Call for Submissions (2025)
Deadline: January 10, 2025, 11:59 PM EST
Researchers, graduate students at all stages of their research, and practitioners, we eagerly encourage you to take part in GSRC 2025 with your innovative, ground-breaking, and thought-provoking work. We envision a conference rich in meaningful insights and conversations to generate potential strategies and solutions in areas that call for more attention and resources. Join us in redefining the future of education through novel ideas as we come together to foster change and build a more just, diverse, and inclusive learning environment for all.
In an attempt to accomplish this year's objectives, the conference chairs, invite proposals that engage with, but not limited to the following themes:
- Equity in Educational Access and Opportunity: What barriers continue to prevent equitable access to education for BIPOC communities? How can policies and practices be reformed to create inclusive pathways for all learners? What innovative programs have successfully addressed gaps in access for underrepresented groups, and what can we learn from them?
- Resilience and Resistance in Education, Voices from the Margins: How have students and educators from marginalized backgrounds created change within oppressive systems? What role does cultural resilience play in promoting educational equity? How can educational institutions honor the histories and contributions of underrepresented communities in their curricula?
- Globalization and the Role of Education in Social Connection: How can education foster global understanding while preserving cultural diversity? What are the impacts of globalization on underrepresented and Indigenous communities in educational settings? How can we prepare learners to be both culturally competent and active participants in a global society?
- Innovative Approaches for Inclusive Pedagogy and Curriculum Design: What strategies are most effective for creating inclusive, culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogy? How can educators address unconscious biases and cultivate an anti-oppressive classroom environment? In what ways can curriculum design bridge cultural divides and foster empathy among students?
- Empowering Change, Educational Leadership for an Inclusive Future: How can leaders within educational institutions drive change towards more equitable and inclusive environments? What systemic changes are needed to support leaders from diverse backgrounds in positions of influence? How can collaborative leadership models promote inclusivity and empower communities?
Participation Guidelines
Submissions are open to all OISE graduate students, recent OISE alumni, and graduate students from outside OISE. The submission period is from November 11 to January 10, 2025, at 23:59 EST. Submissions can be made using the .
- Types of participation: this conference will be held mainly in-person. However, limited online spots are available for those living outside of Canada or in arrangement with GSRC Co-Chairs.
- Types of submissions: This year’s OISE GSRC accepts several types of submissions: poster, paper/panel, roundtable and workshop sessions, and art/alternative methods of presenting.
- All abstracts must be submitted without author identification. Abstracts that fail to exclude author identification from the proposal or session summary will be disqualified.
- The program will mainly consist of sessions selected through an open call for proposals and will be based on a peer-review process. The program will also include events such as invited keynote speakers, socials, and other planned events.
- Rules of submission: Submissions of abstract or session summaries may not exceed the word limits specified both in the Submission Guideline document and the related website. Failure to follow the related policies and/or procedures will result in submissions being removed from consideration.
- Ethics of submissions: All participants are expected to submit original thoughts and research which includes ethical language that is mindful of the negative effects this language may have on certain receiving audiences and/or communities (e.g., please avoid deficit language, extractive language, and/or pejorative language).
- By submitting an abstract or session summary, you are making a commitment to register for the conference by January 31, 2025. Failure to do so will prevent you from participating in the program. Details on conference registration will be available on the OISE GSA website.
- The success of this conference largely depends on the full participation of all attendees. We are committed to accessibility and invite conference participants to let us know what we can do to help them get the most out of the event. Please reach out to us at oise.gsrc@utoronto.ca if you require support.
Submission Types
We will accept individual or group submissions. Group or individual submissions are all submitted as one application. All submissions must fall within the six modalities listed below. The initial abstract submitted will constitute the final abstract published in the program unless a revised abstract is submitted in consultation with OISE GSRC Co-Chairs.
Poster session (individual):
Poster sessions enable students to briefly present their research as an informal presentation to an audience that will be circulating poster session displays. Poster sessions include a visual summary of a paper that will be displayed in a large space. There will be no audio-visual equipment for poster presentations, however handouts by the presenters are encouraged. Presentations should be no longer than 5-7 minutes and presenters must be prepared to answer questions in an informal setting. Presenters may leave their posters in the conference gallery throughout the duration of the conference. Please note that it is the responsibility of the presenter to print accepted posters in time for the event. For support on designing a research poster, please consult
- Title (15 words or less);
- Brief description of the topic, methods, and findings;
- 200-word limit.
Please ensure that your printed posters have the following elements: Introduction, Methods, Results/Analysis, Conclusion, References, Acknowledgements, Contact Information.
