CALL FOR PAPERS
Fifth Global SELF International Biennial Conference
Enabling Human Potential: The Centrality of Self and Identity Constructs
13 - 15 January, 2009, Dubai, UAE
http://selfuae.org/
Abstracts Due: 30th August, 2008
Final Papers for Conference Proceedings Due: 30th September, 2008
Early Bird Registration: 30th September, 2008
Keynote Speakers Include
Professor Rhonda Craven, University of Western Sydney, Australia
Professor Kit T. Hau, Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Professor Martin L. Maehr, University of Michigan, USA
Professor Maher M. Abu-Hilal, Al Ain University of Science and Technology, United Arab
Emirates
Professor Herb Marsh, Oxford University, England
Professor Dennis McInerney, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Professor Hazel Markus, Stanford University, USA
Professor Ralf Schwarzer, Freie University of Berlin, Germany
Features
 Keynote addresses by leading international researchers
 Showcase of cutting-Edge Research
 Breakthroughs in research methodology
 Stimulating poster sessions
 Round table sessions with leading researchers
 International networking
 Opportunities for students to meet potential examiners and get feedback on work in progress
and lots more…
Invitation
We extend an invitation to you to participate in our fifth international conference. Papers are
requested pertaining to a broad array of self-related and identity constructs and processes (e.g.,
self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy, identity, motivation, anxiety, self-attributions, selfregulated learning, academic interest, and meta-cognition) including theories underlying these
constructs, their measurement, their relation to other constructs, their enhancement, and their
application in research and practice in diverse settings (e.g., child development, education,
sports psychology).
The benefits of feeling positively about oneself on one’s choice, planning, persistence, and
subsequent accomplishments transcend traditional disciplinary and cultural barriers. For
example, maximising self-concept is recognised as both a critical goal and a means through
which other important outcomes are achieved within diverse disciplines including education,
child development, sport/exercise, health, social services, psychology, and management.
Papers that promote strategies to optimise self-related constructs as a valuable outcome in of
itself, and as a means to facilitate the attainment of other valued outcomes that enable human
potential such as learning and achievement, teaching effectiveness, physical, cognitive and
social development, emotional and physical well-being, improved productivity and job
satisfaction, healthy lifestyles, and a greater awareness of the worth of self in different social
and cultural contexts are also welcome.
The Global SELF Research Centre
The Global SELF Research Centre is a virtual network of international research centres and
leading self researchers. The Centre strives to:

Develop and promote strategies to optimise self-concept and other self-related constructs (e.g.,
self-efficacy, motivation, academic interest) as an important outcome in itself;

Promote a greater awareness of the worth of self and identity in various social and cultural
contexts; and

