Apuntes del LA SIG Business Meeting

March 13, 2013

Daniel Friedrich (Friedrich@exchange.tc.columbia.edu) welcomes all members, as well as the
new chairs, Maria Teresa Tatto (chair) (mtatto@msu.edu) and Pablo Fraser (assistant chair)
(pfraserg@gmail.com), and Ana Solano-Campos (secretary (atsolan@emory.edu). Daniel
provides a brief report of what has been happening over the last year. Were a very vibrant,
active SIG, he states.
Annual Report 2012-2013
30 submissions; 28 individual papers; 2 sessions
Only 2 highlighted sessions were allowed, new regulation from CIES
Some were disqualified due to violation
Lowest rankings were rejected, and the rest were sent to general pool
73 members (47 last year)
Funds:
Balance: Estimate of 1,120
Awards: $400
CIES Fees 2013: $150
At end of conference about $600 dollars (plus new fees that will come in).
LA-SIG Travel Awards:
Only available to students
Paper had to be accepted into the highlighted session
Hard to know who is actually a student
Student Awards Given to:
Juan Pablo: Transitions between high school and university; about university admissions;
interesting topic in Chile
Other student award [we need to get students information]: Study abroad program working
with preservice teachers in Chile; wrote auto-ethnographic study that involved using postcolonial
lens, with life in Louisiana comparing that with life in Chile
New Chairs
Maria Teresa Tatto-Incoming Chair (Via Skype)
1 year post
Good idea to have apprenticeship situation
Think about this as a Rotating Chair
Current chairs may act as Advisors
Wants to engage in brainstorm session with members to discuss vision for SIG
Collaborative idea of what do we see; what do people think should be happening?
Wants role to NOT only be selecting papers for conferences and awards; trying to come
up with more publications from the SIG; thinking of ways to become more prominent;
raise funds from the SIG; Give Pablo and I an agenda to work on?
She would like to intensify communications among members

Pablo Fraser, Penn State- Assistant Chair

Latin America name SIG is very broad: what does this name represent? Is it geographical
denomination? Do we share interests for the region? Or something else? But maybe we
are dealing with different subjects?
Brief brainstorming as what we consider the SIG is
Daniel: Whats the purpose of having a SIG by region?
Especially when theoretical lenses, questions, are so different
The only thing in common is region
Latin American epistemologies? Sounds great; but most people here are trained here in
the US and that very US/European-based lens; which is very difficult
What is the mission of a Latin American SIG group?
The fact that region is so diverse is a reason to have the SIG, for people to know that
diversity, that we are different
Tend to conflate LA people together; we are heterogeneous, people need to know this
Regina Cortina:
Perspective of gender: Over the years, the idea has been to bring about certain topics, so when
panels get put together there is a common thread.
If we dont have a SIG, there might not be Latin America (LA) research in the conference
We are leveraging the possibility of having LA voices
Try to bring some people from LA to speak
Robert Leier:
Conflict as to which SIG to apply for: opportunity to look a language issues in Malawi
and Puerto Rico; makes it very difficult
Can we expand then beyond region?
Other ideas:
Possibility: What about Joint panel with different regions of the world?
Advocating more interdisiciplinarity?
Indigenous research: Advocates for holistic view of region that can give a context to the
research;
For example, after the feedback after last panel session: people were disappointed overall,
because not enough presence of immigration
Reminder from audience member: SIGS are interest groups; not THEMATIC groups;
have interest in the area; not because you are obsessed with society
Chances are that your research will be put together with other people that also share the
same interest
Making sure the Latin American SIG organizes certain panels for the general pool.
Opportunities for networking
Have two panels at CIES, at least have one that is an issue-panel.
Mentoring

Dani:
1 panel to be a call for particular issue; focalized topic
1 panel for really good papers
Question posed by Dani: What is the mission of the SIG beyond CIES?
Other ideas:
Mission: permanent connections with other associations based in LA; from other
universities to have a permanent dialogue to other meetings/venues
Ex: World Congress held in Argentina: Could there be a connection there?
Question: What about the representation of LA scholars in the board? What about
developing people in those SIGs? Encouraging/nurturing those kind of skills to move up;
As a LA, it is hard to navigate academia;
Erwin: Idea/mission is to foment interest in that topic
Regina: decreasing number of articles in LA group; important to nurture research in LA
Pablo: 2 broad themes
1) What is the purpose inside CIES?
2) How and what can be done expand the SIG outside CIES? Can we establish
connection/contact with other SIGs outside CIES during the year (not just in instance that we
meet)? Maybe research centers and universities in LA?
Erwin:
Sig SHOULD NOT become political action committee
Writing for scholarly journals is a neglected areathere is not enough good
scholarship on Latin America that comes to the CER, it is not because of the editor.
We must develop scholarship in the area.
Not enough good scholarship that comes out of LA
What about LASA?
Has more scholars housed in LA institutions.
Pablo:
How can we help scholars to help come here to present?
Perhaps garner grant funds outside the US.
Suggestion
To promote scholarship, what about getting students/ young scholars to meet with a
mentor so that they can get feedback?
CALL FOR MENTOR!
Erwin: Lets collect demographic information
Perhaps lets get information about students?
Contact organizers at World Congress; and using the similar format of the workshops
there

Maria:
What are the most urgent problems in LA? And lets think of producing scholarship
around these issues
Are we responding to the needs of LA?
Look at research that is being produced in LA and under what paradigm?
Are there ways to publish our research in other venues?
What about mentoring graduate students in this kind of scholarship?
Need for mentoring and helping people develop an idea of what scholarship looks like,
and what scholarship in Latin America looks like.
We may want to send email to everyone present asking for ideas as to what topics are
important for members of the SIG.
Is there some kind of schedule that could be developed? Perhaps one that is open to a
topic and one open to a variety of topics?
How can we develop comparative research in LA?
A way to develop comparative research is to ask, what are the important issues that we
can write about in different contexts. Can we develop a comparative agenda?
Maybe coming up with at least more than one topic a year?
Erwin:
What about developing formal channels/networks of communication?
Websites? Newsletter? So we are not discussing this just once a year.
Apparently NOW there is a website available for each SIG
LinkED, LinkedIN, Facebook?
Stephen Locke:
We always look to US as to how to do research
And sometimes is it irrelevant.
SIG is beneficial in advocating in what counts as research in LA.. Some have different
ideas of what counts as research
NEXT STEPS (Summary):
Clear need for website as hub for communication
Actually doing networking at World Congress
A lot of planning ahead for next committee
Maria:
We need a mandate: Something through email
Likes the idea of mentoring for students
Dani will send email access with all passwords/members to Maria
Ideas from Audience:
Research agenda. How can we stimulate the kind of scholarship that can be
published in the CER? Is there a schedule that could be developed?
How we develop comparative education research in Latin America?

Collaboration: researchers in LA collaborating with researchers in US

Carlos Ornelas: making contacts with sister societies in LA (to arrange meeting with
the Latin American committees).
Connect with scholars in Latin America and bring researchers here
Would be nice to have database of members with their research interests
Some kind of list on funding in the region, or past successful funding proposals that have
been accepted.

Maria: Global Fellowship for Understanding. Academic research tour; 1-3 weeks; detailed
program for graduate students to go understand how research is being conducted in other
countries. What does it means to do research and what it means to do comparative research?