Proposals

CSWE’s 2023 Annual Program Meeting
Call for Proposals
Peer Reviewed and Non-Peer Reviewed

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) invites proposals for the 69th Annual Program Meeting (APM) in Atlanta, GA, October 26–29, 2023. The conference theme—It’s Time to Act: Defining and Reckoning with Anti-Racist Social Work Education—builds on the themes of the 2020–2022 APMs, which championed the need for critical conversations about racism, justice, and human rights. Social work educators have been challenged to prepare the next generation of social workers to be explicitly anti-racist. This year’s theme invites us to operationalize an “anti-racist social work education” and ways in which that education contextualizes the effects of the COVID pandemic, mental health and suicide, substance use disorders, grief and loss, and other issues that impact the academic community.

Participants are invited to submit proposals on the following and other related topics:

• Safe Spaces in the Academy
• Women’s Rights
• Reproductive Rights
• LGBTQI2S+ Rights
• Anti-Black Racism
• Immigration and Forced Migration
• Political Discourse
• Social Media and Civil Discourse

CSWE invites proposals from multiple perspectives and voices. Proposals should raise critical issues about practices, policies, and structures that hinder or advance anti-racist social work education. They should also clearly identify strategies for improving curricula and teaching practices and creating more inclusive learning environments in the context of social work education.

We encourage submissions focused on the conference theme for each of the APM tracks. The 2023 APM program will be developed using two main proposal categories: peer-reviewed proposals, and non–peer-reviewed proposals.

The Call for Proposals opens January 9, 2023, and will close on February 10, 2023, 11:59 PM (ET).

Peer-Reviewed Proposals

Each peer-reviewed proposal is submitted to one of the tracks. There are four presentation format options:

1. Electronic poster (e-poster; 30 minutes, up to two presenters). E-posters are PowerPoint presentations and will be delivered on monitors in or near the exhibition hall.
2. Interactive workshop (60 minutes, minimum of two and up to five presenters). Each workshop should include a highly interactive portion (i.e., breakout groups, exercises, and similar activities that engage the audience).  
3. Paper presentation (30-minute presentation, up to two presenters). Papers are lecture-format presentations that are paired under a common theme and are usually scheduled back-to-back in 1-hour sessions.
4. Panel Discussion (60 minutes, up to five presenters). Panel discussions are collaborative presentations on a single research topic, with two to five panelists.

Proposals will be reviewed for the following:

• relevance of topic, study, or inquiry to CSWE members and the conference theme;

• clarity of the written proposal and focus of inquiry;

• appropriateness of research method(s) and/or conceptual foundation; robustness of peer-reviewed resources that assist in understanding methodological, conceptual, or theoretical conclusions about the nature of social work education, practice, and/or policy;

• significance for social work education, practice, research, policy, or theory; and

• relevant and appropriate references.

Non–Peer-Reviewed Proposals

There are seven format options for non–peer-reviewed proposals: CSWE Connect sessions, Hot Topic sessions, Partnership Presentations, three Preconference Workshops, and one Postconference workshop.

Non–Peer-Reviewed Proposal Options

The following presentation formats are available for sessions October 27–29, 2023. 

• CSWE Connect (60 minutes, up to seven presenters): CSWE commissions and councils are invited to submit proposals that highlight work that advances their charges and the mission of CSWE. Proposals should showcase any current projects and/or work being done. Priority will be given to proposals that relate to the theme of the conference. This option is only for CSWE commissions and councils.

• Hot Topic (20 minutes, one presenter): Presentations will consider emerging and important topics for social work educators or topics related to the conference theme but not covered by other APM presentations. Hot Topics will be TEDx-style talks and will be grouped with related Hot Topic sessions as part of a 1-hour session.

• Partnership Presentations (60 minutes, up to 10 presenters): Sessions provide opportunities for social work education-related groups to make special presentations at the APM. Due to meeting space availability, each group will be limited to one accepted presentation.

Preconference and Postconference Workshops   

Three day-long preconference workshops will be presented on October 26, 2023. Each workshop is broken up into 1.5-hour sessions.

• Field Education Institute (1.5-hour sessions, up to three presenters each): The 2023 APM will offer an all-day Field Education Institute. This institute will focus on issues related to anti-racism in field education through a series of 1.5-hour sessions. Specific areas of interest include how field education prepares students to dismantle racist structures in the field setting (e.g., housing and food insecurities, poverty, mental health concerns, neurodiversity, disability, immigration status, homophobia, sexism, and racism) and how field educators dismantle racist structures in the field education curriculum.

