SERA Conference 2025 – Call for Papers

Venue: University of Aberdeen, MacRobert Buildings

Dates: 19th to 21st November 2025

Call for papers deadline Friday 9th May, 5pm

All proposals are to be sent to sera.conference@gmail.com

Education: Open to all?

We invite researchers and practitioners working in Scottish, UK and international contexts to share their insights under the theme of Education: Open to all? While education is widely regarded as a fundamental right, it remains inaccessible to many due to socio-economic disparities, cultural differences, geographical isolation, and systemic inequalities. Building on previous SERA conference themes of reconnection and the challenges of living in a fragile world – as well as the work across the SERA networks – this conference seeks to examine how inclusive modalities can shape learning environments that enable individuals to realise their full potential, regardless of background or personal circumstances.

Expanding access to education requires critical engagement with key issues, including education policy and politics, interdisciplinary research and practice, technology integration, transformative curriculum perspectives, inclusive teaching and assessment practices, critical pedagogies, and key insights about professional, community and vocational learning. SERA Conference 2025 aims not only to provide a platform for discussing the challenges but also to foster new dialogues and collaborative approaches that contribute to more equitable and accessible educational futures.

The following guiding questions from practical, conceptual, and empirical perspectives offer a starting point for all potential delegates:

What are the key barriers – social, economic, political, or systemic – that prevent education from being open to all?
How can education systems be reimagined to address issues of exclusion, marginalisation, and inequality?
What historical and philosophical perspectives can inform contemporary efforts to make education more inclusive and accessible?
How can themes and concepts such as citizenship, community-focused learning, lifelong learning, and sustainability contribute to creating equity?
How can shared knowledges, partnerships, and diverse forms of learning – such as vocational and community-based education – support equitable access and challenge traditional hierarchies of knowledge?
How can digital learning, technological advancements, and artificial intelligence support or hinder education and assessment within and beyond formal settings?
How can research – including innovative methodologies and ethical approaches – contribute to reform and action towards inclusive and equitable educational opportunities?
What pedagogical practices best support adaptability, access, resilience, and equitable learning opportunities for diverse learners?

SERA 2025 Conference strands

Key organising strands for this year’s SERA conference will include:

Globalisation and Education: What are the implications of an increasingly interconnected world on education? How does globalisation – from global citizenship, to increased levels of migration, to the impact of international league table rankings – impact contemporary education? How might different theoretical perspectives and paradigms create openings for new questions, new forms of research, and offer critical insights for our increasingly globalised education systems?
Policy and Politics of Education: How might policy at global, national, and local levels shape education and lifelong learning? How might educational actors (regardless of sector) respond to, and inform policy directions? How might new partnerships enhance or inhibit educational initiatives and the mobilization of research? What challenges do policy and politics in education pose and how might we respond?
Curriculum and Transformation: How might perspectives on curriculum help us engage with a constantly changing and increasingly diverse world? How can curriculum balance the needs of diverse learners with the demands of policy mandates and standardised testing? What does decolonisation of the curriculum look like, and who defines it? Where is the balance between decolonising historical narratives and creating new, inclusive educational paradigms?
Education and Technology Integration: How might the infusion of new technologies impact learning experiences in/out of formal educational settings? How can technology integration promote creativity, collaboration and address disparities in access to quality education? How can virtual reality and augmented reality classrooms enhance and inhibit access to educational opportunities? What are the potential threats and ethical dilemmas associated with AI and machine learning in education?
Education for Sustainability: What part can education play in supporting ecological flourishing through equity? How might we learn to live peacefully with one another within the limits of the Earth supporting us? How does education respond to the challenges of climate change, global health issues and social crises?
Inclusive Education: How do we embrace diversity? What are the challenges associated with the proposition that education is for all? What policies and initiatives are being implemented to specifically support neurodiverse students and those from migrant and refugee backgrounds? How do we acknowledge and challenge specific examples of marginalisation in education, as evidenced by gender divides and hate crimes?
Educational Equity and Access: How might education reach out to all? How might education respond to the challenge of competition, distribution, and access to educational services supporting our communities? What spaces, resources, initiatives and providers are needed to create more equitable and accessible educational futures?
Professional, Community and Vocational Learning: What new challenges in workspaces and practices are impacting on professional, community and vocational learning? How is knowledge generated and shared in occupational and professional contexts and across professional boundaries? How does community education and learning foster wider inclusion, lifelong learning, and social cohesion of communities?

Submission Formats

The conference will accept individual papers, symposia, short presentations, poster and rapid thesis presentations, as well as suggestions for roundtable discussions, workshops and performance/arts-based sessions.

Click the links below for more details on each of these different formats.

Prizes and Awards

Estelle Brisard Award. This award is presented on an annual basis to the best research paper written by an early career researcher based in Scotland. The cash prize of £250 is presented at the annual conference. Further details can be found on our webpages and through posts on our X account. To apply, please send your name, email address, area of research, course, university and title of your paper to sera.conference@gmail.com.

Best poster/rapid thesis/short presentation. Three prizes of fifty pounds are awarded at the SERA conference for the best poster, best rapid thesis and best short presentation. A panel composed of SERA executive members will review the entries and winning entries will be announced during the conference.

Submission Dates

Call for proposals opens Monday 24th March 2025.
All proposals to be sent to sera.conference@gmail.com by Friday 9th May by 5pm.
Peer review of abstracts will be completed by the end of June 2025.
Notification of acceptance will be given on or before week beginning 14th July 2025.

SERA Conference Registration Arrangements

SERA Conference registration will open from early-May 2025.