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Early Childhood Australia National Conference 2019

Application to Present

 

Applications to present at the ECA National Conference are now CLOSED

The 2019 Early Childhood Australia National Conference is expected to attract over 1000 in-person delegates, as well as over 500 additional virtual delegates via the live stream—these numbers include practitioners, academics, professionals and policy-makers in the field of early years education and care. Applications to present at this conference are now open under the five conference themes: Speak up for children, Build social capital, Quality early education, Professional learning and Inspiring leadership and effective governance. Presentations can be either a stand-alone Oral Presentation or a Poster Presentation.

To have the opportunity to join these esteemed sector colleagues and present your chosen topic, simply submit your abstract online (which must be no more than 300 words and be accompanied with a 50 word bio & author details).  

 

Download a copy of the application to present

 

Key dates

Item Date
Closing date for submission of your application to present

23 January 2019

Extended to Tuesday 29 January 2019 (5 pm AEDT)
Review of applications by Conference Program Committee and notification to applicants of outcomes Between 30 January and 28 February 2019
Draft program published on conference website 31 March 2019
Closing date for successful applicants to register 25 July 2019
Submission of the final PowerPoint presentation 15 August 2019

Essential information 

Applicants to present should identify which of the five conference themes their paper contributes to most directly:

Speak up for children

Can you articulate, through research or good practice, how professionals and collaborators give young children and their families a voice?

Learn More

Build social capital

It is not enough that early childhood experts understand the importance of the early years; we also need to educate the community and key decision-makers so that Australian society supports young children to thrive.

Learn More

Quality early education

Do we have a shared understanding of ‘quality’ in children’s services? How do we measure quality and how do we know that we are improving quality?

Learn More

Professional learning

Being a member of a profession is an indicator of integrity, ethics, trust and expertise.

Learn More

Inspiring leadership and effective governance

Good governance and strong leadership are essential for long-term success in any organisation, but also for the early childhood sector overall.

Learn More

 

Session types

 1. Oral presentation

Oral presentations will last 45 minutes, including time for attendees to ask questions in a discussion with the presenter(s). ECA encourages presenters to deliver their presentation in an interactive way. There will be a 10-minute room change opportunity between sessions.

Presenters may be asked to present twice during the conference if their session proves to be very popular.

2. Poster presentation

A designated 15 minute time slot will be determined during the conference for authors to present their posters. A template to assist with your preparation of the poster design is available here or click the template button below.Criteria for the poster is:

Dimensions and layout

    • The maximum size for posters is 1.2 metres (h) x 1.0 metres (w).
    • The title and author names should be clearly indicated at the top of the poster. Large letters are to be used for the title (equivalent to 80-point font or larger).
    • All text on the poster is to be legible from a distance of one metre. It is suggested that headings be a minimum of 30-point font and that the body text be a minimum of 24-point font.
    • Posters are to be either printed on poster paper or assembled on light cardboard.

Suggestions to consider

    • Use of columns is recommended, as material arranged in columns is easier to read than material arranged in rows.
    • Presenters are encouraged to include visual aids (for example, images, flow charts, graphic representations of data) in their posters.

Use of a digital augmented reality app

Poster presenters are encouraged to display a poster and use digital augmentation software as part of their presentation. ECA recommends using HP Reveal, which can be downloaded from Google Play or the App Store.

Presenters opting to use the app will be required to display signage (A4) or hand out instructions to conference attendees on how to use their smartphones or devices to interact with the poster.

Download Poster Template

Presenter registration

A condition of being able to present is that all presenters must register for the day on which they are presenting at the conference. If presenters wish to stay for the whole conference, payment needs to be made for the full three days. A maximum of three (3) presenters per paper will be allowed to register and participate at the ECA member discounted rate for full registration.

If registration confirmation and payment are not received by 25 July 2019, abstracts will be withdrawn from the conference program.

 

Publication of papers

All selected abstracts will be published on the 2019 ECA Conference App and website, and presentations will be published on the conference website only. Presentations will not be edited and will be converted directly to PDF from their submitted format.

