School of Education

This summer, we were proud to welcome almost 3,500 delegates from around the world to Glasgow for the prestigious European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) 2023.

ECER, organized by the European Educational Research Association (EERA), is one of Europe’s largest educational research conferences. Glasgow 2023 saw ECER return to the UK for the first time in 30 years. The theme of this year’s conference was ‘The Value of Diversity in Education and Educational Research’.

The event was a resounding success, with attendees praising the quality of content on offer, the seamless organisation across multiple venues, and the friendly and welcoming atmosphere. See below for a round up of the week's events, as well as links to photos and video content from the conference.

The School would like to thank the many staff who volunteered to help, the Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA) and local organisers Prof Stephen McKinney, Dr Ines Alves ,Dr Julie McAdam, Dr Angela Jaap, Dr Jennifer Farrar and Dr Julie Harvie for their efforts in arranging such a large scale event, as well as the army of student and school pupil volunteers who gave their time to help ensure delegates had the best possible experience. We would particularly like the thank the pupils of local high schools Drumchapel High, King’s Park Secondary, Bannerman High and All Saints RC Secondary, whose passion and enthusiasm was a fantastic addition to the volunteer team.

Finally, we would also like to thank everyone who attended ECER 2023 – your energy, enthusiasm and engaged participation contributed enormously to making the week such a success, and we were absolutely delighted to welcome you to Glasgow.

ECER 2023 Round-Up

The conference took place across multiple days, with a wide range of lectures, workshops, panel discussions and interactive sessions held at various venues across the main University Campus.

Aug 21 – Emerging Researchers’ Conference

The week got underway with the Emerging Researchers’ Conference (ERC), an ECER fringe event designed to showcase work from those in the early stages of their research career.

Aug 22 – ECER officially opens

The official first day of ECER 2023 got underway with an Opening Ceremony in the Bute Hall, and ended with a welcome reception in the beautiful University Cloisters. Professor Rosemary Deem delivered the ERC keynote address.

Aug 23 – A packed day of discussions

Wednesday saw the first round of keynote speeches from Alfredo J. Artiles, Barbara Read, and Carol A. Taylor. Aside from the keynotes, a host of different lectures workshops and panel discussions took place throughout the day. Some highlights included the Scottish Council of Deans of Education panel chaired by Prof Margery McMahon, and a panel discussion on Changing Education Systems, featuring University of Glasgow professors Christopher Chapman, Graham Donaldson, and Louise Hayward (who led the recent Hayward Review of the Scottish education system), alongside Ken Muir, Pauline Stephen, and Liz White.

Aug 24 – SoE Open Evening

The final keynote speakers took to the stage on Thursday, with Margaret Sutherland, Mark Priestly and Richard Rose speaking in the Bute Hall, JMS and GUU Debates Chamber respectively.

The day culminated with the School of Education Open Evening, where delegates packed in to the St Andrews’ Building to meet local researchers and hear about the work going on within the School. This was also an occasion to network and socialise, with two musical bands playing on different floors and a ceilidh in full swing in the gymnasium – a night that will live long in the memory of all who were present!

Aug 25 – Goodbye ECER

The focus for the final day of the conference was on the stunning Bute Hall, first for the keynote panel which brought together all the keynote speakers for a lively and informal discussion. The Bute then played host to the Closing Ceremony, which served as a fitting finale to an amazing week.

 

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First published: 5 September 2023