* Proposals are due June 30, 2025 *
* Registration begins later this spring *


15th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
EDUCATION AND JUSTICE

held jointly with meetings of

EDUCATION DEANS FOR JUSTICE AND EQUITY (EDJE)

and

CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE OF RESEARCHERS FOR EQUITY IN EDUCATION (CARE-ED)

11-13 September 2025
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Host:
UCLA School of Education and Information Studies

Sponsors:
California Alliance of Reseachers for Equity in Education (CARE-ED)
Education Deans for Justice and Equity (EDJE)
Wayne State University College of Education
and others TBA

Scroll down to see:

  • Conference Theme

  • Conference Overview and Invitation

  • EDJE Meeting

  • CARE-ED Meeting

  • Schedule at a Glance [forthcoming]

  • Publishing Opportunity for Presenters

  • Proposal Guidelines and Submission Form

  • Location, Travel, Lodging, Meals

  • Registration Information

  • Volunteer Opportunities

CONFERENCE THEME:

This year’s conference theme is “Connecting the Dots: Naming the Moment and Our Intervention.”

Locally and globally, the attacks on and dismantling of education, democratic institutions and civic participation, and human rights and sovereignty, particularly for historically marginalized populations, are crystalizing for all to see. These attacks are highly coordinated, well-funded, and long entrenched in a range of intersecting ideologies and systems of imperialism and settler colonialism, autocracy, white supremacy, dominionism, heteropatriarchy, neoliberalism, militarism and carcerality, ableism, and more. Examples include policy “reforms” and public rhetoric that undermine any number of issues ranging from anti-genocide protest and truthful curriculum to DEI initiatives and LGBTQIA+ inclusion; from teacher professionalism and student civil-rights protections to democratic governance and equitable funding of educational institutions and initiatives; from humanizing learning and teaching at the classroom level, to community capacity building at the school and district levels, to a bold vision of education as movement building for justice at the levels of systems and values. What does it mean to advance justice through anti-oppressive education and collective action in this moment?

For a primer on this conference theme, check out my recent interview, Project 2025 with Kevin Kumashiro, on Under the Tree: A Seminar on Freedom with Bill Ayers, and download the related handout, A Summary of Education Priorities in “Project 2025”: Do you agree with their agenda, and if not, what will you do? More resources are forthcoming.

To learn more about scholar collectives, listen to the recording of my 6/22/22 webinar on “Collective Scholarship for Public Pedagogy” here (passcode fpj$P6g6), and read my co-authored article on Scholar Collectives Advocating for Social Justice in Education, in Kalfou 9(1).

CONFERENCE OVERVIEW AND INVITATION:

The 15th International Conference on Education and Justice highlights the role of educational scholars in anti-oppressive movement building, particularly when we produce scholarship collectively and leverage it for public pedagogy. Recent and helpful examples of such collective projects are listed on my homepage — all are strategically presenting research through background briefs or media articles, testimonies or interviews, grassroots organizing, and so on with the aim of changing policy, practice, curriculum, and consciousness.

Sessions will feature projects and works-in-progress that aim to raise public awareness or influence educational policy and practice, as well as strategies to build our capacity for such interventions. Educators, scholars, students, leaders, advocates, and educational organizations and institutions from across the United States and around the world will convene to share collective scholarship for public pedagogy, as well as to support one another in such work through critical self-reflection and constructive criticism.

The 15th Conference returns to California, and will be held jointly with open meetings of CARE-ED and EDJE so that conference attendees can attend and benefit from these meetings, and vice versa.

EDJE MEETING

The Fall 2025 meeting of Education Deans for Justice and Equity (EDJE) is being held jointly with the Conference. Deans, associate/assistant deans, directors and chairs, diversity officers, and other leaders in schools and colleges of education, as well as those working collectively with or aspiring towards such roles, are invited to attend the EDJE Meeting. You are encouraged to bring teams from your institutions who can work collectively and build on what is learned at the gathering.

Tentatively, EDJE will meet separately on Thursday evening and Friday morning. EDJE-meeting attendees will join the Conference at other times, and therefore, are encouraged to submit proposals to present at the Conference. More information about the EDJE Meeting is forthcoming.

CARE-ED MEETING

The Fall 2025 meeting of California Alliance of Researchers for Equity in Education (CARE-ED) is also being held jointly with the Conference. All California scholars, educators, students, and advocates, as well as those working in solidarity with us, are invited to attend the CARE-ED Meeting.

