The WEEC 2021 Scientific Committee and the Local Organizing Committee welcome the submission of original contributions to be presented at the Congress in the Parallel Sessions or in the Field Sessions.
Structure of submission
Please, respect the recommended structure for submitting your abstract.
Name/s and Affiliation/s: First name and surname, e-mail address, the correct name of the affiliation and department of each author
Title: maximum of 40 words / 200 characters (including blanks and punctuation)
Abstract: maximum of 500 words / 3000 characters (including blanks and punctuation) divided into the following parts:
For research-oriented, conceptual, and theoretical research presentations:
- Introduction
- Research questions
- Research questions
- Findings
- Conclusion & recommendations for theory and practice
- References
For practice-oriented presentations, field sessions, and sharing experience (particularly, presentations building a bridge between theory and practice, e.g. assessing a program from the perspective of the relevant theoretical framework, evaluation research, or critical perspective, are welcome):
- Introduction
- The goals of the program
- Program description
- Experience and evaluation
- Conclusion & recommendations for theory and practice
- References
Title, authors’ names and affiliations are not included in the word count
Keywords: 3-5
Optional Image: A maximum of one image can be included with the following criteria:
| min | max | |
| width | 50 pixels | 500 pixels |
| height | 50 pixels | 500 pixels |
| quality | 72 dpi | 300 dpi |
| file size | 45 KB | 1000 KB |
| Allowed file type | gif, jpg, png | |
Language: Abstracts and presentations must be in English only.
Submission System
Abstracts may only be submitted via the online system. Submissions sent in any other way (post, email, etc.) will not be accepted.
- To upload your submission, first register with your details. All future communication will be done with the registered author.
- You will be assigned a User ID and password: use your credentials to log in in the online system and select “Submit an Abstract”.
- Insert the required data (names, affiliations, title, body, etc.) and click on Next at the bottom of each page, then click on Save at the bottom of the last page to save your submission. You will receive the confirmation that everything has been successfully submitted.
- By accessing the online system with your credentials, you will be able to edit your submission at any moment until the abstracts submission deadline.
Abstract submission deadline is March 15, 2021, at 23.59 CET.
After this deadline, it will not be possible to submit new abstracts and/or edit previous submissions.
Please submit your abstract a few days prior to the deadline to avoid potential system overload on the last day.
Each registered participant may submit a maximum of 2 abstracts as the presenting author. No author may present more than 2 submissions.
Abstracts will be published, unedited, as submitted.
Parallel Sessions
The Parallel Sessions will be held on Tuesday 5th Oct from 08:30 to 18:30 and Wednesday 6th Oct from 08:30 to 12:30. Both research-oriented and practice-oriented submissions are welcome.
Themes and Presentation Format
Please, visit the Themes page for the complete description of the topics.
Choose only one theme for your submission, considering the impact of your choice on the reviewing process (see review criteria below).
Select only one presentation format for your submission, considering that for some of the themes, only some of the presentation formats are acceptable.
Please, note that submissions may be re-assigned to other presentation formats by the Scientific Committee, due to time or other constraints.
| Theme | Oral presentation | Poster presentation | Round table | Pecha Kucha | Workshop | Symposium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Environmental Education in Nonformal Settings | yes | yes | no | no | yes | no |
| 02 | Environmental Education in the Anthropocene | yes | no | yes | no | no | yes |
| 03 | Action competence and key competence for sustainability | yes | yes | no | no | yes | yes |
| 04 | Sustainability Universities | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 05 | Early Childhood Education: The Foundation of ESD | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 06 | Transformative, Transgressive Learning in Communities | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 07 | Education for Environmental Citizenship | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 08 | Climate Change Education | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 09 | Outdoor Environmental Education: Bridging Nature Experiences with School and Home | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 10 | Place-based Education | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 11 | Whole School Approach to Environmental and Sustainability Education | yes | yes | no | no | no | yes |
| 12 | Arts, Ethics, and Environmental Education | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 13 | Business sector and Environmental Education | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 14 | Water for Life | no | yes | yes | no | no | no |
Individual Submission
Oral presentation
A 15-minute oral presentation highlights the main themes of the research, viewpoint, or educational project. The presentations will be grouped in sessions, in which a 15-minute interactive period of discussion will follow up after three presentations. Note: PowerPoint projector available.
Pecha Kucha (Ignite talk)
Pecha Kucha has a fixed format in which presenters need to prepare 20 slides, which automatically advance every 20 seconds. The presentations will be grouped in sessions in which after the 7-minute presentation, the chair opens a 5-minute discussion.
Note: PowerPoint projector available.
Round table presentation
Round table paper sessions provide an excellent opportunity for interactive presentation styles through a 40-minute session. These sessions can provide more intimate opportunities to share work and to get to know other Congress participants. Individual presenters are assigned to numbered 10-seats tables in rooms where interested participants may gather for discussion with the presenter about his/her paper or project. This format is particularly appropriate for presentations addressing topics best pursued through extensive discussion. These discussions will be held in English. Note: PowerPoint projector not available.