Promote the role of self as a key facilitator in the attainment of other valued outcomes that
enable human potential such as: cultural identity; learning and achievement; healthier
lifestyles; teaching effectiveness; physical, psychological, educational, social, emotional, and
occupational development and well-being.
The Global SELF Research Centre, with its primary focus on self theory, measurement, research,
and practice, is unique internationally. At the heart of the Global SELF Research Centre is a
membership which includes hundreds of self researchers from over 46 countries and a network
of leading international research centres throughout the world. Its international importance is
demonstrated by the breadth of its International Foundation membership, comprising some of the
world’s leading self and identity researchers; the world-class standing of its international research
centres; and the collaborative links sought by key research bodies. The Centre has had a substantial
impact on transforming the conduct and quality of self and identity research throughout the world,
driving the international research agenda.
We aim to provide a biennial international forum for leading international self researchers,
emerging researchers, promising postgraduate students, and practitioners to discuss issues
arising from the conference theme as well as to promote internationally the importance of self
and identity research for enabling human potential in diverse settings (e.g., education, child
development, sports psychology).
Conference Location
Our 5th international conference will be held in the breathtaking setting of Dubai.
Guide for Presenters
Presenters are asked to nominate the type of presentation they would like to deliver (paper,
poster, symposium). Presenters are to bring copies of full paper for distribution to delegates
during their session.
Paper presentations will be for a period of 25 minutes (20 minute presentation, 5 minute
discussion). Presenters are asked to bring their powerpoint presentation on a memory stick that
can be inserted into the laptop computers supplied at the conference venue as well as overhead
transparencies of slides in case of any computer issues.
Symposium will be for a period of 120 minutes for 4 papers. All papers submitted for a
symposium need to be submitted together with the name of the symposium on the cover page
and the order of the presentations.
Poster presentation sessions will have a 45 minute timeslot and be non-concurrent. A large
board approximately 1.2 metres wide by 2 metres high will be made available for each poster
presentation. Poster presentations typically include a title, a summary of the purpose, research
design and results of the study and incorporate pictorial images (e.g. graphs and tables)
depicting key results. Presenters will need to bring their posters to the conference and hang up
their poster in advance of the poster session and take their poster down at the conclusion of the
session.
Submission Requirements
All presenters need to nominate whether they wish their papers to be refereed by external
review. Non-refereed papers will be subject to editing by the conference convenors in
collaboration with the author. Conference proceedings will list papers as refereed or as edited
papers.
Potential presenters are initially required to email an abstract of their presentation in the
required format to Dr. Alexander Yeung a.yeung@uws.edu.au by 30th August, 2008. Authors
will then be notified by email whether their abstract has been accepted for presentation at the
conference. Following acceptance of your abstract, a copy of your paper needs to be emailed to
a.yeung@uws.edu.au by 30TH September, 2008.
Abstract Format
Nominate whether your paper is to be refereed or not. Nominate presentation type. Provide a
short descriptive title of no more than 20 words. List authors’ names and affiliation. Include one
person’s contact details for further information. Submit your abstract to a.yeung@uws.edu.au in
the following format as a separate word file called by your surname (e.g. Craven1, Craven2
etc.).
To be refereed (or unrefereed paper)
Paper session (or poster session, symposium: title).
Separation of Competency and Affect Components of Multiple Dimensions of Academic
Self-Concept: A Developmental Perspective
Rhonda G. Craven
Centre for Educational Research, University of Western Sydney
In two large confirmatory factor analyses (Ns of 11,029 and 1,397) of Self Description
Questionnaire (SDQ-I) responses, I examined how the separation of competency and affect
components of Reading, Math, and School self-concept varies across ages 7-13. The SDQ-I
factor structure was well-defined with factor loadings invariant over both longitudinal and
cross-sectional age comparisons. Correlations among Reading, Math, and School self-concepts
systematically decreased with age, but correlations between the competency and affect within
each domain remained consistently large. With age and development students more clearly
distinguish between different academic self-concept domains, but the relation between intrinsic
liking and competency remains strong. I tentatively recommend that researchers distinguish
between competency and affect components of academic self-concept, qualified by the need to
evaluate further the construct validity of this separation in relation to additional external validity
criteria.
Corresponding Author
Professor Rhonda Craven
Centre for Educational Research
Locked Bag 1797
Penrith South DC NSW 1797, Australia
Email: r.craven@uws.edu.au
Phone: 61 2 9772 6428
Fax: 61 2 9772 6432
Paper Format
All papers must be prepared in the required format for consideration for publication in the
conference proceedings. Manuscript length is up to 15, 1.5 spaced typed pages including figures.
Insert figures and tables where they need to appear in the text. Margins of 2cm on top, bottom, and
sides. 12 point Times New Roman for text, 10 point font figures and tables. No page numbering,
headers, or footers. APA format throughout. Use 3 level of headings only in text:
This is a Level 1 Heading (Bold, Mixed Case – Centred)
This is a Level 2 Heading (Left Justified, Bold, Italic, Mixed Case)
This is a level 3 heading. (indented, bold, italic, sentence case) Text starts one space
after the period.
Further Information
http://selfuae.org/
Prof. Maher M. Abu-Hilal
Dean, College of Education, Al Ain University of Science & Technology
Director, Al Ain International Satellite Unit, Global SELF Research Centre
Tel: +971 3 7611185
Mobile: +971 50 6182900
email: m.hilal@alainuniversity.ac.ae
We would appreciate your assistance in distributing this email widely to your networks and look
forward to seeing you at the conference.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Herb Marsh
Professor of Education, Oxford University
Co-Director, Global SELF Research Centre
Tel: 01865 274 041(or +44 1865 274041)
Email: herb.marsh@education.ox.ac.uk
Professor Rhonda Craven
Professor of Education, Centre for Educational Research, University
of Western Sydney
Co-Director Global SELF Research Centre
Email: r.craven@uws.edu.au
Telephone: + 61 2 97726557
Prof. Maher M. Abu-Hilal
Dean, College of Education, Al Ain University of Science &
Technology
Director, Al Ain International Satellite Unit, Global SELF Research Centre
Tel: +971 3 7611185
Mobile: +971 50 6182900
email: m.hilal@alainuniversity.ac.ae