The Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP)
International Biennial Castle Conference
Call for Proposals
Self-Study as Continuous Mapping:
The Provisional and Evolving Nature of Educational Inquiry
The Provisional and Evolving Nature of Educational Inquiry
Call Details:
Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP), a special interest group of AERA, invites you to participate in the 2026 Castle Conference. All proposals are welcomed, and membership in S-STEP is not required for proposal submission. If you are interested in opportunities to interact with educators who are working on the problems of education through the study of their own practices, then the Castle Conference is an event for you.
This conference invites researchers, practitioners, and scholars to explore the rich and dynamic landscape of self-study as a continuous mapping. Drawing inspiration from John Dewey's (1938) philosophy, we posit that self-study is not a discrete event with a definitive endpoint or a final product. Instead, it is an ongoing, fluid, and lifelong practice of making sense of one's professional and personal terrain. The map is never truly finished because our experiences, insights, and the educational contexts we inhabit are always in flux. This speaks directly to Dewey's idea that knowledge is provisional and must be continually re-examined and revised in light of new experiences.
We seek proposals that have “the potential to inform understandings and impact the future direction”(Kitchen et al., 2025, p. 89) of the self-study community by focusing on its durational, continuous, and provisional nature. How do we account for and represent a process that is never complete? What does it mean to "map" a terrain that is constantly shifting beneath our feet?
We welcome submissions that explore, but are not limited to, the following themes:
Proposal Details:
Proposal Submission Guidelines:
The proposal should be double spaced, Times New Roman font, and no more than 1,000 words, not including references. When you submit your proposal, you will be prompted to provide author and co-author(s) information (name, institution, and email) before uploading your blinded proposal in the form of a Google Doc. Submissions in other formats will not be accepted.
Timeline:
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Bethney Bergh, Christi Edge, and Abby Standerford, Castle Conference Co-Chairs
References
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. Macmillan Publishing Co.
Kitchen, J., Butler, B. M., & Edge, C. (2025). Three eras of Studying Teacher Education and a possible fourth, Studying Teacher Education, 21(2),
89-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/17425964.2025.2497189
LaBoskey, V. K. (2004). The methodology of self-study and its theoretical underpinnings. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T.
Russell (Eds.), International handbook of research on self-study of teacher education practice (pp. 817–869). Springer.
Sanchez, R. & Hanifold, L. (2020). Cartography of Leadership in Teacher Education Papertending as a Reflective Response In C. Edge, A.
Cameron-Standerford, & B. Bergh (Eds.), Textiles and Tapestries: Self-Study for Envisioning New Ways of Knowing, (pp. 620-629). EdTech
Books. https://edtechbooks.org/textiles_tapestries_self_study/weaving_threads_of_care
Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP), a special interest group of AERA, invites you to participate in the 2026 Castle Conference. All proposals are welcomed, and membership in S-STEP is not required for proposal submission. If you are interested in opportunities to interact with educators who are working on the problems of education through the study of their own practices, then the Castle Conference is an event for you.
This conference invites researchers, practitioners, and scholars to explore the rich and dynamic landscape of self-study as a continuous mapping. Drawing inspiration from John Dewey's (1938) philosophy, we posit that self-study is not a discrete event with a definitive endpoint or a final product. Instead, it is an ongoing, fluid, and lifelong practice of making sense of one's professional and personal terrain. The map is never truly finished because our experiences, insights, and the educational contexts we inhabit are always in flux. This speaks directly to Dewey's idea that knowledge is provisional and must be continually re-examined and revised in light of new experiences.
We seek proposals that have “the potential to inform understandings and impact the future direction”(Kitchen et al., 2025, p. 89) of the self-study community by focusing on its durational, continuous, and provisional nature. How do we account for and represent a process that is never complete? What does it mean to "map" a terrain that is constantly shifting beneath our feet?
We welcome submissions that explore, but are not limited to, the following themes:
- The Evolving Self: How self-study reveals the continuous development of professional and personal identity.
- Methodologies for the Ongoing: Innovative methods and tools for documenting the sustained, messy, and non-linear process of self-study and the act of teaching and learning.
- Provisional Knowledges: Studies that demonstrate how methods, frameworks, terminology, insights, and/or understandings from self-study are revised and transformed over time.
