IAFOR > The Asian Conference on Education (ACE) > ACE2019

ACE2019

“Independence & Interdependence”

October 31 – November 03, 2019 | Toshi Center Hotel, Tokyo, Japan

The 2019 conference theme for The 11th Asian Conference on Education is “Independence & Interdependence”, and invites reflections on the desirability, extent and limits of our individual independence and autonomy, of that of our students, and of the institutions and structures within which we work, teach and learn. We do not educate, and are not educated in vacuums, but in such contexts and constraints as families, groups, and societies; of nations and cultures; of identities and religions; and of political and financial realities.

Ever changing technologies offer new ways for us to be independent and autonomous learners, encouraging students to be self-directed and confident in making choices, and enabling and empowering students and teachers to be proactive and tailor content. However, myriad technologies and services make us more dependent on the very things allowing autonomy. How do we help students and teachers alike navigate and curate the vast information available? How do we encourage individual growth while also underlining the importance of belonging and of the reciprocal responsibilities and privileges of education? How do we help students build the skills and attitudes necessary for positive engagement in distributed, globalised communities that so often lead to polarisation and alienation instead? How do we educate with independence and interdependence in mind?

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ACE2019 Photo Report

Above left: Dr Yvonne Masters, Editor-in-Chief of the IAFOR Journal of Education, provides a pre-conference workshop on getting published for a packed room of interested scholars. Above right: Professor Michael Menchaca from the University of Hawaii at Manoa (USA) draws on his experience of coordinating the online education system for the University of Hawai’i as he delivers his Keynote Presentation on technology in education, titled “Plenary Learning: Harnessing Technology to Support Independence and Interdependence to Maximize Learning for All”.

Above, clockwise from top left: Audience members ask questions throughout the plenary sessions, reflecting the engaging nature of the topics and the atmosphere of discussion and collaboration felt all through the conference. Professor Hidenobu Sumioka, from the Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, ATR, (Japan) discusses his cutting edge work with robotics and artificial intelligence and how these new technologies can benefit education in the future. A crowded room listens with interest as plenary speakers share their innovative ideas.

Above: During the Keynote Panel Presentation titled “Academic Governance / Management / Administration in Higher Education in Asia”, Dr Lisa Lam, from Hong Kong Baptist University (Hong Kong) offers her opening comments while the other panellists, (left to right) Dr Grant Black of Chuo University (Japan), Dr Wei Shin Leong, of National Institute of Education (Singapore), Dr Tsediso Michael Makoelle, of Nazarbayev University (Kazakhstan), Dr Reiko Yamada, of Doshisha University (Japan), and (not pictured) Dr Justin Sanders, of Temple University (Japan) take notes.

Above, clockwise from top left: Dr Grant Black moderates the Keynote Panel, guiding the conversation through the many issues surrounding academic administration. Dr Justin Sanders listens to questions from the audience during the Keynote Panel. Delegates pose for a group photo during a break between plenary sessions at the Toshi Center Hotel, in Tokyo, where ACE2019 welcomed almost 600 people from around the world for an exciting, engaging, and productive conference.

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Speakers

  • Grant Black
    Grant Black
    Black Inc. Consulting, Japan
  • Lisa Lam
    Lisa Lam
    Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR
  • Tsediso Michael Makoelle
    Tsediso Michael Makoelle
    Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
  • Michael Menchaca
    Michael Menchaca
    University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
  • Justin Sanders
    Justin Sanders
    Temple University, Japan Campus
  • Leong Wei Shin
    Leong Wei Shin
    National Institute of Education-Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
  • Hidenobu Sumioka
    Hidenobu Sumioka
    Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, ATR, Japan
  • Reiko Yamada
    Reiko Yamada
    Doshisha University, Japan

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Programme

  • Emerging Education with Social Robots
    Emerging Education with Social Robots
    Keynote Presentation: Hidenobu Sumioka
  • Plenary Learning: Harnessing Technology to Support Independence and Interdependence to Maximize Learning for All
    Plenary Learning: Harnessing Technology to Support Independence and Interdependence to Maximize Learning for All
    Featured Presentation: Michael Menchaca
  • Academic Governance / Management / Administration in Higher Education in Asia
    Academic Governance / Management / Administration in Higher Education in Asia
    Featured Panel Presentation: Grant Black, Lisa Lam, Tsediso Michael Makoelle, Leong Wei Shin, Reiko Yamada & Justin Sanders

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Organising Committee

The Conference Programme Committee is composed of distinguished academics who are experts in their fields. Conference Programme Committee members may also be members of IAFOR's International Academic Board. The Organising Committee is responsible for nominating and vetting Keynote and Featured Speakers; developing the conference programme, including special workshops, panels, targeted sessions, and so forth; event outreach and promotion; recommending and attracting future Conference Programme Committee members; working with IAFOR to select PhD students and early career academics for IAFOR-funded grants and scholarships; and overseeing the reviewing of abstracts submitted to the conference.

