General information
The detailed program will be available here from March 2025. Travel to and from the Doctoral School has to be scheduled on Monday (June 9) and Saturday (June 14), respectively and participants will attend the full Doctoral School week.
The student participation fee will be € 450, including overnight stay in twin rooms from Monday until Saturday, breaks, lunch, dinner, academic, and social events.
The staff participation fee will be covered by the ESERA Board, as well as travelling expenses up to a maximum of € 500. If you want to be a mentor, please, don’t forget to help us participating as reviewer of the PhD students’ proposals in the section in the section of Application for academics.
It is expected that each mentor group will have one virtual meeting in the weeks before the start of the Doctoral School with the aim of clarifying the working method during the mentor group meetings, getting to know each other and acquiring an overview of the research that will be presented and discussed in the mentor group.
Key Dates
Timeline for Application (PhD students and Academics)
- Submission opens: December 1, 2024
- Submission closes: January 22, 2025
- Review process: from January 30 to February 28, 2025
- Notification of acceptance to applicants: March 20, 2025
Application forms
STUDENTS must complete their application through the Oxford Abstracts platform (link: Application for PhD students). During this process, they are required to provide personal details, information about their institution, research area, interests, etc. At the end of the process, they must upload two files containing a synopsis of their PhD study, organized into the following sections: Focus of the Study, Theoretical Framework, Research Questions, Research Methods, Preliminary Findings, and References.
The first file is the blind synopsis, which will be used in the peer review process (maximum length: 1,800 words, including references; link: Template – Blind Synopsis). The second file is the authored synopsis (maximum length: 2,000 words, including references; link: Template – Authored Synopsis). All formatting and structural guidelines for these synopses are specified at the end of each template. Both files, along with the other required information, must be uploaded to the Oxford Abstracts platform.
ACADEMICS interested in collaborating are asked to complete a simple Google Form (link: Application for Academics) to provide information on their experience, areas of expertise, previous participation in ESERA Summer Schools, etc. Collaboration from the science education community is strongly encouraged, particularly for those willing to serve as Reviewers of PhD student applications.
In addition, academics may apply for roles as Mentors (to work with a group of seven PhD students and provide feedback on posters), Workshop Providers (1.5-hour interactive sessions), and Open Discussion Moderators (informal discussions on science education topics). To participate in any of these three roles in Almería with ESERA funding, academics must also agree to serve as Reviewers of PhD students’ proposals.
The selection of Reviewers will be managed by the organizing committee.
The selection of Mentors, Workshop Providers, and Open Discussion Moderators will be managed by the ESERA Executive Board.
Application process and participation in the Doctoral School (PhD students)
Please note that uploading the synopsis is an obligatory item in the application form, so it will be necessary to have the synopsis ready before applying as a participant at the Doctoral School (two templates: blind and authored).
While writing the synopsis, bear in mind that it will be reviewed on the following criteria:
- Clarity of research questions and research design.
- Appropriate use of a theoretical framework.
- Presentation of some early data and initial suggestions about data analysis.
- Coherence and clarity of the synopsis as a piece of academic writing.
- Attention to conventions of academic writing within the synopsis (e.g. appropriate referencing).
Participants at the ESERA Doctoral School should be in the middle of their PhD studies to be able to benefit from consideration of their future work as well as to discuss any preliminary findings. Participants are expected to be(come) members of ESERA if they are selected for attendance at the Doctoral School in order to register for the event.
The selected 49 PhD students will be divided into seven groups. Each group will consist of seven PhD students and two science education academics acting as Mentors. During each mentor group meeting at the Doctoral School, one of the PhD students will present his/her research to the group in about half an hour, followed by a structured group discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the research presented.
Each PhD student is also expected to present his/her research by means of a poster. During the poster sessions everyone discusses his/her work with all interested Doctoral School participants. Moreover, participants will also get feedback on their poster from science education academics.