Tentatively, CARE-ED will meet separately on Friday morning and evening. CARE-ED meeting attendees will join the Conference at other times, and therefore, are encouraged to submit proposals to present at the Conference. More information about the CARE-ED Meeting is forthcoming.

SCHEDULE-AT-A-GLANCE

[forthcoming]

PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITY FOR PRESENTERS:

We are pleased that the Conference will once again partner with Professing Education, the journal of the Society of Professors of Education, on a special issue that features papers based on several conference presentations. If you are a presenter and are interested in publishing your work, please stay tuned for more information.

For some inspiration, download your free copy of recent special issues that were based on past conferences, including:

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES AND SUBMISSION FORM:

  • Two Important Deadlines for Presenters: Proposal and Registration

    • Proposal Deadline: In order to guarantee consideration, proposals must be received via the online submission form by the Priority Deadline of June 30. Incomplete or incorrect submissions might not be reviewed. Late submissions might be considered if space in the program is available. Notification of acceptance or rejection of proposals will be sent via e-mail on a rolling basis as proposals are received and no later than early July.

    • Presenter Registration Deadline: Presenters will need to register by the Presenter Registration Deadline of July 31 in order to remain on the conference program. The full conference program will be posted in August.

  • Four Types of Proposals: Poster, Roundtable (work-in-progress), Standard, Extended

    • Poster: This is a 30-minute poster presentation. The poster will be displayed in a large room with other posters, and the presenter(s) are expected to be at your poster throughout that session to speak with attendees, who will likely be spread out and rotating from poster to poster. Additionally, you might also have the option of leaving your poster on display throughout the day. The physical “poster” can be in any number of forms, including a standard printed poster to hang (in the size and materials of your choosing), or collage, or interactive game, or three-dimensional or multi-media display, or feel free to be creative! You will have the option to hang from the wall (please bring needed supplies) or bring your own display stand, or to display atop a desk/table (such as by laying on a desk, or using a self-standing cardboard frame, etc.).

    • Roundtable: This is a 10-minute presentation about a work-in-progress with the goal of gathering feedback from the other presenters and audience. The proposal should include a tentative list of the questions that the presenter(s) will be asking for feedback (based on what is presented; no need to read one another’s papers ahead of time). Your presentation will be grouped with other presentations into a Roundtable session, with a moderator who will facilitate the Q&A, and with all presenters encouraged to give feedback to one another. There is a limited number of these sessions, and therefore, presentations with multiple co-authors are preferred.

    • Standard Timeslot: This is a standard 10-minute presentation. The presentation will be grouped with other presentations into a 75-minute panel session. There is a limited number of these sessions, and therefore, presentations with multiple co-authors are preferred.

    • Extended Timeslot: This is an extended 20-minute presentation, and is available to any presentation that has four or more co-authors. Your presentation will be grouped with other presentations into a 75-minute panel session.

  • Format and Audience of the Sessions

    • A Fully In-Person Conference with No A/V Support: At this time, we are not planning to offer hybrid sessions. All roundtables and panels (standard and extended timeslots) are expected to be in smart classrooms (i.e., with WiFi and A/V equipment). However, the Conference will not provide tech support, so any use of technologies will be the responsibility of the presenters. Furthermore, because using such equipment or WiFi connection can cause delays and other problems, the Conference encourages presenters not to rely on A/V (for showing slides/videos, joining virtually, etc.).

    • A Tree-friendly Conference: Please plan to share materials electronically rather than as paper handouts.

    • Audience: The anticipated audience will include a diverse mix of educators, scholars, and advocates, in early childhood education, K-12, and higher education settings, from various disciplines and subject areas, and from across the United States and abroad, so please ensure that your presentations are accessible, inclusive, respectful, and engaging.

    • Audience Engagement: All sessions should allow for brief small-group discussion (such as in pairs after each presentation or at each poster) and large-group discussion (such as Q&A with speakers in the final minutes of panel sessions). In other words, please be sure to designate time for audience members to engage, not merely to listen.

  • Guidelines for Presenters

    • Presenters may not appear on the conference program more than once, and therefore, you should not appear in more than one proposal.

    • Presenters will need to register by the Presenter Registration Deadline of July 31 in order to remain on the conference program. The full conference program will be posted in August.

