26 September 2009, University of Oxford

Present: Dr Lore Arthur [Chair] and members as listed in the Minute file.

1. Apologies: As listed in the Minute file

2. Minutes of the 2008 AGM: Approved.

3. Matters arising:

The proposed changes to the Constitution had been debated fully at last year’s AGM and at the Oxford Conference 2007. Further minor amendments were made as a result and it was agreed that a copy of the final version would be circulated with the 2009 AGM Minutes. It was noted that there have been changes to the editorship of Compare;the current co-editor Professor Karen Evans was stepping down from the role after five years, following the AGM, and two new co-editors had been appointed, Professor Paul Morris (Institute of Education) and Dr Yusuf Sayed (University of Sussex). Dr Anna Robinson-Pant (University of East Anglia) would continue as co-editor until September 2010. It was also noted that a second Student Representative from the University of Nottingham had been appointed to the Executive alongside Paul Fean (University of Sussex). The next BAICE conference, which will be held at the University of East Anglia, 10 – 12 September 2010, was also discussed

4. Executive Committee Members:

4.1 Election of Ordinary Members

Following the resignation of Dr Elizabeth McNess, four nominations were received for the four vacancies on the Executive Committee. These nominations were from Professor Madeleine Arnot (University of Cambridge), Dr Caroline Dyer (University of Leeds), Dr Tanja Mueller (University of Manchester) and Professor Mike Osborne (University of Glasgow). Their acceptance as Executive Committee Members was ratified by those members present.

5. Report from the Chair:

Dr Lore Arthur reported on a very successful year in which there had been several new activities. A Student Prize was awarded to Arathi Sriprakash, PhD Candidate at the University of Cambridge, for the best paper submitted to the BAICE 2008 conference. A further development concerned proposals for small projects/events with a particular theme and with a view to encourage joint regional activities. For this the Executive Committee had chosen the theme of “Internationalisation of Educational Research, Learning and Teaching”. BAICE Members were then invited to send in proposals for projects/events. Three projects were subsequently funded: one from the University of Brighton, one from the Universities of Cambridge and East Anglia and the third one from the University of Bristol. Detailed reports following the outcome of these events can be found on the BAICE website. BAICE and Compare are also proud of the third Writers’ Development Programme. 22 people attended the one day workshop this year at the UKFIET conference. Participants are provided with ongoing mentoring support for a six month period when writing an article for Compare which will also be peer-reviewed. The second joint Bristol/Birmingham event for Masters students, with its focus on dissertation writing, was held in Birmingham in May 2009. The Executive Committee was congratulated on this range of successful activities.

Professor Robin Alexander was thanked for having been BAICE President 2008 – 2009 and for an outstanding Presidential Address, which will be published in Compare. Dr Arthur announced that Professor Anne Hickling-Hudson, Queensland University of Technology, has kindly agreed to be the incoming BAICE President for the period 2009-2010.

Professor Karen Evans then spoke of how much she had valued her involvement with BAICE/Compare and of the exemplary commitment displayed by Executive Committee and Editorial Board members. The relationship between BAICE and Compare is improving and there is now much greater cooperation between them. Compare is now publishing 6 editions per year and the workload has increased considerably, hence the need for 3 editors. There was some discussion of the design of the cover of Compare but a plea was made for the current size to be retained were any other changes to be agreed. Dr Frances Hunt, University of Sussex was named as the new Compare Reviews Editor.

Dr Arthur offered warm thanks to Professor Evans for her commitment to Compare and BAICE and also to the retiring treasurer, Dr Ulrike Niens, welcoming Malcolm Mercer as the new Treasurer. This role is now a significantly more complex one due to the change in the financial arrangements with Taylor and Francis.

A final point to note was the newly designed publicity material for BAICE with a new logo, leaflets, flyers with the aim of providing a new image, yet still reflecting the colours of the Compare journal. Various leaflets were distributed and more were available at the BAICE stand during the conference.

6. Report from the Treasurer:

Dr Ulrike Niens reported on a secure financial situation in spite of the recession. There has been a substantial increase in Compare royalties and BAICE has funded several initiatives. Taylor and Francis have indicated that the effects of the recession may be felt during the coming year.

7. Report from the Membership Secretary:

Jane Anthony reported that several members have not renewed their membership fees citing the £30 fee as their reason. Several people had, however, joined BAICE at the UKFIET conference. There was some discussion of the merits of a fee increase. An increase in the membership fee could include the continued receipt of copies of Compare and unlimited electronic access to all of Taylor and Francis’s social science journals. On the other hand, were members to forego their right to a copy of Compare, this may support wider distribution in low-income countries where there was limited access to electronic journals. Jane Anthony was thanked for her sterling work as Membership Secretary.

8. Report from the Editors of Compare:

Professor Evans reiterated that she was privileged to have been a member of the Editorial Board. The Editorial Board has expanded and has 6 new members but there are still 3 vacancies. There is a healthy flow of articles to the journal and a Special Issue in 2010 will commemorate its 40th anniversary. This Special Issue will be co-edited by Professor Evans and Dr Anna Robinson-Pant and its theme will be the intersection between comparative education and development studies. Professor Robin Alexander’s Presidential Address may be the first article in this Special Issue. It was proposed that circulation figures for Compare be included in future AGM papers. It was noted that library subscriptions have reduced in number although online access to the journal has increased exponentially. It was acknowledged that subscription rates remain prohibitively high for low-income countries where libraries are more likely to purchase journal packages. Compare is not included in any of these packages and it was proposed that the increasing number of articles downloaded from the Internet be used as leverage to pressurise Taylor and Francis into including the journal in a ‘bundle’. The International Advisory Board has a key role to play in this process of marketing Compare more aggressively.

9. Any Other Business

David Theobald, UKFIET, was thanked for the hosting of the BAICE AGM and Professor Fiona Leach thanked for her organisation of the conference. David Theobald reported that Professor Hugh Lauder, University of Bath, is the new UKFIET Chair. The continuing partnership between BAICE and UKFIET was acknowledged as valuable to both organisations and periodic meetings between the 2 organisations proposed. It was noted that BAICE was not one of the sponsors of the UKFIET conference. Those present again congratulated Professor Robin Alexander His Presidential Address was regarded as one of the best ever.

10. Date of next Annual General Meting:

BAICE conference, University of East Anglia, 10 -12 September 2010.

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