Conference Research

Location of the Conference

The Clute International Academic Conference occurs in Denver on the dates March 31-April 4, 2019 at the Brown Palace Resort & Spa. Sponsored by the Clute Institute, this conference has the goal of “bring[ing] together faculty and administration from all levels of education across the world. We encourage a cross-disciplinary exchange of thoughts, ideas, and innovation through a variety of teaching methods and perspectives” (Clute Institute, 2019a, p. 1). This is located in Denver to service the surrounding local with easy access to airports and hotels for the attendees. 

Description of Participants/Intended Audience and Approximate Attendance

The Clute International Academic Conference has an average member attendance of 1,500 people. This is made up of “educational faculty and administrators looking to present their research on all aspects of business, as well as share proven, innovative methods in teaching and learning. Our conferences provide attendees with the opportunity to interact, share ideas” (Clute Institute, 2019a, p. 1). Students do not attend this conference as much as it is geared towards educational administrators and policymakers. Ph.D. students and graduate students often attend along with career professors and academic researchers. 

Cost—to Regular Members, to Regular non-members, and to Students

Cost of early registration is $495, early bird registration (before Oct. 5) is $450, and basic registration is $550 (Clute Institute, 2019a). Membership (executive membership) is $250 a year and includes entrance to conferences and dinners with the board therein. Students receive a 10% discount. 

Types of Presentations

Presentations will be made by the organizations and their affiliates: The Clute International Academic Conference on Business (IACB) and the Clute International Academic Conference on Education (ICE). The Clute Institute will also sponsor tracks in Science Education (ISEC) and Technology in Education (ICTE) (Clute Institute, 2019a). Clute is unique in that they organize many conferences/presentations together in order to “foster dialogue and exposure to educational leaders from all backgrounds, cultures, and disciplines, all in one place. In doing so, attendees can attend sessions bridging topics to gain new insights and unique perspectives on teaching and learning” (Clute Institute, 2019b, p. 1). Presentations will include improving outcomes for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) domains, ways to increase parental involvement and community engagement, improving outcomes for minority students, reducing violence and behavioral problems in school, moving away from standardization and into a teacher-empowered pedagogic approach, and strategically involving media in the classroom (Clute Institute, 2019b). 

Workshops will also be held on Secondary Education, Teaching Methods, Economics, Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Analytics/Security, Management, Contemporary Issues in Education, Educational Leadership, Health Education, International Education, Language Education, E-Learning, Higher Education, and Multidisciplinary Education. Workshops are peppered in throughout the presentations to allow attendees to work with or discuss and prepare for applying the information shared (Clute Institute, 2018). 

Process for Submitting a Presentation Proposal

Submitting a presentation proposal consists of including a title page which includes author/co-author information, name, institution, country, and email. The full paper with abstract is submitted to give Clute Institute an understanding of the topic, how it will be presented, and the value to the conference. In keeping with most academic papers, the format is “letter (8.5 X 11 inches), one-inch margins, Microsoft Word, Apple Pages or compatible software, Times New Roman, 10 points, single-spaced, and single column” (Clute Institute, 2019a, p. 1). The institute has two options for review, a standard in-house review as well as the option for a double-blind peer review. The peer review process takes a month and must be submitted well ahead of the conference. The peer review will also require their engagement in reviewing other proposals. 

Part 2: Proposal

Gender in Modern Education

Abstract 

The key question of the role of identity-related to gender is dominant for today and tomorrow’s youth. As such, educators must be culturally and philosophically aware of these dynamic changes of identification. In the past, the binary construct of two genders was enforced via social conditioning and deviance challenges, today’s culture no longer so simple. Children being born with confused genders, intersexuality, and asexuality is becoming more common. As such, the pedagogic constructs which inform normative practices must be updated beyond a dualistic construct of gender. This article presents support of dynamic fluidity and inclusive gender conceptions in American public schools supported by a curriculum which empower students to declare their own gender. However, nurturing supportive spaces for students is proving a pedagogic and policy bound challenge. With the support of academic rigor and compassion, educators have embraced the role of compassionate guides in order to support fluidity in gender identity. 

Gender Identity Complexity 

The past perspective in American public schools resisted gender as a viable issue, insisting the choice was not one to be made. Identities of boy or girl were conceived as simple heterosexuality or strange deviance. Education culture, its manifestation in the curriculum, and discipline policies throughout the 20th century reflected this inflexibility. The direct result of social conditioning was the enforcement of gender stereotypes, and resistance to these mores had severe consequences. Conforming to gender roles applied to teachers and administration as well, who could lose their job for deviating from the “norm” (Lugg, 2003). 

Over time the international culture has relaxed this limited understanding of gender, as more people expressed different genders than simple female and male. Researchers emphasize that when children are forced to conform to a mode of expression/identity which they cannot call their own tension, dysfunction, and violence are the result (Clabough, 2016). The term “gender-nonconformity” has been created for those individuals who do not express the traditional binary gender construct. Understanding this sea change, the National Education Association (2017) has re-defined Gender Identity as “a person's internal sense of being male, female, or somewhere else along the gender spectrum. Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity is different from their biological sex or the sex they were assigned at birth” (p. 1). As a result, Intersex children (youths born with a non-traditional representation of male and female reproductive organs) are being accepted in school culture (Lugg, 2003). 

Conclusion 

The evolving cultural matrix of science and compassionate understanding now empowers a greater spectrum of diversity of human gender identities. However, the cultural context of belief and expression still has a considerable path to reach acceptance of these complexities. Educators have the power to inform the culture in the schools they work in, and through asking educators to be advocates for intersexual gender identity we are asking educators to make clear paths to diversity. This sense of inclusion and wonder at the complexity of the human identity force will help improve tomorrow’s issues with diversity.

References

Clabough, R. (2016). Schools in Washington adopt controversial learning standards regarding gender for k-12 students. The New American. Retrieved from: https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/education/item/23326-schools-in-washington-adopt-controversial-learning-standards-regarding-gender-for-k-12-students

Clute Institute. (2019a). Clute International Academic Conferences Denver March 31-April 4, 2019. Cluteinstitute.com. Retrieved from: https://www.cluteinstitute.com/2019-clute-international-academic-conferences-denver/

Clute Institute. (2019b). Frequently asked questions (FAQ). Cluteinstitute.com. Retrieved from: https://www.cluteinstitute.com/about/faqs/

Clute Institute. (2018). ICE Clute conferences. Cluteinstitute.com. Retrieved from: https://www.cluteinstitute.com/conference-programs/ny17program.pdf

Lugg, C. A. (2003). Sissies, faggots, lezzies, and dykes: Gender, sexual orientation, and a new politics of education? Educational Administration Quarterly, 39(1), 95-134. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.828.4443&rep=rep1&type=pdf

National Education Association. (2017). Sexual orientation and gender identity. Nea.org. Retrieved from: http://www.nea.org/tools/18846.htm