- The Social Terrain: The role of collaboration, public home place(s) (LaBoskey, 2004), and shared inquiry in the continuous mapping and intersections of one's lived experiences.
- Representing the Unfinished: Using our “artistic compasses” (Sanchez & Hanifold, 2020, p. 388) as creative and artistic approaches to portraying the dynamic and incomplete nature of self-study research and teaching practices.
Proposal Details:
- Context of the Study (Should include positioning the authors/study in terms of theoretical framework, research literature connection, and physical contexts of the study.)
- Aim/Objectives of the study (Should include the problem, purpose, and/or questions of the study.)
- Method(s) (Should include participants, data sources, data analysis, strategies, and techniques with attention to issues of trustworthiness.)
- Outcomes (Should include findings, discussion, and conclusions. If you are submitting a proposal for a study in progress, you should clearly address anticipated outcomes in this section.)
- References (APA formated. These are not included in the word count for the proposal body, but are to be included in this document.)
Proposal Submission Guidelines:
The proposal should be double spaced, Times New Roman font, and no more than 1,000 words, not including references. When you submit your proposal, you will be prompted to provide author and co-author(s) information (name, institution, and email) before uploading your blinded proposal in the form of a Google Doc. Submissions in other formats will not be accepted.
Timeline:
- Submission Deadline: October 25, 2025
- Notification of Acceptance: December 15, 2025
- Conference Dates: August 3 - 7, 2026
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Bethney Bergh, Christi Edge, and Abby Standerford, Castle Conference Co-Chairs
References
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. Macmillan Publishing Co.
Kitchen, J., Butler, B. M., & Edge, C. (2025). Three eras of Studying Teacher Education and a possible fourth, Studying Teacher Education, 21(2),
89-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/17425964.2025.2497189
LaBoskey, V. K. (2004). The methodology of self-study and its theoretical underpinnings. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T.
Russell (Eds.), International handbook of research on self-study of teacher education practice (pp. 817–869). Springer.
Sanchez, R. & Hanifold, L. (2020). Cartography of Leadership in Teacher Education Papertending as a Reflective Response In C. Edge, A.
Cameron-Standerford, & B. Bergh (Eds.), Textiles and Tapestries: Self-Study for Envisioning New Ways of Knowing, (pp. 620-629). EdTech
Books. https://edtechbooks.org/textiles_tapestries_self_study/weaving_threads_of_care
Tips for a successful submission:
The Castle Conference invites contributions that purposely utilize self-study research design/practice to inform and rethink teaching and teacher education.
We encourage authors to ensure they are grounding their research in current self-study publications as well as the more seminal S-STEP literature. The journal “Studying Teacher Education” is a good place to become familiar with or to remain up to date on current research within the self-study community. Authors may also consider reviewing volumes in the “Self-study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices” series from Springer Publishing. Finally, the most recent books reflecting the 2020 and 2023 Castle Conferences are helpful sources: Textiles and Tapestries: Self-Study for Envisioning New Ways of Knowing and Pausing at the Threshold: Opportunity Through, With, and For Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices
Please share this call for proposals with all who may be interested. All information about the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Biennial Castle Conference can be found at https://www.castleconference.com/. On the website, you may also find links to conference-specific newsletters and subscribe to receive Castle Conference newsletter updates. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
The Castle Conference invites contributions that purposely utilize self-study research design/practice to inform and rethink teaching and teacher education.
We encourage authors to ensure they are grounding their research in current self-study publications as well as the more seminal S-STEP literature. The journal “Studying Teacher Education” is a good place to become familiar with or to remain up to date on current research within the self-study community. Authors may also consider reviewing volumes in the “Self-study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices” series from Springer Publishing. Finally, the most recent books reflecting the 2020 and 2023 Castle Conferences are helpful sources: Textiles and Tapestries: Self-Study for Envisioning New Ways of Knowing and Pausing at the Threshold: Opportunity Through, With, and For Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices
Please share this call for proposals with all who may be interested. All information about the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Biennial Castle Conference can be found at https://www.castleconference.com/. On the website, you may also find links to conference-specific newsletters and subscribe to receive Castle Conference newsletter updates. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
Please note that we are using a double review process to prepare the papers for Castle 16.
Lead and second authors along with experienced Castle delegates will be asked to review a proposal in the first round of reviews.
Lead and second authors along with experienced Castle delegates will be asked to review a proposal in the first round of reviews.