A Child’s World – New Shoes, New Direction

The conference will be held on the Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth University

Educationalists from 89 countries will convene at Aberystwyth University on 11-13 July to discuss the latest developments in children’s education.

Hosted by the University’s School of Education, A Child’s World – New Shoes, New Direction builds on the success of Aberystwyth’s ‘A Child’s World: Next Steps’ conference  in 2014.

With 118 papers due to be presented over the three days, the focus this year will be on new concepts in Health and Wellbeing, Pedagogy and Working with Children.

The conference will be opened by Professor Elizabeth Treasure, Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth University on Monday 11 July.

Keynote speakers Professor Anne Trine Kjørholt from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Dr Evelyn Arizpe, from the University of Glasgow and Dr Alejandro Paniagua, from the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation at the OECD, Paris will address the conference on the first day.

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Professor Sally Holland, will open proceedings on the second day, with other key contributions from Professor Ming Tak Hue from The Education University of Hong Kong and Professor Janet Boddy from Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth at the University of Sussex.

The final day will be opened by Meilyr Rowlands, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector For Education and Training in Wales, followed by Professor Tom Crick MBE from Swansea University.

According to organiser and Director of the School of Education at Aberystwyth University Professor Malcolm Thomas, the aim of the conference is to enable collaboration, createng effective policy and share best practice in childhood studies within an international strategic dimension.

Professor Thomas said: “Since the end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, an agenda for global action has been implemented that sets out the Sustainable Development Goals for 2015-2030.  Children are very much at the heart of many of these 17 goals. Despite the advances made by the MDGs, children across the world are continually experiencing poverty, inequality, hunger and malnutrition, and the inability to access inclusive and quality education. In certain instances, these are the result of humanitarian crises brought on by drought, earthquakes and intensification of civil conflicts and war. This conference will go some way towards disseminating good practice of how various stakeholders can work collaboratively together to support children, families, carers and teachers.”

Further details about A Child’s World – New Shoes, New Direction are available online https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/education/conference-2018.

The conference this year coincides with the School of Education’s 125^th anniversary.

As well as single and joint honours degrees in Education, Aberystwyth provides  post-graduate teacher training including the introduction from September 2019 of a pioneering programme accredited by the Education Workforce Council.         

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