CFP: Measuring up in Education

The 43rd Annual Conference of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) will be held at The University of Melbourne, from the 6th to 9th of December 2013 (note that this directly follows the conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) in Adelaide where PESA is instituting a new special interest group in Educational Philosophy and Theory).

The PESA conference provides a supportive environment for the presentation and discussion of scholarly work in education. Presenters come from many different parts of the world and draw on a wide range of philosophical traditions and perspectives. Postgraduate students and others new to educational philosophy and theory are warmly encouraged to participate. The theme of the conference is:

MEASURING UP IN EDUCATION
We live and work in a time when the issues facing education, many of which have been with us for a considerable period, are being approached primarily through measurement – classroom assessment, research methods, standardised testing, international comparisons. Yet we do not often stop to consider what counts – and alternatively, what doesn’t count – in a climate where measuring up to a standard is the name of the game. At a deeper level, we rarely raise questions about measurement itself. What is measurement? What is a standard? How does measurement of education articulate with the purposes and potential of education? Questions such as these are sometimes expressed, but seemingly never heard in the discourses which dominate. The aim of this conference is to create a space for such questioning by inviting an exchange of views around the issues pertaining to measurement as this influences the various discourse of education.

Individuals interested in presenting at this conference are invited to submit abstracts referring to the conference theme in the first instance, or any other appropriate topics with a focus on educational philosophy and theory.

Due date for abstracts: before or on Friday 29th July, 2013 (this has recently been extended).

A selection of full papers will be considered for inclusion in a special issue of the association’s journal Educational Philosophy and Theory focused on the conference theme.

For information on this process please refer to the conference website: