Impact of Science Education Research on Public Policy

The theme of our annual international conference is Impact of Science Education Research on Public Policy. We have two keynote speakers on this topic, plus many of the symposia and paper sessions relate to this theme.

Our theme for the 2008 annual NARST meeting in Baltimore, MD is Impact of Science Education Research on Public Policy. For the 2008 meeting, we encourage you to infuse policy issues into the 14 strands. Bill also will work with the Board in order to make shaping science education policy in the US one of our primary goals. Charlene and I attended the Council for Science Society Presidents meeting, as representatives of NARST. We can now bring this information we learned to the table on shaping science education policy within the U.S. I attended a powerful session by Judy Dori and her associates at NARST 07 on shaping science education policy in their country, Israel. Similarly, I hope that our colleagues in other countries will present papers on mechanisms that influence science education policy through research.

Please contemplate your own proposal(s) you will be submitting for the 2008 NARST annual meeting in Baltimore, MD. Deadline for proposals is August 15th, 2007. The conference starts March 30th and ends April 2nd. We will be using a similar procedure to last year, with all information submitted electronically. As in this past year, you will only be allowed one submission as first author in each of the following types of submission:

1. Stand-alone paper, or paper within a related paper set
2. Interactive poster
3. Symposium

I want to warn you that if you try to submit two proposals in the same category under your name, the first one will be removed from the system. If someone else needs help, show the person how to submit the proposal under his/ her name, not your own.

Having been in charge of the NARST program for our 2007 annual meeting, I noted the higher acceptance rate of related paper sets and symposia compared with stand-alone papers. This rate occurred, I believe, because those people working together to prepare a related paper set or symposia find their focus, as they develop their proposal and get feedback on improving the proposal before submission. Therefore, I encourage you to try one of these types of submission for this year or continue to do so. Think of presentations that you heard in person or read from our NARST Proceedings 2007 CD, which are related to ideas you want to present in 2008. Try contacting the authors to see if they would like to be part of the related paper set or symposium you are organizing. I also encourage you to present various points-of-view in a symposium on theoretical perspectives, but remember to include speakers who represent us equitably. Sessions can be more stimulating with a variety of perspectives, also including those from other countries. We can all learn from each other.

(excerpt from a message by Penny J. Gilmer, NARST President)