The Ethnography in Education Research Forum is a conference held annually at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.  It is one very much shaped by graduate students, as organizers, presenters, and attendees, and one of the first venues where I presented my ideas to a community of scholars.  Attendees come from around the world of course, but I highly recommend it for those in the region who want to share their ideas, as it is very much a regional hub for ethnographic thought in education.  And, although rooted in ethnography, it has expanded to be an inclusive space for qualitative researchers in education of every stripe.

Proposals for 2017 meeting are now being accepted, around the theme Ethnography in Action.  As the Call for Proposals suggests:

Ethnographic research has long provided a powerful vehicle for investigating the complexity of social problems and explaining how people experience and make sense of these problems in their everyday lives. During the past 20 years, we have witnessed the development of new and innovative as well as more ethical and inclusive approaches to using ethnographic research in the service of social action. Increasingly, ethnographic methods are being used in collaborative work, transformation-oriented projects, locally engaged policy and reform research, and in the production and use of film in activist efforts.  We have a great deal to learn from these creative developments and what they have been able to achieve.  To this end, we invite researchers who use ethnographic methods to come together to share and reflect on what has been learned and achieved in using ethnography in action.

I’m always tangling with practical implications of my own work, and so I am particularly excited to be involved in discussions with those for whom action is not only an implication, but also a central driver.

Proposal submissions are accepted through October 10 – I suggest everyone with the inclination give it serious consideration.

I hope to see many of you here in Philadelphia on February 24 and 25.