Cambridge China Education Forum

Throw back to Roundtable Discussion, where delegates mingled and reflected on the main takeaways from the two-day forum.

Throw back to paper and poster presentations at the Forum. Thanks for your contributions!

Panel 6 focused on inclusive education. Ruth Kershner (University of Cambridge) chaired the panel and discussed the intersection of inclusive policy, pedagogy, and practice from a top-down approach in the UK, China, and beyond. Dr. Ricardo Sabates (University of Cambridge) shared his work at the REAL centre (Research for Equitable Access and Learning) that examines educational inequalities in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia. He argued that equitable progress in learning is possible, but whether such progress is at scale is a question yet to be explored. John Harding (University of Cambridge) discussed approaches taken by the University of Cambridge to promote inclusive education and suggested that there is a growing number of disabled students being admitted each year. Prof. Andrea Abbas (University of Bath) discussed the importance of 'education for all' and how to facilitate participation and success in inclusive education in terms of pedagogy, curricula, and knowledge.

Panel 5 focused on college student gaining. Prof. Qing Gu (UCL Institute of Education) joined the discussion via Skype. She reviewed the history of Chinese study abroad students and argued that the movement of international students is inherently unequal. She proposed to use transnationalism as a conceptual lens to understand college student gaining. Dr. Sonia Illie (University of Cambridge) talked about the LEGACY project that aims to develop a reliable, valid, and at-scale useable instrument to measure student gaining. She cautioned against the use of one single measurement for institutional comparison for two reasons: 1) baseline starting levels of skills differ in institutions and 2) there are many variations and contextual differences between institutions.

Panel 4 focused on global competence in higher education. Dr. Sonia Illie (University of Cambridge) chaired the panel and explored global competence beyond the basic conceptual building blocks of world cultures, translational systems, and global issues. Mr. Tim Oates (Cambridge Assessment) discussed the principles that are essential to curriculum design in higher education and highlighted the differences between academic and vocational education. Ms. Malgorzata Kuczera (University of Cambridge) elaborated on the changes in vocational education training and work-based learning.

We kicked off the second day of the Forum with two amazing keynotes on future higher education. Prof. Simon Marginson(University of Oxford) reviewed higher education in diverse contexts and discussed the distinctive features of Chinese universities. Prof. Susan Robertson (University of Cambridge) situated global higher education in the changing political and economic contexts, and addressed the importance of inviting different stakeholders to the conversation when we imagine and design future higher education.

Panel 3 focused on the role of technology in foreign language education. Dr. Mirjam Hauck (The Open University) chaired the panel and highlighted the importance of critical digital literacies, which will not only enable future learners to examine linguistic and non-linguistic features of digital media, but also empower them to verify information and access the truth in digital spaces. Dr. Amos Paran (UCL Institute of Education) emphasised that technology in education is not neutral, and therefore should be underpinned by values that promote education. Dr. Hey-won Lee (Cambridge Assessment English) argued that assessment is part of, rather than separated from, learning. An important takeaway from this panel is that future language education will thrive if we combine smart technology with SMART PEDAGOGY.

Panel 2 focused on innovating foreign language education. Prof. Jean-Marc Dewaele, the chair of the panel, initiated a lively discussion by introducing two key questions: (1) What competences should we cultivate in future learners through foreign language education? (2) What innovative approaches can we take to improve language education and move the field forward? Dr. Michael Evans (Faculty of Education, Cambridge) talked about the development of multilingual identity and its influence on foreign language learning in the UK (Multilingualism: Empowering Individuals, Transforming Societies - MEITS). Prof. Suzanne Graham (University of Reading) talked about cultivating linguistic creativity in language learning (Creative Multilingualism). Dr. Li Li (University of Exeter) argued why critical thinking is important in language education, and how we can recognise it and foster it in future learners.

Panel 1 focused on the edging research and implementation of teacher education and professional development. Dr Elaine Wilson (Faculty of Education, Cambridge) chaired the panel and initiated an engaging dialogue with Jane Warwick (Faculty of Education, Cambridge), Dr James Biddulph (University of Cambridge Primary School) and Julia (Cambridge University Press). Drawing on their expertise and experience of teaching and leadership, the panelists presented great insights into how to effectively implement teacher development in order to deliver the vision for student learning and school improvement in the future.

In her keynote on 'Valuing Learners, Offering Hope', Prof. Alison Peacock from Chartered College of Teaching talked about what it means to learn without limits — how to educate future learners by moving beyond measurable data and graphs, and how to encourage teachers to shift away from deficit views of learners and see the best in them.

In his keynote on ‘The Future of Education: How Can We Possibly Know?', Prof. Geoff Hayward examined education from a historical perspective and suggested that future education should put more emphasis on the cultivation of wisdom, character, and virtue, and of being a human being. It is a “moral business”.