Poster presentation
Posters will be grouped by themes and will be presented for the duration of the Congress. One specific session will allow the author(s) to present their posters and interact with other Congress participants. Note: The max size portrait is A0 (width: 84,1 cm / height: 118,9 cm). Instructions concerning logistics will be provided to presenters further ahead.
Group Submission
Workshop
60-minute workshop sessions are organized by a team of facilitators responsible for the content and the dynamics of the interactive activity. Participants will be invited to explore an issue (or specific challenge, research question), contribute to the construction of a joint project, experiment with a pedagogical strategy/teaching format, or carry out other collaborative, experiential activities. A brief overview of the issue and objectives will be presented, after which the major part of the workshop will be devoted to participatory and active learning techniques to enable participants to bring their contributions to the table.
Notes:Only a limited number of workshops will be accepted by the Program Committee.
Participation in each workshop will be limited to a maximum number of attendees, who will be able to access on a first-come-first-serve basis.
PowerPoint projector not available.
Symposium
Symposia are 90-minutes panel discussions presenting different perspectives on a topic or question related to one of the themes. Panels must include a moderator (suggested by the proposer) and at least three to a maximum of four panelists representing different organizations, ideas, or experiences. The symposia are submitted as a single document with the names of all the proposers (indicate the moderator as the first author).
Note:PowerPoint projector available.
Field Sessions
Field Sessions are sessions organized by local environmental education centers. They will be held on Thursday 7th Oct and Friday 8th Oct from 08:30 to 18:30 at the centers’ facilities; they will be 1 or 2 days long, some of them outside of Prague (with accommodation in the centers’ facilities).
The Field Sessions aim to share experience and discuss some of the following topics and form communities of practitioners and researchers for promoting their cooperation in possible future projects. Because of this, the Field Sessions are more practice- and experience-oriented, while the insights making a bridge between the theory and practice is highly welcome. The authors may select from the following list:
- Participative approaches in environmental education at schools
- Schools as environmental campaigners
- Animal farming in environmental education and animal welfare concerns
- Folk traditions and traditional crafts in environmental education
- Learning by Nature
- Alienation from nature
- Nature and Community as the Best Classrooms
- EE in modern ZOO
- School gardens and school forests
- Inquiry-based education
Please, visit the Field Sessions page for the complete description.
Review criteria and Evaluation
The submissions for Parallel Sessions will be reviewed by two independent reviewers, while the submissions for Field Sessions will be reviewed by the responsible/s of the centers where the sessions will be held. Following criteria will be taken into consideration:
- Relevance. How well the submission fits the aims of the theme? How well it corresponds with the main theme of Congress, i.e. “building bridges” between the theory and practice, among different stakeholders, approaches, etc.? This should be clear in the Introduction.
- Background quality. Does the proposal present a clear rationale for the study? How well the submission introduces the relevant theoretical background of the research, program, or interactive activity (for workshops)? This should be detailed in the Introduction, Research Question, or Purpose sections.
- Methodology / Program theory. Is the research based on a clear and sound research methodology? Do the research context, methods, design, and applied procedure align with the research question/problem? Are the limitations made clear and explicit? Does the proposal clarify the approach for developing the argument? Is the theoretical grounding or relation to the theory made clear? Is the program theory well described and is then presented a program based on sound instructional approach? Is the interactive activity theoretically grounded? What methods and steps will be included in the workshop structure?
- Findings / Experience. Are the research findings supported by data? Are the claims of a field experience supported by rigorous evaluation? Do the data presented to align with the research questions/problem? Are the interpretations supported by the data? Are potential findings of the interactive activity formulated?
- Benefit for the field/ Contribution. Does the submission articulate how its conclusions and recommendations could be beneficial for ESE theory or practice? What is the relevance of the proposal to the major theme of the conference and the ESE community?
An evaluation of the submission will be sent to the registered author’s e-mail address by July 1, 2021.
All accepted submissions will be published in the Scientific Program and the Abstract Book, available on the Congress web site.
The presenting author/s of the accepted abstract/s must register for the Congress before July 31, 2021.
After July 31, 2021 abstracts whose presenting author/s is/are not registered will be withdrawn by default and thus will not be included in the Scientific Program or the Abstract Book.
If the presenting author/s of an accepted submission is/are unable to attend the Congress, the abstract must be withdrawn.
The Scientific Committee reserves the right to inform the institution/association/company of registered participants who do not attend the Congress to present their submission.
The Scientific Committee and the Local Organizing Committee also welcome proposals for the NGO forum and other side events.
NGO forum
In this forum, NGOs will present their programs, projects, and productions. A space with a table will be offered to each NGO, where presenters will interact with Congress participants. If this is of interest to you, please contact the conference secretariat, WEEC2021.abs@aimgroup.eu
Note:No commercial interests will be accepted in this forum. Note:There will be no electric facilities for this type of presentation.
Other side events
There will be a possibility to arrange other side events like group meetings, organization meetings, country meetings that could be closed for a special group or open to the Congress participants. If this is of interest to you, please contact the conference secretariat, WEEC2021.abs@aimgroup.eu
Please visit the NGO forum and Other side events page for the complete description.