  • Tien-Hui Chiang
    Tien-Hui Chiang
    Zhengzhou University, China
  • Steve Cornwell
    Steve Cornwell
    The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) & Osaka Jogakuin University, Japan
  • Joseph Haldane
    Joseph Haldane
    The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan
  • Tzu-Bin Lin
    Tzu-Bin Lin
    National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan
  • Yvonne Masters
    Yvonne Masters
    Executive Editor of the IAFOR Journal of Education (Scopus) & Independent Researcher, Australia
  • José McClanahan
    José McClanahan
    Creighton University, USA
  • Justin Sanders
    Justin Sanders
    Temple University, Japan Campus
  • Zachary Walker
    Zachary Walker
    Institute of Education, University College London, UK

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ACE2019 Review Committee

  • Professor Cynthia Abella, University of the East, Philippines
  • Dr Nancy Mcbride Arrington, Georgia Southern University, United States
  • Dr Annette Bradford, Meiji University, Japan
  • Professor Li-Yueh Chen, Weixin Shengjiao College, Taiwan
  • Dr Pin-Ju Chen, Saint Mary's Junior College of Medicine, Nursing & Management, Taiwan
  • Professor Chingya Chiu, Chang Jung Christian University, Taiwan
  • Professor Dary Dacanay, St. Patrick School, Philippines
  • Dr Susi Darihastining, STKIP PGRI Jombang, Indonesia
  • Dr Minako Inoue, Health Science University, Japan
  • Dr Charu Jain, National Council of Applied Economic Research, India
  • Dr Eva Julianti P, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Dr Norman Tiong Seng Lee, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
  • Dr Siu-Lun Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • Dr Ruey-Fa Lin, FengChia University, Taiwan
  • Dr Shu-Wen Lin, Sojo University, Japan
  • Dr Sonal Mobar Roy, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, India
  • Dr Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh, La Trobe University, Australia
  • Dr Non Naprathansuk, Maejo University, Thailand
  • Dr Nhung Nguyen, Deakin University, Australia
  • Dr Marilyn Obod, Our Lady of Fatima University, Philippines
  • Dr Christopher Estibar Olipas, Olm Institute and Skills Training Center for Allied Courses, Inc., Philippines
  • Dr Elleine Rose Oliva, University of Mindanao, Philippines
  • Dr Elymar Pascual, Talangan Integrated National High School, Philippines
  • Dr Hansel Hope Perez, Our Lady of Fatima University, Philippines
  • Dr Metee Pigultong, Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT), Thailand
  • Dr Nitta Roonkaseam, Phranakhon Rajabhat University, Thailand
  • Dr Carla Rudder, Rabdan Academy, United Arab Emirates
  • Dr Nilda San Miguel, San Juan Elementary School, Philippines
  • Dr Vilma Sangian, Tapia Elementary School, Montevista District, Division of Compostela Valley, Philippines
  • Dr Aisha Sayidina, American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
  • Dr Diana Po Lan Sham, Hong Kong Chinese Institute of Engineers, Hong Kong
  • Professor Gregorio Sismondo, The National Teachers College, Philippines
  • Dr Kenneth Tan, Singapore Management University, Singapore
  • Dr Ko Wai Tang, The Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • Professor Jane Teng, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris Malaysia, Malaysia
  • Dr Sonia Timog, Paco Catholic School, Philippines
  • Dr Elisa Valdez, New Era University, Philippines
  • Dr Jessie Ming Sin Wong, The Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • Dr Tina Wong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

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Grant Black
Black Inc. Consulting, Japan

Biography

Grant Black DSocSci CMgr FCMI FRSA Dr Grant Black is President of Black Inc. Consulting (Japan), a business & university global strategic management firm based in Tokyo. He holds a BA Highest Honors in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara; an MA in Buddhist Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles; and a Doctor of Social Science (DSocSci) from the Department of Management in the School of Business at the University of Leicester. Grant began his management training at Hyatt and has a career trend as global manager, systems builder, executive leader and university professor. Most recently he held a six-year post as an associate professor in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Tsukuba. Research areas: global management skills, intercultural intelligence (CQ) and organisational management. Dr Black is a Chartered Manager (CMgr), the highest status that can be achieved in the management profession in the UK. In 2018, he was elected a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).