  • The Proposal

    • Proposals consist of the following items:

      • Proposal Type: Choose one of four options: Poster, Roundtable (work-in-progress), Standard Timeslot, Extended Timeslot

      • Title of Presentation: The conference program schedule might not include abstracts of presentations, so please create a descriptive title that conveys what your presentation will be about.

      • Abstract of Presentation: Please provide a 2-3 paragraph abstract of your presentation. Be sure that your proposal addresses the conference theme.

      • Citations/Bibliography: Please provide a sampling of the books, articles, etc. that your presentation will cite.

      • Information about Presenters: For every presenter on your team, please provide (a) Full name, (b) Institutional affiliation, (c) Job title, (d) Email address, and (e) Second email address (please doublecheck for typos).

      • Affirmation of Conference Guidelines

      • And several questions to assist us with scheduling

    • Priority Deadline to submit proposals is June 30, 2025; late proposals may be reviewed on a rolling basis, space permitting

    • Please use this Proposal Submission Form

LOCATION, TRAVEL, LODGING, MEALS

Conference participants are responsible for their own transportation and lodging.

LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY: The conference will be on the campus of the School of Education and Information Sciences of the University of California-Los Angeles. All conference spaces are wheelchair-accessible; if additional accessibility accommodations are required, please contact the Conference Organizer in advance. View the interactive campus map and downloadable campus maps.

AIR AND GROUND TRANSPORTATION: The UCLA Transportation page has tips for traveling to the campus from out of town and locally, including in the “Getting to UCLA” menu. All Conference attendees are encouraged to use environmentally-friendly modes of ground transportation to and from the Conference venue.

LODGING: There will not be a conference hotel. However, we are pleased to describe several nearby options:

  • [hotel info is forthcoming]

  • Hotels at Risk of Labor Disputes: You may remember that the 2018 conference was held in a hotel where workers began a long strike the day after we departed. We can see which hotels are unionized and stay informed of hotels in the area that are at risk of labor actions at https://www.fairhotel.org/

MEALS: All meals and snacks will be vegan, with gluten-free options.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

(Registration begins later this spring)

All educators, researchers and scholars, and educational leaders and advocates throughout the United States and the world and from all levels and disciplines are invited to attend and participate in this conference. The Conference Organizer believes strongly that the registration fees should not serve as a financial barrier to access and participation, and therefore, the registration fees are on a sliding scale (choose the rate that reflects how much you can afford and how much you feel this event is worth) that ranges from $0 to $249 per person. In other words, anyone with limited financial resources may select any of the lower rates and still be able to access the full schedule. Registration fees are nonrefundable.

To ensure that enough food and space are provided for the various events, you are asked to specify if you are attending the Conference Only, or CARE-ED Meeting and Conference, or EDJE Meeting and Conference, as tentatively listed below:

$249 Conference Registration: Regular Rate (per person)
$249 CARE-ED Meeting and Conference Registration: Regular Rate (per person)
$249 EDJE Meeting and Conference Registration: Regular Rate (per person)

$149 Conference Registration: Moderately Discounted Rate (per person)
$149 CARE-ED Meeting and Conference Registration: Moderately Discounted Rate (per person)
$149 EDJE Meeting and Conference Registration: Moderately Discounted Rate (per person)

$49 Conference Registration: Significantly Discounted Rate (per person)
$49 CARE-ED Meeting and Conference Registration: Significantly Discounted Rate (per person)
$49 EDJE Meeting and Conference Registration: Significantly Discounted Rate (per person)

$0 Conference Registration: Waived Rate (per person)
$0 CARE-ED Meeting and Conference Registration: Waived Rate (per person)
$0 EDJE Meeting and Conference Registration: Waived Rate (per person)

Note: If you are registering a group, you may do so in one form by listing the following items in the “Additional Information” box of the Registration Form for each registrant: (a) Full name, (b) Job title, (c) Institutional affiliation, and (d) Email address (please doublecheck for typos).

(Registration begins later this spring)

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

We are looking for volunteers to assist with a 2-3 hour shifts during the conference (helping with registration, set-up and clean-up, troubleshooting, etc.). More information is forthcoming about how to sign up for a shift.

LEGAL AGREEMENTS:

By registering for or participating in this event, you are agreeing to hold Kevin Kumashiro Consulting harmless regarding liability, and also to affirm the indemnity of Kevin Kumashiro Consulting regarding intellectual property.