Call for abstracts

Reimagining Teachers and Teacher Education for Our Futures Conference
18 – 20 June 2024
Conference description

The UNESCO International Commission on the Futures of Education produced a seminal report ‘Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education’ in 2021. The report highlighted the crucial role of teachers not only in providing quality instruction, but also in shaping the critical, transversal skills that are necessary for our futures.

Pressures on teachers are tremendous. The quest for quality education requires teachers to transform pedagogy in response to the need to develop 21st century competences. Improved access to education means an increasing number of students, necessitating an increase in the number of teachers. However, recruiting teachers is not easy as the teaching profession is not always an attractive option in many contexts. Teachers balance between expectations of education authorities and demands from parents and custodians, while at the same time managing large classrooms and providing personalized instruction. They deal with the impact of emergencies and crises while building hope for the future. Many teachers, moreover, work in remote or low-resource schools with little collegial support or opportunities for professional development.

Education systems across the world have increasingly agreed on common objectives and targets for education as defined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4. Education has become a mission through which global ideologies and ideas as well as local-based needs and realities are faced. Today, however, socially, culturally and ethnically diverse communities are more apparent than ever before, and teachers find themselves caught between global demands and local realities. So, how might education systems address the tensions between the global and the local? Whose voices matter in defining what is important in education? Can our sites of education be inclusive of all or just inclusive of some? What should teacher education do in order to prepare and support current and future teachers?

In this conference we ask in what ways can research meet the four major challenges faced by current education systems as outlined by the United Nations Transforming Education Summit in 2022? These challenges are:

  1. A shortage of teachers and other education professionals.
  2. Difficulties in ensuring adequate qualifications.
  3. The low status of the teaching profession and poor working conditions.
  4. A lack of opportunities to develop teacher autonomy, leadership and innovation.

The Reimagining Teachers and Teacher Education for Our Futures conference will explore the future of the teaching profession and teachers’ work. Teachers’ work is full of tensions, but it also offers paths towards greater social equality. In what ways can teachers’ pre- and in-service education prepare them for the future?
Conference sub-themes

The following sub-themes provide suggestions for how the conference theme might be approached:

Access

  • Teachers’ access to information, resources and support in low-resource and/or remote contexts: the use of technology, teachers’ professional development, the availability of pedagogical resources and expertise
  • The language of instruction vs. the language of communities: the implications of teacher education and teaching practice.
  • The teacher’s role in ensuring access to all learners: how to foster inclusive learning environments and ensure access to the curriculum and participation for all.

Equality and equity

  • The opportunities and challenges of dealing with cultural, social, economic, religious, worldview, linguistic and gender diversity in the teaching profession.
  • Who are the teachers of the future? The recruitment of teachers from minorities, disadvantaged and Indigenous populations; achieving gender balance in the teaching profession.
  • How to attract experienced teachers to hard-to-staff schools?

Emergencies and crises

  • Building resilience in teacher education.
  • The teacher’s role in times of emergency or crisis: prevention, mitigation and recovery.
  • Support for teachers: providing coaching and mentorship; supporting mental health needs.
Abstract submission

Abstract submission has closed. 

Due to the large amount of abstracts we have received, there has been some delays in the process. Notifications of acceptance will be sent to all authors by Monday, January 29th, 2024.
Abstract proposal types

The presentation is based on completed or ongoing research related to the topic and sub-topics of the conference. The abstract should include the following sections:

  • Title: The title should make it clear what your research is about (maximum number of words: 12).
  • Background: This section answers the “why” of your research. Explain in one or two sentences what is known in relation to your topic. Point out the gap that your research addresses and what research question(s) you intend to answer.  
  • Methodology: In this section describe the “how” of your research. Outline your tools, study design, sample characteristics, as appropriate.
  • Main results or findings: This section is the “what” section that introduces your main findings. The results or findings should be the longest section of the abstract. State the main findings of your work in accordance with what you wrote in the background section. The preliminary findings of your ongoing research can be discussed in your presentation.
  • Conclusions and relevance: Clearly state the main conclusion(s) that arise from your research and highlight the significance of your findings. Link the implications of your findings to the conference topic and sub-themes.
  • List 3-5 key references of your research. These references are not included in the final word count.