• Teaching Institute for Faculty (1.5-hour sessions, up to three presenters each): The 2023 APM will offer a Teaching Institute designed for new and junior faculty members focused on anti-racist social work curriculum. Sessions will be presented in 1.5-hour workshop formats. We seek proposals that explore how faculty members can transform their classrooms and curricula to create learning environments that celebrate today’s diverse student populations and genuinely mirror their backgrounds and experiences. In this environment, students should learn to value and affirm the lives of others and integrate evidence-based teaching practices that promote empathy and critical thinking. They should also examine real-world problems and how social barriers create unequal treatment of target groups and related social and ethical implications. A strong foundation should be provided for the development of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills necessary for intercultural competence. Other relevant teaching topics for new faculty members will also be considered.

• Leadership Development Institute (1.5-hour sessions, up to three presenters each): The 2023 APM will offer an all-day Leadership Development Institute for faculty members focused on anti-oppressive leadership strategies, crisis management, and/or responsiveness to world events. We seek proposals that prepare current and future leaders for the challenges in higher education. Proposals should be for interactive, research-informed, and skills-based presentations. The Council on Leadership Development continues to retain its focus on emerging leaders in order to attract more people into the leadership pipeline. Other relevant topics for leaders will be considered, including those associated with the 2023 APM conference theme of how social work leaders can define and reckon with anti-racist education.

One post-conference workshop will be presented on October 29, 2023. The workshop is broken up into 1.5 hour sessions.

• Assessment Institute (1.5-hour sessions; up to three presenters each): The 2023 APM will offer the Assessment Institute, on October 29, 2023, designed for faculty and academic staff members focused on assessment requirements of the 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). Sessions will be presented in 1.5-hour workshops. We seek proposals that address the assessment of anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the curriculum, administrative, and governance structures, as well as faculty and student recruitment and retention. We are particularly interested in anti-oppressive models of assessment.

Note Regarding Non–Peer-Reviewed Proposals

Non-peer reviewed proposals are subject to criteria similar to those for peer-reviewed proposals. Only one presentation format may be selected per proposal. Non-peer reviewed session proposals are considered by CSWE and any relevant groups (i.e., commissions/councils) based on the following criteria:

• relevance of topic, study, or inquiry to CSWE members and the conference theme;
• clarity of the written proposal; and
• significance for social work education, practice, research, policy, or theory.

CSWE makes the final decision on all invited sessions based on the above criteria. All session presenters are subject to the 2023 APM Presenter Agreement.

Submission Instructions

CSWE is using CadmiumCD for the call for proposals. Please note that all proposals are to be submitted online using the CSWE online proposal management system. If you experience technical problems with the proposal submission system, email [email protected] or call (410) 638-9239/toll-free (877) 426-6323. CSWE welcomes first-time presenters and attendees. Therefore, an individual may be listed as a presenter on a maximum of two proposals regardless of the type of proposal. This limit does not apply to contributors. All presenters must be available to present at any time Friday through Sunday, October 27–29, 2023. CSWE cannot accept special requests for presentation dates or times. Presenters who cannot guarantee availability to present on any of these days should be listed as contributors.

Presenter/Speaker Requirements

You do not need to be a CSWE member to submit a proposal or to register for the conference. However, if your proposal is accepted, each presenter must register, pay in full, and attend the conference. This requirement is applicable for all presentation formats. The category of “contributor” has been added as an optional role for all proposal types, and you may designate contributors on your proposal. Contributors are individuals who contributed to the work but who will not attend the APM to participate in the presentation. Contributors are not required to meet presenter compliance policy requirements. To ensure presenters are not disqualified from presenting at the 2023 APM, review the APM Presenter Agreement. If you have questions about the call for proposals and/or proposal submission process, please email [email protected] or call (703) 519-2058. 

The submission deadline is February 10, 2023, 11:59 PM (ET). CSWE is currently planning for an in-person APM. However, please note that the format of the event is subject to change depending on the state of the pandemic. The safety and health of our members, event attendees, and staff are paramount.

Please view the Helpful PDFs section on the right side of this page for more information.