The 6th ACDE General Assembly and Conference

New Workshop Series on Journalism and Media Studies by the AAU Kicks Off
August 20, 2021
UPSA Requests for PHD Collaboration with Sister African Universities
September 3, 2021
New Workshop Series on Journalism and Media Studies by the AAU Kicks Off
August 20, 2021
UPSA Requests for PHD Collaboration with Sister African Universities
September 3, 2021

Overview of the 6th ACDE General Assembly and Conference

Theme: Open and Distance Learning, The Continental Education Strategy for Africa and The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4).

Convener: African Council for Distance Education (ACDE)

Host Institutions: Association of African Universities (AAU), All-Africa Students Union (AASU), Laweh Open University College, Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Ministry of Education, Ghana and the International Council for Open & Distance Education (ICDE)

Venue: LIVE ON ZOOM

The ACDE 2021 Quality Assurance pre- conference Workshop requiring a US$50 fee payment will be held on the 27th September 2021. You can download the pre-conference concept note from here: Pre-Conference Workshop Document 

Register for it via this link: https://flutterwave.com/pay/qaaareg

The free to attend Main ACDE Conference will be held from 28-29 September 2021. Register for it via this link: https://bit.ly/ACDE2021

The 6th General Assembly and Conference of the African Council for Distance Education, Accra invites scholars, policy makers, students, professionals and other stakeholders to send original research abstracts, case studies and proposals formatted according to the conference guidelines. The conference will be held from 27th-29th September, 2021 via the ZOOM PLATFORM under the theme “Open and Distance Learning, The Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) and the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4)”. Additional information concerning the conference can be found from this link: https://acdeconf.laweh.edu.gh/

The African Council for Distance Education (ACDE) is a Continental Educational Organization comprising of African Universities and other Higher Educational Institutions, which are committed to promoting quality education and training through Open and Distance Learning. Every four years, the ACDE organizes its General Assembly and Conference to take stock of its activities in the last four years and to plan for the next four years (http://acde-afri.org/). The Assembly brings together Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Presidents of Universities and other tertiary institutions providing Open and Distance Education on the continent and in the diaspora to deliberate on key issues affecting ODL on the continent by partnering with host countries. In line with the aspirations of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa, the ACDE has embarked on a number of initiatives geared at ensuring that, the strengths of ODL is harnessed towards the achievement of both the strategic focus of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA, 2016-2025) and ultimately the SDG4. This focus has necessitated a stakeholder conference to review and share experiences on the progresses chalked by diverse stakeholders in the Open and Distance education space in Africa, in a bid to fulfill the goals of the CESA and SDG4.

The 2020 conference will bring together Leaders and Managers of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Policy Makers, scholars, students, educational professionals, development agencies and educational technology investors and private sector committed to sustainable open and distance learning education in Africa. We welcome submissions that address wider distance

learning and open education contexts including methodological approaches and technological infrastructure. Scholars, practitioners and upcoming scholars with conceptual and empirical papers as well as teaching case studies are invited to submit their abstracts online under the following conference themes.

Conference Themes and Tracks Chairs

1. Infrastructure, ODL Resources and Adoption Techniques for Open and Distance Education

African Virtual Universities and Ubuntu Net

2. Quality Assurance in Open and Distance Learning

Dr. Beatrice Njenga (International Expert, Development Management)

3. Teaching and Learning Methodologies in Open andDistance Learning

Professor Peter Akinsola Okebukola (National Open University of Nigeria)

4. Academic Misconduct and Open and Distance Education

Prof. Goski Alabi (Laweh Open University College, Ghana)

5. Students’ and other Stakeholders Perceptions of Open and Distant Learning

Professor Etienne Ehile (Association of African Universities)

Submission Guidelines

The deadline for submission of abstracts is extended to 20th September 2021

Abstracts must not exceed 300 words

Competitive papers must not exceed 10,000 words and must comply to the APA style requirements. Please refer to 6th edition of APA guidelines.

Interactive papers should be between 2,000 –5,000 words. Submissions should clearly state the research questions, methodology and knowledge contribution. The main results and implications for open and distance learning research and practice should be discussed, if available/applicable.

Teaching case should be between 2,000 – 5,000 and no more than 10,000 words for competitive cases.

Panel proposals should have 3 – 5 scholars and/or students and a common theme, as well as a chair/discussant. We welcome a variety of proposals (paper presentations, roundtable, and professional development workshop). The names of participants and the discussant should be disclosed for this type of submission.

Competitive papers, interactive papers and teaching cases will be double-blind reviewed. Please do not include any author-identifying information. Authors are strongly encouraged to abide by these instructions to facilitate the review process. Please submit online through this ink: https://event-mgt.aau.org/event/15/

Please state the submission type (competitive, interactive or panel) and track title on the front page at the top right. In addition, if you are a student, kindly indicate the type (graduate or undergraduate)

Participation at the ACDE is limited. Hence, presenters will be selected based on the quality of their submitted work. Submissions should be submitted online: https://event-mgt.aau.org/event/15/ and include the workshop title as the subject

 

We are expecting two types of submissions:

Full, competitive research papers – Should not be more than 10,000 words in length.

Interactive papers – Should be no more than 3,000 words in length and include a theoretical framework, propositions, and proposed research design.

Doctoral Consortium

The aim of the doctoral consortium is to develop the research ideas of doctoral students especially as it pertains to conducting open and distance learning research in African higher education Institutions. The consortium also aims to create a platform for the development of professional networks and to highlight some of the opportunities and challenges of developing a successful academic career. Interested doctoral students must have successfully defended their proposals and are asked to submit a five-page maximum double spaced document detailing their research. Only defended proposals will be considered for the doctoral award. Submissions should be submitted online via https://event-mgt.aau.org/event/15/ and include the workshop title as the subject as well as the following:

  • What are you studying?
  • What is known and unknown about what you are studying?
  • What is unique about what you are studying?
  • What is your chosen research methodology?
  • What are the findings from the research?

Networking & Field Visits

The host University had planned a visit to historical and landmark sites in Ghana such as Mampong Cocoa Plantation, Cape Coast Castle, Elmina Castle, Kakum National park among others. But because of the COVID19 these field visits will no longer take place

Conference Awards

Several prizes will be awarded at the conference:

  • Best Competitive Paper Award, Best Thematic Conference Paper Award
  • Best Teaching Case Award, Best Conference Paper Prize for Practice / Policy Implications Award
  • Best Promising Doctoral Paper Award
  • Best Graduate Student Paper Award

Publication Opportunities

  • All accepted conference papers will be published as an abstract in the 6th ACDE General Assembly and Conference (with ISBN).
  • A selection of papers that are aligned with the conference theme may be considered for inclusion in Huria: Journal of the Open University of Tanzania, ISSN: 0856-6739

Registration Fees

The ACDE 2021 Quality Assurance pre- conference Workshop requiring a US$50 fee payment will be held on the 27th September 2021. Register for it via this link: https://flutterwave.com/pay/qaaareg

The free to attend Main ACDE Conference will be held from 28-29 September 2021. Register for it via this link: https://bit.ly/ACDE2021

Payment Details

The ACDE 2021 Quality Assurance pre- conference Workshop requiring a US$50 fee payment will be held on the 27th September 2021. Register for it via this link: https://flutterwave.com/pay/qaaareg

Host Institutions

The host institutions are the Association of African Universities (AAU), All-Africa Students Union (AASU), Laweh Open University College, Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Ministry of Education, Ghana and the International Council for Open & Distance Education (ICDE). The venue for the conference ZOOM. Additional information on the conference is available here: https://acdeconf.laweh.edu.gh/