Keynote title: Putting the world at the centre: A view for education today

Keynote speaker: Gert Biesta

Institutions: University of Edinburgh & National University of Ireland

There are ongoing discussions in many countries about what should be at the centre of education. In some countries there is a strong appetite for a (re)turn to knowledge and curriculum content. Other countries seek to put children and young people —  or, in some cases, learners –  at the centre of the educational endeavour. In my presentation I will argue that both options are misleading. This is not just because education always needs to be concerned both about the child and about the curriculum, as John Dewey already knew. But it is first of all because education needs to equip and encourage the new generation to live their lives well in a world characterised by plurality and difference and on a planet that has limited capacity for giving us everything we desire. This suggests that education in our times should be thoroughly world-centred.

About Gert Biesta

Gert Biesta (www.gertbiesta.com) is Professor of Educational Theory and Pedagogy at the Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, and Professor of Public Education in the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy at the National University of Ireland at Maynooth. Recent books include Educational Research: An Unorthodox Introduction (Bloomsbury, 2020) and World-Centred Education: A View for the Present (Routledge, 2021).