by a special correspondent

More than 70 educational research leaders met at Uni SA this week 

Convened by the Australian Council of Deans of Education and the Australian Association for Research in Education, the summit addressed the challenges of post-COVID recovery across all education sectors, from early years to higher education.

As a multi-disciplinary field of study, researchers in education are working to address challenges including education in a COVID recovering world, digital transformation, climate change, sustainability and how education might work to support communities to thrive and change.

COVID has shown the importance of social cohesion and engagement with expertise. The fields of health, child-care and early learning, schooling, and universities were devastated by the impacts on their workforce and learning over the last two years.

“The resilience of these fields cannot be underestimated as they continue to carry the burden for the public good in a democracy,” summit coordinator Anna Sullivan (Uni SA) says.

“We are at a critical point, post-COVID, where education systems are re-thinking the challenges and opportunities for different sectors to consult with peak organisations and research leaders.”

“AARE and ACDE have the expertise and capacity to take up the opportunities to work with state and federal governments to address common concerns and to lead to active engagement and action that will make a difference.”