The IEA IRC kicked off day two with two inspiring keynote talks that focused on the conference’s overall theme, Researching Education for Sustainable Futures.
Prof. Gabriella Agrusti from the Universitá LUMSA outlined how data from IEA studies can measure progress in improving student outcomes that contribute to a more sustainable future, providing examples of student-centered teaching strategies to enhance students’ understanding of sustainability.
"There is a shift that is maybe needed in pedagogical citizenship... a holistic approach to teaching Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) with other elements of citizenship in schools.”
For more teaching strategies, see IEA Teacher Snippet Sustainability in the Classroom and Beyond, authored by Gabriella.
The second keynote speech of the day by Prof. Renata Maria Viganò highlighted how education can drive social change, with educational research being a resource for sustainable futures by being able to offer evidence-backed insights from large-scale assessments for policy and practice.
"The best is the enemy of the good; the good has to be actioned and cannot be postponed for the ‘best action’"
In keeping with the conference theme, Researching Education for Sustainable Futures, the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College released the first TIMSS Insights report, Environmental Awareness in TIMSS 2023, during their symposia on TIMSS 2023. The report examines how environmental knowledge varies between students based on socioeconomic status, school location, and the role parents, teachers, and schools play in fostering students’ environmental knowledge. View the TIMSS 2023 Insights report here.
Throughout the breaks, delegates had the opportunity to view the poster submissions dedicated to visualizing and utilizing IEA data. The posters fall into one of the four conference categories: IEA special topics, policy, practice, and methodology. The Constantinos Papanastasiou Poster Prize winner will be announced on Friday, 27 June.
We will wrap up the day by the River Tiber over the group dinner.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to today’s discussions and exchange of ideas. We look forward to what the final day of the conference brings.