This international conference brings together researchers, teacher-educators, school leaders, policy makers, and practitioners to examine education’s present responsibilities and future possibilities. The title is deliberately broad in scope. Over three days, the programme combines conceptual scholarship and empirical inquiry that inspires disciplinary imagination, fosters rigorous cross-sector dialogue, and clarifies the normative stakes of educational practice. The accepted papers address questions of immediate relevance for classrooms, systems, and communities.
The Institute of Education marks its tenth year of teaching and research. This milestone invites reflection on the purposes of education and on how research can better serve judgement, equity, and human flourishing in a period of rapid technological change. The Institute prepares teachers through Bachelor and Master of Education programmes, develops educational leaders through the Master in Educational Leadership, and is now broadening its provision to address the wide range of professionals who serve in schools. It also offers courses for parents and the wider community.
Dr Stefano Oliverio, Associate Professor of Educational Theory and Social Pedagogy, University of Naples Federico II
Dr Dixie F. Abernathy, Associate Professor of Education, Queens University of Charlotte, USA
Alongside paper sessions the programme includes two plenary panels:
Thursday, 27 November: Whose Future? Which Education? Reclaiming Education’s Purpose in an Age of Technological Acceleration
Saturday, 29 November: Lifelong Competences for Lifelong Learning: Integrating Essential Competences Throughout a Child’s Educational Journey.
a) Artificial Intelligence, Digital Competence and Assessment
Studies on AI and core skills, AI-enhanced formative assessment in early years, relationships among digital competence, metacognitive awareness, and success in virtual learning environments, research on public perspectives on assessment reform, and work on integrating academic research into national settings.
b) Leadership, Governance and School Improvement
Analyses of digital leadership in state schools, leadership for learning in specific pedagogical approaches, and system development and improvement.
c) Curriculum, Pedagogy and Learner Formation
Research on interactive teaching in marginalised contexts, creative learning beyond the classroom, and school-based innovation including eTwinning initiatives.
d) Mathematics Education and Learner Wellbeing
Investigations into mathematics anxiety and engagement at lower-secondary level, and pedagogical responses to disciplinary fear and disengagement.
e) Teachers’ Professional Growth and Comparative Perspectives
Comparative studies of teachers’ professional competence and student learning achievement, and practitioner enquiry on the relation between research and classroom practice.
Teacher-educators and classroom practitioners; school and system leader; policy makers; researchers working across technology, curriculum, assessment, inclusion, and ethics.
The conference is organised to support careful argument, collegial exchange, and accessibility. It provides opportunities for discussion and mentoring across career stages, and it supports emerging researchers alongside established scholars.
| Time | Session | Speaker/s |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM | Welcome Coffee | – |
| 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM | Panel Discussion: Lifelong Competences for Lifelong Learning – Integrating Essential Competences Throughout a Child’s Educational Journey | Panel Chair: Ms Janice Darmanin |
| 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM | Networking Break | – |
| 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM | Closing Plenary Session | – |
| 1:00 PM – 7:00 PM | A Taste of Malta: Networking Through Heritage and Brewing Traditions | – |
Direct from Valletta to Pembroke and vice versa; Route 14 (available everyday)
214, X299, X300, X208, TD1, 211, 110, 233, 88, TD2 are also alternative routes.
