CALL FOR PAPERS
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
“EDUCATION
AND THE
CONSTITUTION AT 20”
In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the South African Constitution and the 60th
anniversary of the watershed US case of Brown v Board of Education the Faculty of
Education Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, South Africa, will be
hosting an international conference from 8 to 10 April 2014.
Presenters at this interactive, comparative conference will reflect on the jurisprudential and
educational developments in South Africa, Europe, America and Brazil. The commemoration of
the pivotal historic developments in South Africa and the United States provides a unique
opportunity for all participants to deliberate on the role of the law and its contribution to
progressive developments in education. In considering the past challenges, attainments,
disputes and trends, this conference will focus on the following sub-themes:
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Equal educational opportunities
Values orientations and values-based education
Student rights, discipline and safe school environments
Privatisation of educational institutions
Accountability in education
SUBMISSION
OF
ABSTRACTS
We invite prospective participants to submit an abstract of no more than 300 words in Word
document, 12 font, Arial. Send it to [email protected] using Ed-Law as reference. Please
indicate how the paper links up with one of the sub-themes of the conference. Due date for
submission of the abstract is 22 November 2013.
The format of presentations may include any of the following:
 Academic papers  Workshops  Round tables  Posters
 Practitioners’ perspectives  Panel discussions.
Abstracts will be considered in terms of relevance to the theme of the conference, potential
appeal to audience and contribution to scholarship. No full papers are expected before the
conference takes place. Selected conference papers will be published in a special peer
reviewed journal.
“Any political system shapes education and conversely education unquestionably determines
the type of political system that a society will have.”
William Carr & Anthony Hartnett, 1996
“EDUCATION
AND THE
CONSTITUTION AT 20 CONFERENCE”
IMPORTANT DATES
22 November 2013
2 December 2013
9 December 2013
31 January 2014
14 March 2014
Submission of abstracts
Registration opens
Notification of successful abstracts
Early bird registration closes
Last date for payment of registration fee
Potchefstroom is an academic city in the North-West Province of South Africa. It is situated on the banks of
the Mooirivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river"), roughly 120 km (75 mi) west-southwest of Johannesburg.
VENUE
The Conference will be held at North-West University (Faculty of Education Sciences), building C6.
Potchefstroom was founded in 1838 by the Voortrekkers (pioneers of European descent) and was the first
town to be established in the then Transvaal. Other places of interest and tourist attractions in the
Potchefstroom region and North-West Province include:
Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site: a meteorite impact crater(www.vredefortdome.org);
Pilanesberg Game Reserve (www.pilanesberggamereserve.co.za);
Sun City and Lost City resorts (www.sun-city-south-africa.com/palace-of-the-lost-city).
CONFERENCE FEES
Registration fee: The registration fee includes the conference materials, morning and
afternoon teas, lunches and the Conference Dinner on the Tuesday evening:
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Early Bird registration (payment received by 31 January 2014): R3 250.00
Regular registration (payment received after 31 January 2014): R3 650.00
Closing date for registration: 28 February 2014
Conference dinner: R 400.00 (Additional for guests)
Cancellation: In the event of a registration being cancelled prior to 8 March 2014, an
administration fee of R150.00 will be charged. After 8 March 2014, a refund will not be made
unless the whole event is cancelled. However, you may send a substitute. Please inform the
conference organiser of the change in name.
Enquiries:
Contact the Conference Administrator: Saartjie Venter, e-mail: [email protected]
“A child’s education must start at least a hundred years before its birth”
Wishard (1880) American Theologian
“EDUCATION
AND THE
CONSTITUTION AT 20 CONFERENCE”
ACCOMMODATION
AND
TRANSPORT
(not included in the conference fee)
Accommodation can be booked at the NWU Sport Village of the North-West University, which
is situated on campus. This the perfect facility for sport groups and training camps, as well as
for visiting academics, researchers and international guests. The NWU Sports Village is a nonself-catering facility and consists of 80 rooms; function facilities; sport facilities; fully licensed
restaurant and bar. Potchefstroom’s altitude above sea level attracts many European sport
groups that train at this campus during the winter season of the northern hemisphere. As a
result the NWU Sport Village is usually fully booked months in advance. To avoid
disappointment timeous booking is essential.
A number of rooms have been reserved by the conference organisers to cater for participants
and conference delegates. Due to distance from Johannesburg Airport, it is recommended that
you book accommodation from Monday, 7 April 2014.
Cost of accommodation: The special conference fee from 8-10 April 2014 at the NWU Sport
Village (en-suite, breakfast & dinner, 3 nights,) if booked by the Conference Administrator, is:
Single (R805/pp/night): R2 415,00 (3 nights)
Sharing (R1 000/night/room): R3 000,00 (3 nights) (Please indicate with whom
to be shared)
Booking accommodation on campus: On campus accommodation can be booked at:
NWU Sport Village, http://www.nwu.ac.za/content/rcs-nonrespsv
Astro Villa chalets, http://www.nwu.ac.za/content/rcs-nonresastro
Dennepark (visiting students), http://www.nwu.ac.za/content/rcs-nonresdenne
Alternative accommodation: Potchefstroom also boast a number of quality hotels and
guesthouses (bed & breakfast) in close proximity of the university campus. For more
information see:
http://www.potchefstroom.co.za/accommodation/acc_hotels.html
http://www.potchefstroom.co.za/accommodation/acc_guest_houses.html
Please note: Transport and accommodation costs are not included in the conference fee.
Delegates and guests are responsible for arranging their own accommodation and transportation.
