This inaugural International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) Professional Learning Conference aims to stimulate participants to reflect on the emerging empowerment agenda within Scottish education.

• Location: Hilton Grosvenor Hotel, Glasgow
• Date: Friday 21 February 2020
• Times: 9:00-14:00 The conference is co-hosted by the University of Glasgow’s School of Education and Policy Scotland.

The conference is co-hosted by the University of Glasgow’s School of Education and Policy Scotland.

The conference is aimed at teachers and educational leaders in schools and local authorities. The conference is designed to explore the key emerging debates within Scottish education.

It is anticipated that this event will be the catalyst for a systemic conversation and debate within the profession to develop a shared understanding about what the future of an empowered Scottish education system might and should look like.

Thus, the defining question that frames this conference is: What should an empowered Scottish education system look like?

It will take place at the Hilton Grosvenor Hotel on Byres Road in Glasgow, Scotland, on 21 February 2020.

Conference

The conference will be chaired by Professor Chris Chapman. It will open with a keynote from the University of Glasgow’s world-leading educationalist Professor Mel Ainscow, CBE.

This will be followed by three parallel interactive workshops led by leading figures in the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement communities and members of the First Minister’s International Council of Education Advisors. The sessions will be a combination of input and provocation to stimulate reflective conversations about what it means to be an empowered educational professional.

There will be academics from the School of Education and Policy Scotland to capture round table discussion and anonymised key themes from the workshops.

Workshops

These workshops will run in the morning and afternoon, so participants should select two to attend.

A: Professional learning for an empowered education system

Led by Professor Carol Campbell

A key factor in developing an improving and empowered education system is valuing, respecting and developing education professionals’ knowledge and practices in order to support the students and communities to be served. This interactive workshop will explore evidence concerning effective approaches to continuous professional learning and development, drawing on international research and evidence plus experiences and opportunities in Scotland. The need to consider and balance educators’ voices, choices and agency in their own professional learning and the use of school and system led professional development for priorities relating to student attainment and equity will be discussed.

B: Empowered and effective leadership at all levels

Led by Professor Alma Harris

This interactive session will focus on the ways in which leaders at all levels in the system can contribute to school and system change. It will look at how distributed leadership can be an empowering leadership approach, when used wisely. It will provide some international examples of teacher empowerment through professional collaboration. The session will consider the challenges and benefits of greater participation in leadership along with the potential for greater professional empowerment and agency.

C: Empowered and effective learning systems

Led by Professor Graham Donaldson

This workshop will examine the implications of current education policy for how schools can fully realise the opportunities inherent in Curriculum for Excellence. The need to move from delivery and implementation approaches to improvement to a more dynamic learning culture will be explored.

These conversations will then continue more informally over a networking lunch and the conference will close at 14:00.

Programme

• 9:00-09:20     Registration and coffee
• 9:20-09:30     Welcome and introduction
• 9:30-10:30     Keynote
• 10:35-11:35     Parallel workshops one (participants choose A or B or C)
• 11:35-11:55     Coffee break
• 12:00-13:00     Parallel workshops two (participants choose A or B or C)
• 13:00-14:00     Networking lunch

The conference is supported by the University of Glasgow’s School of Education and Policy Scotland and all speakers are offering their time on a pro-bono basis.

Booking details

The delegate rate is £95.

• Each delegate needs to be registered individually so their workshop choices can be recorded.
• Payments are made in Australian dollars.

Please register on the ICSEI website at https://www.conftool.net/icsei-plc-2020/