Programme - The IAFOR International Conference on Education

Education and Sustainability: Local Lessons from Hawai’i

Keynote Panel Presentation: Christina M. Kishimoto, David Lassner & Richard R. Vuylsteke

Independence & Interdependence

The technological and logistical advances of globalisation have enabled us to become independent and empowered as never before, but at the same time they have made us more dependent on the very things allowing autonomy. While technologies allow us to communicate with those on the other side of the world, they can also make us detached from those immediately around us, and in some cases alienated, or lonely. And yet this increased interconnectedness offers great opportunities to work together to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues, and reminds us of our responsibilities towards each other. Our independence is contextualised in the relations we enjoy with others; in our families and communities, shared institutions, in our wider societies, geographical and political entities, and finally as a part of the one world we all share.

This plenary panel will invites reflections on the desirability, extent and limits of our individual independence and autonomy, of that of our students, and of the institutions and structures within which we work, teach and learn. We do not educate, and are not educated in vacuums, but in such contexts and constraints as families, groups, and societies; of nations and cultures; of identities and religions; and of political and financial realities.

Ever changing technologies offer new ways for us to be independent and autonomous learners, encouraging students to be self-directed and confident in making choices, and enabling and empowering students and teachers to be proactive and tailor content. However, myriad technologies and services make us more dependent on the very things allowing autonomy. How do we help students and teachers alike navigate and curate the vast information available? How do we encourage individual growth while also underlining the importance of belonging and of the reciprocal responsibilities and privileges of education? How do we help students build the skills and attitudes necessary for positive engagement in distributed, globalised communities that so often lead to polarisation and alienation instead? How do we educate with independence and interdependence in mind?

This panel will draw on this joint theme of Independence & Interdependence across the Education and Sustainability, Energy and Environment conferences, with short keynote presentations from three distinguished leaders in Hawai’i, before opening up to a panel discussion and then audience Q and A.

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Independence & Interdependence

Featured Panel Presentation: Deane Neubauer, Ka Ho Joshua Mok, David Ericson, Sela V. Panapasa & Curtis Ho

Featured Panel in Association with APHERP

Ever changing technologies offer new ways for us to be independent and autonomous learners, encouraging students to be self-directed and confident in making choices, and enabling and empowering students and teachers to be proactive and tailor content. However, myriad technologies and services make us more dependent on the very things allowing autonomy. How do we help students and teachers alike navigate and curate the vast information available? How do we encourage individual growth while also underlining the importance of belonging and of the reciprocal responsibilities and privileges of education? How do we help students build the skills and attitudes necessary for positive engagement in distributed, globalised communities that so often lead to polarisation and alienation instead? How do we educate with independence and interdependence in mind? This panel of experts will explore these and other topics, drawing on their many collective years of experience in education research.

Read presenter biographies.

Opportunities Gained Through Interdisciplinary Research

Featured Presentation: Amanda Müller

Dr Müller will discuss the opportunities gained through conducting interdisciplinary research and the benefits of team-based research projects. She will give practical strategies for publishing in reputable journals and provide examples of the lessons learned from her own journey, both positive and negative. Dr Müller will give her own key principles about forming effective research teams, and then discuss how to go about choosing an appropriate outlet to disseminate research findings. Following on from the main presentation, a hands-on workshop will help members to identify their own individual strengths (such as the skill sets they can bring to a research project and team) and discover their own opportunities for future research.

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SDGs and Education: Sustainable Financing for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia

Featured Presentation: Keiichi Ogawa

In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4-Education 2030 was adopted with an ambitious Target 4.2 on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), which states, "By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.” However, despite the global commitment and established benefits of investing in ECCE, it is still a sub-sector that is seriously underfunded in the Asia and the Pacific region. Public spending is often not sufficient, and external funding is, at times, not large enough or sustainable. However, a few studies have been conducted to identify specific challenges and innovative practices for financing ECCE, considering the detailed contexts of each country.

Against this background, this study explores strategies for sustainable financing of ECCE in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam, employing the mixed methods approach. In its qualitative component, semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders at central, provincial, district, and institutional levels. The key findings show that Cambodia and Lao PDR depend on external funding, while a community preschool system is applied in Cambodia to expand access to ECCE in rural/remote areas. In Viet Nam, there are some innovative practices, such as collaboration with private sector actors, in urban areas on an ad hoc basis. The study implied that, in addition to ensure adequate, efficient, and equitable funding, governments are recommended to set a framework to promote strategic engagement with the private sector in promoting sustainability in financing ECCE.

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Hawaiian Oli Opening

Featured Cultural Presentation: Uncle Bruce Yoshio Keaulani & Aunty Kehaulani Lum

For the first time, the IAFOR Hawaii Conference Series 2019, with the theme Independence and Interdependence will be opened with an Hawaiian Oli – the spiritual chant which connects powerfully with Hawaiian ʻāina and Aloha as well as Hawaiian ancestors and all spiritual lineages. This indigenous and cultural tradition will honour all diversity and unity of humanity as we gather to create a meaningful and new scholarly and educational direction and destiny for all. Uncle Bruce Keaulani and Auntie Kehaulani, featured speakers of the 2017 event, will lead us in this very special opening.

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Independence & Interdependence

Featured Panel in Association with APHERP