Speakers
Wednesday 2 September 17.00–18.00
‘What is education now for?’
Lindsay Paterson, University of Edinburgh
Lindsay Paterson is Associate Director of the Institute of Governance and Professor of Educational Policy at Moray House Institute of Education, University of Edinburgh. He has worked previously in Heriot-Watt University and in the scientific civil service. Lindsay is a sociologist whose interests span education, politics and culture. In education, his interests are the expansion of higher education, social class inequalities and the history of education. In politics, his interests are in social democracy and its relationship to national identity. In culture, he is interested in the democratisation of culture over the past century and in the
relationship among culture, politics and education. He hasa particular interest in the relationship between the sciences and the humanities, and in the distinctive Scottish contribution to that relationship. He has written widely on these topics in journals and
in political and cultural periodicals. He is a regular contributor to both the print and the broadcast media in Scotland and in many other countries, and has written reports for several professional bodies on the actual and likely effects of the Scottish Parliament on
policy making and on education. He has advised two committees of the Scottish Parliament (Education, and Lifelong Learning). He is editor of Scottish Affairs. Lindsay’s keynote will deal with the implications of some recent research on social mobility and education in Scotland during the twentieth century, using that country's experience to seek to illuminate some wider questions about opportunity and democracy.
Thursday 3 September 11.15-12.30
‘Re-Imagining the Public We Educate: Opportunities and Challenges for Democratic Societies’
Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Gloria Ladson-Billings is the Kellner Family Professor of Urban Education in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction and Faculty Affiliate in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a past president of the American Educational Research Association and former editor of the American Educational Researchers Journal. Gloria’s research examines the pedagogical practices of teachers who are successful
with African American students. She also investigates Critical Race Theory applications to education. She is the author of many critically acclaimed books (The Dreamkeepers, Crossing over to Canaan, Beyond the Big House) as well as more than 50 journal articles and book chapters. Her work has won numerous scholarly awards including the H. I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship, The Spencer Post-doctoral Fellowship, and the Palmer O. Johnson outstanding
research award. As well as an honorary doctorate (Sweden) and fellowship (Stanford) she is a recipient of the Spindler Award for significant and ongoing contributions to the field of educational anthropology. In the spring of 2005 she was elected to the National Academy of Education and the National Society for the Study of Education. Professor Ladson-Billings’ address to BERA will explore issues of race and educational disparities.
Friday 4 September 11.00-12.00
The Social Justice Panel
During this keynote slot a panel has been convened around the issue of social justice. Each panellist will give an 8 minute presentation on an aspect of social justice. The panel will then
convene to take questions from the floor. Chaired by the Professor Pamela Munn, President of BERA and Professor of Education at the Moray House of School of Education, University of Edinburgh. Graham H. C. Donaldson is HM Senior Chief Inspector in the Scottish Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). Before joining HMIE Graham taught history and modern studies in Scotland. He then worked as a Curriculum Evaluator for the Consultative Committee on the Curriculum. During this period he was seconded to BP to review links between education and industry. He has been asked by the First Minister in Scotland to lead the establishment of a national system for the inspection of services to children, with an initial focus on child protection.
John Elliott is the Chief Economist at the Home Office (formerly at the DCSF). John has worked as a government economist since leaving university. Whilst mainly working in education and employment his career is characterized by ‘variety’ having worked on local government finance; teacher salaries, employment interventions and a number of evaluations of government initiatives. As Chief Economist at the DCSF, his duties extended to managing the Department’s Data Services Group, which is responsible for the collection and dissemination of many of the statistics which the Department uses on a day-to-day basis. John was also the DCSF Chief Scientific Adviser.
Becky Francis is Professor of Education at Roehampton University. Her expertise centres on the production of subjectivities in educational contexts, social identity and educational achievement, and feminist theory, and she has published widely in these areas. She has also co-edited several readers on theory and practice in gender and education, including the Sage Handbook of Gender and Education (2006).
Sally Tomlinson is Emeritus Professor of Education at Goldsmiths College London and a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Education at Oxford University. She previously held Chairs at the University of Lancaster and the University of Wales, Swansea. She has researched and written in the areas of education policy, race ethnicity and education, and special education for thirty years. Her book “Education in a Post-Welfare Society" won a Society for Educational Studies book award.
Saturday 5 September 11.00-12.00
‘Interactions: academic and practitioner research’
Ken Zeichner, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ken Zeichner is Hoefs-Bascom Professor of Teacher Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the U.S. His research is concerned with issues of teacher education and teacher professional development and with practitioner research on teaching and teacher education. His extensive writings include books on action research and social justice, reflective teaching and teacher education programmes as sites for teacher education.
Ken’s presentation will focus on practitioner research and university academic research and the wisdom and lack of wisdom in trying to more effectively bridge these worlds. He will argue that the lack of interaction of these worlds leads to difficulties for research. He will explore the advantages and drawbacks of different ways in which academics can come together with teachers around educational research. He is particularly interested in exploring the value of “third space” theory in conceptualizing a space where the worlds of academic and teacher research can be joined for the benefit of both academics and teachers and most
importantly for the benefit of pupils in schools.