Roundtable (individual or group submission)
Students can submit a proposal for an 8-10 minute individual roundtable presentation. Roundtable participation focuses on shorter presentations and increased discussion among participants. Each presenter will be assigned to a roundtable discussion with four to five other peers, based on their common themes or shared research interests. Alternatively, applicants may submit a group submission of 4-5 papers that connect in theme or interest. All participants sit at the round table for this session and no audio-visual equipment will be used. Attendees of the roundtable presentations may also be seated at the tables and participate in discussion. The roundtable total length is 90 minutes: 40-50 minutes for presentations, followed by a group discussion. One presenter at the roundtable will be designated as a chair and will manage time and field questions for discussion.
- Title (15 words or less);
- Summary of the presentation;
- Methodology/Theoretical Framework(s);
- Scholarly or scientific significance of the study or work;
- 200-word limit.
- Group submissions must include abstracts for each individual paper as outlined above and a description (500 words or less) which includes the group title and a roundtable summary demonstrating common themes across papers.
Paper presentations (individual):
Students can submit individual paper proposals to present their dissertation, projects, and case-studies from the field. Upon acceptance, conference chairs will thoughtfully organize paper presentations into a panel with two to three other individual papers. Individual paper presentations are given 12 minutes for each paper, presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Time allotment will not increase for co-authored papers; all authors must fit their presentations within the 12 minutes limit. Each session will be assigned a chair who will moderate and monitor time.
- Title (15 words or less);
- Objectives and/or Research Question(s);
- Perspective(s) or Theoretical Framework(s);
- Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry;
- Preliminary results and/or substantiated conclusions (if applicable);
- Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work;
- 250-word limit.
Panel presentation (group proposal):
Students may propose a panel that consists of three to four individual paper presentations that hold thematic consistency. With 12 minutes for each paper, followed by a question-and-answer session. Time allotment will not increase for co-authored papers; all authors must fit their presentations within the 12 minutes limit. Each session will be assigned a chair who will moderate and monitor time.
- Title (15 words or less);
- Objectives and/or Research Question(s);
- Perspective(s) or Theoretical Framework(s);
- Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry;
- Preliminary results and/or substantiated conclusions (if applicable);
- Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work;
- 250 word limit.
- 15 words or fewer for the panel title;
- 250-word panel proposal connecting all individual paper presentations along a thematic basis.
Abstracts for individual paper and abstract for group panel submission must be in one Word document.
Student-led workshop (individual or group):
Students may propose a (30-45 minutes) workshop to lead a group discussion on a particular theme, engage the audience in experiential learning, or provide professional training. Examples include but are not limited to: research methodologies and/or tools (NVivo, SPSS, STRATA etc.), interdisciplinary work and expertise (bridging activism and academia, practitioner experience, community-based training, etc.), student experience (success strategies, navigating academia, student organizing, etc.) and/or special subjects and expertise that can be translated to research and praxis (toolkits for cultivating conversations, creative problem-solving, community-building activities, etc.).
- Abstracts for workshop submission must include:
- Title (15 words or less);
- Brief summary of the session (including objectives and overview);
- Structure of the session;
- 250 word limit.
Artistic and/or other alternative modes of presenting (individual or group)
Students may propose exhibitions or performances of dance, visual/digital art, theater, music, and film related to the conference theme.
- Title (15 words or less);
- Objectives and overview of the session;
- Ways of engaging with the audience;
- List of requirements for performance (i.e. technical, space);
- 100 word limit.
Review Criteria
All submitted abstracts to the OISE GSRC must be anonymized in order to be reviewed by a team of peer-reviewers. Each submission will be reviewed by two volunteers. If a submission receives conflicting reviews, a committee review will take place. All submissions will be reviewed based on the outlined criteria in each modality description. Each outlined criteria will be evaluated on a four-point scale - 4 excellent, 3 good, 2 needs improvement, 1 poor.
Important Dates
Deadline for submissions of proposals
January 10, 2025, at 23:59 EST.
Notification letters
January 24, 2025.
Registration opens
December 16, 2024
Deadline for conference registration for students participating in the program
February 7, 2025
Deadline for conference registration for those not participating in the program
March 7, 2025
Submission Process
Students are invited to participate in the conference by submitting proposals for one of the following: poster sessions, and individual presentations. Also, students are invited to participate in roundtable presentations, workshops, and artistic or alternative presentations.
Please provide submissions through the following Form by Friday,January 10, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET. When uploading files, ensure your first and last name is included in the file name.
