in March 2022. Only the identified symposium organizer or the contact author of each individual poster will receive the decision notification. They are responsible for informing other participants and authors.

6. SUBMISSION IDENTIFIERS

   CHOOSE 1 PRIMARY IDENTIFIER, AND UP TO 2 ADDITIONAL IDENTIFIERS

   • Assessment/Measurement
   • Cognitive Development/Executive Functioning
   • Comprehensive Service Delivery
   • Culture/Culturally Responsive Practice/Equity
   • Developmental Delays/Special Needs/Early Intervention
   • Dual Language/Literacy Skills
   • Early Care and Education Monitoring/Licensing
   • Early Care and Education Quality/Effectiveness
   • Family Engagement
   • Family Well-being and Self-sufficiency
   • Health
   • Home Visiting
   • Language/Literacy Skills
   • Math/Science/Engineering Skills
   • Mental Health
   • Neuroscience/Brain Development
   • Parenting/Parent-child Relationship
   • Partnerships/Community Collaborations
   • Policy (Federal, State, Local, Program)
   • Prevention/Intervention
   • Program Improvement Effort/Implementation
   • Research Methods
   • School Readiness/Kindergarten Entry/Transitions to Kindergarten
   • Special Populations: Child Welfare Involved
   • Special Populations: Children with Special Needs/Developmental Delays
   • Special Populations: Children/Caregivers from Countries other than U.S.A.
   • Special Populations: Dual Language Learners/English Language Learners
   • Special Populations: Early Elementary (5 to 8-year-olds)
   • Special Populations: Homeless
   • Special Populations: Immigrants
   • Special Populations: Infants/Toddlers (Birth to 3-year-olds)
   • Special Populations: Low-income
   • Special Populations: Preschool-aged (3 to 5-year-olds)
   • Special Populations: Tribal/American Indian and Alaska Native
   • Social-emotional Skills/Challenging Behaviors
   • Substance Use or Misuse
   • Systems Integration and Coordination
   • Workforce Development
   • Workforce Well-being and Self-sufficiency
   • Other (Describe)

7. TECHNICAL SUPPORT

   Contact technical support, or call 401-334-0220 Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 6pm Eastern Time.

Begin a Submission:

INDIVIDUAL POSTER

Submissions Closed

PAPER SYMPOSIUM

Submissions Closed

POSTER SYMPOSIUM

Submissions Closed