Airport shuttle:
To arrange for shuttle transport from the OR Tambo (JHB) Airport
to and from Potchefstroom (NWU): Contact MAG Tours at [email protected]
or phone Annalize at +27 +83 628 3861 for shuttle arrangements.
“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rests
The connerstone of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.”
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations
INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS
The conference programme will include internationally renowned scholars and leaders in the
field of Education law. They will participate in stimulating panel discussions and reflect on the
sub-themes and comparative developments in their respective countries over past decades.
Some of the international speakers and panel members are:
Prof. Charles J. Russo is the Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and adjunct professor
in the School of Law at the University of Dayton. He was the 1998–1999 president of the Education Law
Association and 2002 recipient of its McGhehey (Achievement) Award. He has authored or co-authored more
than 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals; has authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited 40 books; and has
in excess of 900 publications. He has spoken in 33 states and 25 nations, has taught summer courses in
England, Spain, and Thailand; and has served as a visiting professor at universities in Australia, Bosnia,
Macedonia, South Africa, Malaysia and Brazil.
Prof. Jan de Groof is professor at the College of Europe (Bruges), Government Commissioner at the University
of Antwerp and the Limburg University Centre, Chairman of the International Research Committee of Legal
Experts, Chairman of the European Association for Education Law and Policy, Chairman of the editing board of
the series "Legislating for Higher Education in Europe" of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg (since 1993), Editor
in chief of the "European Journal of Education Law and Policy" and Editor in chief of the "Tijdschrift voor
Onderwijsrecht en Onderwijsbeleid" [Journal for Education Law and Policy].
Prof. Philip T.K. Daniel is the Albert and Mary Flesher Professor of Educational Administration and adjunct
professor of Law at the Ohio State University. In 1993 he received the Alumni Award for Distinguished
Teaching, was president of the Education Law Association (ELA) 2004-05 and the 2006 recipient of its
McGhehey (Achievement) Award. He is the author of numerous refereed articles, law review articles, book
chapters, monographs, and reports.
Prof. Ralph Mawdsley is professor in Education Law at the Cleveland State University and the Roslyn Z. Wolf
Endowed Chair. As a Fulbright Scholar he a visited the University of Pretoria, South Africa (2005) and Griffith
University, Australia (2007). He has served as Visiting Professor of Education and Law at Griffith University,
Australia and the North-West University, South Africa. He was the President of ELA in 2001 and received its
McGhehey Award for outstanding service in 2004. He has published 25 books and over 500 articles and book
chapters.
Prof. William E. Thro is the General Counsel for the University of Kentucky and President of the Education law
Association (USA). An experienced litigation lawyer, he has argued two cases, co-authored eleven amicus
briefs and more than fifty briefs at the petition stage in the U.S. Supreme Court and thirty-three cases in the
lower appellate courts. He served as Solicitor-General of Virginia (2006-08) and as University Counsel and
Associate professor at the Christopher Newport University (2009-2012) where he taught Constitutional law.
His scholarship focuses on constitutional law in educational contexts in both the United States and South
Africa. He is the author or co-author of more than fifty chapters, articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as
monographs and encyclopaedia entries.
We invite you to attend the “Education and the Constitution at 20 Conference”
and look forward to welcoming you with typical South African hospitality.
“What can the schools do to defend democracy? If they are able to teach young people to have a critical
Mind and socially oriented attitude, they will have done all that is neccessary.”
Albert Einstein
HOW TO REGISTER
Registration for the conference will open on 2 December 2014.
REGISTRATION FORM (* - Compulsory fields)
Please register me for the Education and the Constitution at 20 Conference”
Title (Prof/Dr/Ms/Mr.)
*
First (or preferred given) Name
*
Surname:
*
Affiliation/ Organisation:
*
Postal address:
*
Telephone:
Mobile:
*
Fax
E-mail:
*
Name of guest/s to conference
dinner
REGISTRATION FEE (all fees are quoted in South African Rand)
Early Bird registration (payment received by 31 January 2014): R3 150.00
Regular registration (payment received after 31 January 2014): R3 350.00
Conference dinner (Additional only for guests):
R 400.00
Cancellation: In the event of a registration being cancelled prior to 8 March 2014, an
administration fee of R150.00 will be charged. After 8 March 2014 a refund will not be made
unless the whole event is cancelled. However, you may send a substitute. Please inform the
conference organiser of the change in name.
The fee includes conference material, refreshments and lunches for the duration of the
conference, as well as the Gala Dinner on 8 April 2014. Vegetarians and other dietary
requirements will be catered for.
An invoice with banking details will be forwarded after the registration form has been received.
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilisation, then it expects something that never was and never will be.”
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd American president
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilisation, then it expects something that never was and never will be.”
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd American president
PAYMENT
Once we have received your registration form, the conference co-ordinator will send you an
invoice that will include all banking details. Accommodation reservation (if booked by
Conference Coordinator) will only be finalized after receiving proof of payment.
ACCOMMODATION (NWU SPORT VILLAGE)
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Accommodation at the Sport Village for 3 nights (En-suite bedroom, Breakfast &
Dinners plus transport between hotel and conference venue) – (If booking must be
done by Conference Administrator)
Single (R805/pp/night):
R2 415,00 (3 nights)
Sharing (R1000/night/room): R3 000,00 (3 nights)
(Please indicate with whom to be shared)
Arrange your own accommodation and transport to the venue
Dietary requirements (please indicate):
Please send the completed form to:
Ms Saartjie Venter
Conference Coordinator
Faculty of Education Sciences
e-mail: [email protected]
Save and send.
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilisation, then it expects something that never was and never will be.”
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd American president