RECE Conference Overview
Over the years, untold numbers of research projects, activist initiatives, and mutual support networks have found their beginnings at RECE conferences.
The RECE conference is held once a year at different sites around the world. It attracts a growing number of scholars, graduate students, teachers, and others involved in the education and care of young children.
Over 4 to 5 days, conference goers participate in a wide range of vibrant conversations about cutting edge work in the field, activists’ initiatives to promote more equitable opportunities for children, and future directions for research, policy, and practice.
RECE conferences are open to anyone whose work challenges traditional assumptions about children, childhood and the theoretical underpinnings of early education and care. The conference attracts papers and workshops that highlight the intersections of theory, collective activism, and reconceptualizing practices in work with children, families, and communities. The program is place-based and includes visits to early child hood programs, cultural sites and a plenary panel focused on local issues.
By design, the relatively small size of the RECE conference, between 300 and 400 people, allows for more in-depth interactions in and out of scheduled sessions than larger educational meetings. Over the years, untold numbers of research projects, activist initiatives, and mutual support networks have found their beginnings at RECE conferences.
Each year the conference program and host committees post a Call for Proposals that announces a broad conference theme and provides details for submissions. All submissions undergo a peer review process and potential presenters are notified several months prior to the conference if their proposal has been accepted. As per RECE tradition, there are no keynote presentations, each presenter can only appear once on the conference program, and all presenters must be registered in advance for the conference.
The conference expects provisions for some participation in every session and welcomes ideas for sessions in a range of formats including but not limited to:
- themed panels
- individual papers/presentations
- roundtable discussions
- themed interactive workshops
- themed open space discussion forums
- collaborative arts-based performances
Special registration rates for practitioners and graduate students are offered. There are also some scholarships for graduate students and Global South participants.