Keynote Speaker – Carol Campbell
January 11, 2024
The quest for humanity in educational improvement: professional learning for student learning
Globally, education systems are having to navigate how best to respond to rapid changes and challenges to ensure they serve the needs of all children and young people. In this keynote, I argue for the importance of placing a concern for humanity at the heart of educational improvement. This concern for humanity is two-fold. First, the vital role of the education profession in developing the future of humanity through supporting children and young people to learn, to thrive, and to contribute in their education, lives, and world. Second, the necessity of valuing the humanity of the people who work in education by prioritizing approaches to support their professional lives, work, learning, development, leadership, and expert judgement. The keynote will provide evidence to discuss approaches to educational improvement through professional learning for student learning by discussing several recent projects and research studies, including the National Discussion on the future of Scottish education, Education International’s Teacher-led Learning Circles for Formative Assessment project in Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malaysia, South Korea and Switzerland, and a review of leadership for reflective practice in Wales. Implications for the future of education system improvement and school improvement research, policy, and practice will be highlighted.
Carol Campbell is Professor of Leadership and Educational Change and Associate Chair of the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education, at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Her work concerns: large-scale educational change and school improvement; the work of the education profession, leadership development and professional learning; and the use of evidence to inform policy and practice. Currently, she is leading an international research study for Education International concerning Teacher-led Learning Circles for teachers’ use of formative assessment in seven countries. Carol is also a member of the International Council of Education Advisors for the Scottish Government’s First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. She served as an independent co-facilitator (with Professor Alma Harris) for the National Discussion on the future vision for education in Scotland – the largest public engagement on Scottish education ever conducted. She is a Visiting Professor at the School of Education, University of Glasgow. Previously, Carol was elected twice to serve on the ICSEI Board. In 2020, Carol received the Canadian Teachers’ Federation Public Education Advocacy award for dedicated, long-standing service, as well as major contributions to benefit publicly funded public education. She is active on Twitter @CarolCampbell4