The presentation itself should also follow the format: title/background/methodology/main results/conclusions.  Accepted papers will be grouped by the conference organizing committee into 90-minute thematic sessions of 3-5 presentations. The maximum number of words for the abstract proposal is 300.

Symposium is a 90-minute session entirely organized by the session proposer. The conference organisers will allocate the time slot and room for the session. A symposium is composed of 3-5 research presentations on the same topic or theme. The purpose of the symposium is to explore the proposed topic from different perspectives. The symposium is 90 minutes long, and the proposer is responsible for inviting the presenters and organising the smooth running of the symposium, such as naming the chair of the symposium. The proposer may also invite an opponent / discussant to provide critical remarks on the presentations. The abstract should include the following sections:

  • Title: The title should describe the topic of the symposium. (maximum number of words: 12).
  • Background and motivation / Introduction: This section answers “why” this symposium is needed. Explain in one or two sentences what is known in relation to your topic and point out the gap or question that the symposium intends to address.  
  • Describe how you plan to organise the symposium.
  • Name the presenters and briefly introduce their topics.

The maximum number of words for the abstract proposal is 500.

Panel discussion is a 90-minute session entirely organized by the session proposer. The conference organisers will allocate the time slot and room for the session. A panel discussion is a more thorough discussion on a specific question in a 90-minute session. The proposer invites the panel participants who will share their views on the topic in a more informal manner. Usually, the panel discussion is preceded by a short introduction to the topic by the panel host, but no formal presentations are made. The abstract should include the following sections:

  • Title: The title should describe the topic of the panel discussion. (maximum number of words: 12).
  • Background and motivation / Introduction: This section answers “why” this panel discussion is needed. Explain in one or two sentences what is known in relation to your topic and point out the gap or question that the panel discussion intends to address.  
  • Describe how you plan to organise the panel discussion.
  • Name the panel participants and their contribution to the discussion.

The maximum number of words for the abstract proposal is 500.

Best practices are sessions, which give an opportunity for a range of education professionals to present their innovations and approaches to the conference theme and sub-topics. Best practices could include a wide range of individual activities, policies and programmatic approaches (see Arendale, 2010). Best practice can also be understood as education professionals’ ongoing development of tried-and-true strategies. As students' needs and strengths shift in our changing world, educators must remain innovative, and ‘the best’ should always be transforming and moving towards the next best approach, tool, or strategy (Alber, 2015). Accepted presentations will be grouped by the conference organising committee into 90-minute sessions of 3-5 individual presentations.

The abstract should include the following sections:

  • Title: The title should clearly describe your best practice (maximum number of words: 12).
  • Background and motivation / Introduction: This section answers the “why” of your best practice. Explain in one or two sentences what you intend to achieve by using this practice.  
  • Description of best practice: a brief overview of the practice; elements required for its implementation; relevant educational theories, as appropriate; essential resources (such as personnel, materials, time); and the process used to gather impact data, as appropriate.

The maximum number of words for the abstract proposal is 300.

Hands-on workshop proposals are welcome on the conference theme and sub-topics. Workshops are 90-minute slots. It is expected that workshop participants will be asked to play an active part in the workshop. The proposer is responsible for the full organisation of the workshop, while the conference organisers will allocate the time slot and the room for the session. Workshops may, for example, demonstrate the use of technology in teacher education and teachers’ professional development; introduce in a hands-on manner pedagogical approaches; brainstorm on a particular topic. 

The abstract should include the following sections:

  • Title: The title should describe the topic of the workshop (maximum number of words: 12).
  • Background and motivation / Introduction: This section answers “why” this workshop is needed and to whom it is targeted.  
  • Describe how you plan to organise the workshop, and what is expected from the workshop participants.

The maximum number of words for the abstract proposal is 300 words.