Call for Papers 2009

Call for Papers: 'Military Training and Education: who needs what, where and when?'

The Conference is to be held at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, UK Defence Academy, Shrivenham, Wiltshire, 9th, 10th & 11th December 2009. Initiated and sponsored by the International Association for Military Pedagogy , the conference is also co-hosted by King College London's Defence Ethics Network and Hull University's Military Ethics Education Network.

The core interests of the three groups involved will be covered in a complementary way. The broad conference theme will look at the competencies, skills and abilities across the board that are required and expected at the different levels of the military hierarchy. It will ask questions such as who needs to know what, and how does this change through careers? For example, is it still appropriate to separate training and education in the age of the strategic corporal? Individual papers will address the pedagogical challenges of delivering training and education, both in the broader sense, and with reference to the skills required for different levels of moral autonomy. Other sessions will look in depth at ethical and legal awareness within the military environment and address the question of what behaviour is appropriate from different ranks - from initial recruit up to Chief of Defence Staff.

As with previous international events organised by the International Association for Military Pedagogy, delegates will be drawn from senior military officers, parliamentarians, academics and senior government officials, charities and NGOs. The Secretary of State for Defence, the Right Honourable Bob Ainsworth MP will be attending the event and delivering an address on the conference theme. Trainers and educators from the different military training and educational establishments around the world will be invited. The programme format will comprise a mixture of 20 minute paper presentations and side-sessions working out who can be expected to know what, where and when.

All three organisations involved are keen to ensure that their findings are disseminated to as wide an audience as possible and a selection of papers from the proceedings will be published. Selected papers from the 2008 Defence Ethics conference were published in a special edition of the Journal of Military Ethics, 'Saying No: Command responsibility and Selective Conscientious Objection' (Vol.8, Issue 2, July 2009). The Military Ethics Education Network's most recent publication is Carrick, Connelly & Robinson (eds), Ethics Education for Irregular Warfare (Ashgate, 2009), while the International Association for Military Pedagogy, has a forthcoming volume by Annen & Royl (eds) Educational Challenges Regarding Military Action: Studies for Military Pedagogy, Military Science & Security Policy Volume 11 (Peter Lang, 2009).

As well as an opportunity to contribute to the written scholarly debates in this area, the three-day conference provides an opportunity to engage with practitioners, policymakers and professionals in both panel discussions and more extended informal interaction beyond this environment.

If you are interested in giving a paper in one of the areas that the conference will be focusing upon, please can you email Mrs B Oliver boliver.jscsc@da.mod.uk with your suggested paper title and a brief abstract by October 2nd 2009. Alternatively, if you are interested in simply attending the event, please indicate this to Mrs Oliver so that we can ensure you are included on the formal conference invite that will be forthcoming shortly, along with the accommodation details and booking form.

We very much look forward to seeing you in December!

Co-convenors: Victoria Syme-Taylor, Director of External Relations, Defence Studies Department at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Defence Academy of the UK, and President of the International Association for Military Pedagogy. : Dr David Whetham, King's College London, Defence Studies Department at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Defence Academy of the UK.