
7th International Congress on
Action Research, Action Learning
ARAL 2023

Plenary Speakers
Plenary 1
Philippine Education 2022 onwards: Perspectives from a Teacher Education Institution
JOHN ADDY S. GARCIA, Ph.D.
Dean, Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC College of Education
De La Salle University
Abstract
The paper provides an informed discussion on the current situation related to Philippine education, and charts direction for change actions from the perspective of a higher education. It intends to engage stakeholders in a conversation by: describing the priorities for the Education sector as indicated in the Philippine development plans; pointing out the emerging challenges and gaps between policy and reality; and identifying how teacher education institutions can respond through research, training, and social engagement.
Bionote
John Addy Garcia, Ph.D., is currently the Dean of the Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC College of Education, De La Salle University, and a Full Professor at its Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology. He has been involved in national policy formulation by serving as a member of different technical committees in government agencies, namely: Technical Committee for Guidance and Counseling under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); the Continuing Professional Development Council for Guidance Counselors under the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC); Project Advisory Committee (Teacher Motivation Study) - a joint project between the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO-INNOTECH).
Plenary 2
Learning Through the Pandemic and Responding to Students’ Changing Experiences of Education
Professor
University of Louisville, Kentucky
Abstract
The public conversations around education during the pandemic have often focused on concerns about possible gaps in student knowledge and skills. Yet teachers and researchers have also understood that it is important to understand the affective and emotional experiences students are having during these unsettled times as they have had to shift to learning from home, and back to school, often several times. The identities that students construct, as readers, writers, and learners, are always shaped by the intersections of affect and memory with social and institutional forces. In this talk I will discuss a research project undertaken during the pandemic in which I have conducted a series of interviews over two years with students about their efforts to navigate and adapt to their altered writing and learning situations. The students describe complex responses to the changing roles of technology, place, and social relationships in their experiences of school. From these experiences students are developing emotional dispositions and autobiographical memories that construct narratives about who they are as students as well as about their relationships to literacy practices and education. Regardless of how long the pandemic lasts, it is important to explore the ways in which the practices and perceptions of education developing now may resonate for years to come.
Bionote
Bronwyn T. Williams is a professor of English and director of the University Writing Center at the University of Louisville. He writes and teaches on issues of literacy, identity, digital media, sustainability, and community engagement. His current research focuses on the experiences of students and researchers during the pandemic. His most recent book is Literacy Practices and Perceptions of Agency: Composing Identities. Previous books include New Media Literacies and Participatory Popular Culture Across Borders; Shimmering Literacies: Popular Culture and Reading and Writing Online; and Identity Papers: Literacy and Power in Higher Education.
Joint Plenary Session
The Grand Tour: Exploring What’s New in Action Research
Facilitator: Dr. Mary Brydon-Miller
Featuring: Dr. Stephen D. Kroeger
Cartoonist
Abstract
In this session, join our colleague, Professor Mary Brydon-Miller as she visits fellow action researchers from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the Philippines in her (virtual) private plane to hear their stories about the amazing action research work being done in our region. This session is being co-hosted by the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Action Research Action Learning in the Philippines, the Action Learning Action Research Association in Australia, the New Zealand Action Research Network and the Malaysian Action Research Network and we’ll be welcoming guests from all of these organizations to come along for the ride! Professor Steve Kroeger will also be joining us to capture it all through the magic of his visual facilitation. Don’t miss the fun!
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