Education in a Fragile World: Past, Present, Future
Venue: University of Dundee, Dalhousie Building
Dates: Wednesday 27th – Friday 29th November, 2024
The SERA Annual Conference is an important event for the educational research community in Scotland. The three-day conference, to be held at the University of Dundee from 27-29 November 2024 invites researchers and practitioners working in Scottish, UK and international contexts to share their insights under the theme of Education in a Fragile World: Past, Present, Future.
With rising inequality, geopolitical conflict, shifts in health and wellbeing, environmental threats, concerns about artificial intelligence, and the Covid-19 pandemic, the opening decades of the 21st century have been marked by signs that the world is becoming increasingly complex, unstable and unpredictable.
Education, however, is frequently presented as a process that can help the world avoid or escape from this fragility. While education may be under-funded in many contexts, there is a commitment to offer future initiatives that can lead the world away from fragility. There is also a vast reservoir of potential to (re)apply educational knowledge and understanding from the past to inspire new and regenerative futures in a culture of inclusion and social justice.
Celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2024 signifies SERA’s remarkable journey of dedication and impact in the field of education. The anniversary celebrations are set to honour SERA’s legacy while looking ahead to future opportunities and challenges in the realm of educational research and practice. The 2024 SERA annual conference will be part of this year’s celebrations. Therefore, the conference theme has been specifically designed to provide delegates with an opportunity to reflect on past, present, and possible futures, and discuss how education has the potential to thrive in circumstances of instability and global insecurity. The following guiding questions from practical, conceptual, and empirical perspectives offer a starting point for all potential delegates:
- How do we assess and challenge the proposition that the world is fragile?
- What role or purpose should education adopt in circumstances of instability and global insecurity?
- What historical and philosophical perspectives can inform contemporary and future educational thinking and practice?
- How can citizenship, community education, insights about lifelong learning, and sustainability be part of current and future solutions?
- What role is there for shared knowledge, distribution of resources, interdisciplinarity, and partnership working?
- What impact can digital learning, and advances in technology, have on learning within and beyond formal education settings?
- How can research contribute to educational change and stimulate action towards a better world?
- What forms of research methodologies, (un)orthodox methods, and ethical insights help address challenges and offer solutions?
- What types of practices can support adaptability and resilience in young people?