Some presentations and papers may also be separately published in other ECA publications. These will be independently decided by the ECA Publications Advisory Committee. The ECA Publications team will approach presenters independently regarding potential publication. This may involve presenters summarising their paper or presentation for a magazine format. Further instructions will be provided by the ECA Publications team, as required.

 

Proposed audiovisual requirements

PowerPoint facilities (data projectors, computers and screens), along with internet access, will be available for presenters. The conference will be networked, which means that presentations will be available in the workshop room from a central location.

Presentations must be in a PowerPoint format. The full and final electronic presentation must be submitted by 15 August 2019 to ensure compatibility with the system that will be used.

Review process

All applications to present will be reviewed by a panel that includes members of the Conference Program Committee. Members of the Conference Program Committee will:

  • know the identities of the applicants
  • assess the applications to ensure the quality and relevance of the presentations
  • assess the applications in accordance with the ECA selection criteria.

Wherever possible, feedback will be given to unsuccessful applicants, depending on the number of applications received.

Selection criteria

The selection criteria are outlined below. 

Key focus

Applications must focus on:

  • relevance to at least one of the conference themes
  • examples of exemplar or emerging practice that enhance children’s experiences
  • research, action research or extension of existing thinking
  • relevance to the target audience, understanding that delegates attending the session may come from across Australia and overseas

Free of commercial interest & required inclusions

Applicants must confirm that their papers are free of commercial interest. Any paper that is selling or promoting a particular product or commercial service will not be accepted.

Required inclusions

Applicants must ensure that their research papers

  • specify the aims of the project or research questions and/or focus of inquiry, where applicable
  • outline research methods and/or analytical and/or theoretical framework in brief
  • have a strong emphasis on research findings and/or translation to practice and contribution to the professional practice of the target audience

Successful candidates must agree to the following terms and conditions:

  • ECA may record any or all presentations (audio or visual) and make the recordings available at a later date, in accordance with ECA policies. For example, as a downloadable file on the ECA website.
  • ECA may broadcast the presentation(s) via live-stream to external conference delegates.
  • At the start of the presentation, all presenters will acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the area, and the Country on which the conference is being held. The words for an Acknowledgement of Country will be provided to all presenters at the conference.
  • Presenters must ensure their availability for media comments about the conference.
  • Presenters must be available to speak at any time during the conference (excluding their presentation session).
  • Presenters may be asked to repeat their session, if it proves to be popular or if delegates miss out on the session due to lack of space.
  • Presenters grant ECA the right to publish their papers on the conference website, and/or publish them in various ECA publications.
  • All selected presenters must register for the day on which they are presenting at the conference. If presenters wish to stay for the whole conference, payment needs to be made for the full three days. A maximum of three (3) presenters per paper will be allowed to register and participate at the ECA member discounted rate for full registration.
  • Abstracts will be withdrawn from the conference program if registration confirmation and payment are not received by 25 July 2019.

How to submit your abstract

Applications to present are now CLOSED.

In keeping with ECA’s drive to improve environmental sustainability, all abstracts must be submitted online. 

Instructions for completion of application

Step 1: Read all instructions carefully.

Step 2: Complete an application to present, which is made with a submission of a 300-word abstract.

Step 3: Ensure your application addresses the selection criteria.

Step 4: Submit your abstract-no more than 300 words-online, no later than Tuesday 29 January 2019 (5 pm AEDT).

Step 5: Ensure presenter biographies are no more than 50 words in total.

Step 6: Supply at least one presenter photograph with the application (limit file size to a maximum of 1MB).

Please note

  • All abstracts and biographies received will undergo editing before being printed in the conference program.
  • A maximum of three (3) presenters will be allowed to register and present per paper at the discounted rate.
  • Presenters may submit multiple papers, however only one paper can be accepted to present at the conference.
  • Applications received in any way other than online—including hard copy—will not be accepted.
Before you submit online, please ensure that you have read and understood this information.
If you have any questions, please contact the Conference Office for more information:
T: 02 6242 1800
E: conference@earlychildhood.org.au