Caribbean and Africa Studies in Education SIG
[FORMERLY RESEARCH FOCUS ON EDUCATION IN THE CARIBBEAN AND AFRICA]
AERA 2009, San Diego, CA
Minutes of SIG Meeting
Wednesday 15th April, 2009, Marriott Hotel, Salon 5
Officers Present: Launcelot Brown (Outgoing Chair); Janice Fournillier (Program Chair)
Officers Absent: Dennis Conrad (Vice Chair); John Pryor, Treasurer/Secretary
Apologies and absences: Dennis Conrad and John Pryor,
1. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:15 p.m. by Chair, Launcelot Brown.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the 2008 Business Meeting were read, approved and seconded by the membership. Minutes were approved after requests for hard copies and questions about the budget re. expenditure for refreshments and membership dues.
3. WELCOME and COMMENTS
Chair, Launcelot Brown indicated that his term as SIG Chair would come to an end at the close of the Business Meeting. Launce thanked the membership for their support.
3. BUDGET
There were further requests for explanations of budget expenditure and dues itemized in the budget.
4. MEMBERSHIP
The following suggestions were made for boosting membership:
i. Reaching out via email to schools, individuals, listservs, and participants on AERA program with similar interests. Outgoing Chair, Launce Brown indicated that both he and Vice Chair, Dennis Conrad had in the previous year, reached out to presenters and publishers doing research on the Caribbean and Africa.
ii. Cross-sponsorship with two SIGS with related interests and common membership: Black SIG and Postcolonial SIG. Program Chair, Janice Fournillier, reinforced that the SIG officials are committed to collaborating with the Black SIG. Janice stated that the SIG chairs planned to re-establish communication with the Black SIG after having “dropped the ball” by not promptly following up on previous collaborative opportunities.
5. 2009 PROGRAM
Program Chair, Janice Fourniller, reviewed the 2009 submission process and related concerns. She noted the importance of the following:
i. Members volunteering to review proposals and honoring that commitment.
ii. Quality of reviews/reviewers for proposals
iii. AERA Central--response to the SIG officials’ requests to update website and membership/listserv
iv. Mentoring of graduate students as a means of building SIG membership.
6. PRESENTATIONS
A. Vice Program Chair, Joan.Osa Oviawe, highlighted proposed changes in the proposal submission/review system by AERA Central that would affect the SIG. These changes included:
i. Election of SIG officers to occur online and not at the Business Meeting as is currently done.
ii. Three year maximum term for officials.
iii. Bylaws for all SIGs
iv. July submission deadline and review period.
v. Quality control for proposals via * Review Panel of certified senior scholars with a 2 year term, * Volunteer for Review Panel
B. Justina Osa highlighted her request for information for the archives (e.g. minutes and publications). Another concern was the quality of the information on the website and the need to keep resources and information current. The presenter posed a question about assistance hosting a website and the related costs.
Suggestions/responses: There was a collective view that there is a need for web presence. One suggestion offered by Janice Fournillier was the use of a Wiki. Another member suggested (a) using the AERA website and obtaining AERA technology support to have the SIG officials post information (b) attending content management course/session at the AERA conference.
7. ELECTIONS
Pending the official changes to the election process by AERA, the members agreed to proceed with current election procedures until any official changes by AERA central.
Election of Incoming SIG Officers
Vice Chair: Janice Fournillier was nominated and seconded as Vice Chair 2009-2010. The motion was approved.
Vice Program Chair: Cheryl McLean was nominated and seconded as incoming Program Chair 2009-2010. The motion was approved.
Secretary/Treasurer: Bekisizwe Ndimande was nominated and seconded as Secretary/Treasurer 2009-2010. The motion was approved.
All new officers were officially introduced to the membership.
8. OTHER BUSINESS
Visibility of SIG and possible name change for SIG
The Chair, Launce Brown addressed the issue of improving the accessibility of the SIG for current and prospective members by changing the current name of the SIG. The floor was opened to comments and suggestions by the membership. Members generally *agreed about the proposed name change, *voiced concerns and requests that the new name not be exclusionary to those who may not necessarily do research in Africa and/or the Caribbean, and *suggested removing the terms “research” or “focus”. The new name for the SIG proposed by Veda Abu-Bakare: Caribbean and African Studies in Education (CASE). The new name was nominated, seconded and unanimously approved.
9. 2009-2010 SIG OFFICERS
Chair: Dennis Conrad
Vice Chair: Janice Fournillier
Program Chair: Joan Oviawe
Vice Program Chair: Cheryl McLean
Secretary/Treasurer: Bekisizwe Ndimande
10. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Submitted by, Cheryl McLean.