Dr Grant Black is a Vice-President (at large) of IAFOR and Auditor of the organisation. He is a member of the Business & Economics section of the International Academic Advisory Board.

Panel Presentation (2019) | Academic Governance/Management/Administration in Higher Education in Asia
Lisa Lam
Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR

Biography

Dr Lisa Lam is currently the Assistant Director of General Education (GE) at the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), Hong Kong SAR. She is responsible for managing the university-wide GE curriculum, assuring the quality of GE courses, and co-managing the University Core Curriculum with other academic units. The latest projects are to implement the new GE curriculum, and to work with faculty members to develop at least 120 new interdisciplinary GE courses and credit-bearing service-learning/experiential learning GE courses. The new development is in line with the university’s efforts to provide the best student experience and enhanced community impact in student learning. Dr Lam holds a BA in English, an MPhil in Intercultural Studies and a PhD in Cultural Studies from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Panel Presentation (2019) | Academic Governance/Management/Administration in Higher Education in Asia
Tsediso Michael Makoelle
Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

Biography

Tsediso Michael Makoelle is currently the Vice Dean for Research and an associate professor at Nazarbayev University in Nur-sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan. He is one of the recipients of the prestigious Nelson Mandela scholarship to the UK. He holds the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Inclusive Education from the University of Manchester (UK) and a Doctor of Education (DEd) in Education Management and Leadership from the University of South Africa (UNISA). His span of experience in education stretches for more than 25 years in various teaching and leadership capacities at universities and schools in South Africa and abroad. He has written and published extensively on inclusive education and education leadership for both a national and international readership. He has supervised to completion several Master and PhD students and members of several international research bodies. He is a reviewer of grants applications for the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), has reviewed papers for several international journals, and evaluated research doctoral and master theses for several universities in South Africa and elsewhere. He has also reviewed post graduate courses and programmes for many universities and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. He is passionate about inclusive education with research interests in conceptualisation and operationalisation of inclusive pedagogy within the disadvantaged South African classroom contexts and beyond. He has devoted his research work to the framework of Participatory Action Research, informed by notions of critical, reflective practitioners and transformative epistemologies.

Michael Menchaca
University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA

Biography

Professor Michael Menchaca currently coordinates online and hybrid programs in the Department of Learning Design and Technology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He has taught at the University of Hawaii for over ten years. He previously taught in and coordinated online programs at Sacramento State University. He was an IT specialist for many years in the public and private sector. He teaches and conducts research in the areas of online learning, technology integration, and social justice with technology.

Featured Presentation (2019) | Plenary Learning: Harnessing Technology to Support Independence and Interdependence to Maximize Learning for All.

Justin Sanders
Temple University, Japan Campus

Biography

Justin Sanders has worked in a range of educational settings globally. Most recently he served in Singapore as Global Recognition Manager for the International Baccalaureate (IB), helping the organisation build bridges with higher education institutions around the world and improving postsecondary pathways for more than 100,000 IB students annually. Before relocating to Singapore, he spent several years with the IB’s research department in Washington, DC, investigating and communicating the impact of an IB education. During his time at the Association for Community College Trustees, he assisted community college boards and senior administrators around the United States in improving their institutional governance and administration. Prior to moving to Washington, he served for two years as an education volunteer with the United States Peace Corps in Azerbaijan, where he worked on improving educational infrastructure and capacity in a small rural community. Throughout his career, he has helped to organise dozens of local, national and international education conferences and events. He holds a BA in intercultural communication from the University of Arizona, an MA in international education from The George Washington University, and is currently pursuing a PhD in international education at Osaka University, Japan. His research explores the conception and implementation of internationalisation at national universities in Asia.

Panel Presentation (2019) | Academic Governance/Management/Administration in Higher Education in Asia
Leong Wei Shin
National Institute of Education-Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Biography

Dr Leong Wei Shin is Assistant Dean of Degree Programme and Student Life at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (NIE-NTU), Singapore. Prior to joining NIE-NTU, Wei Shin was serving as Head of Aesthetics Department with a secondary school and a Unit Coordinator at Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education (MOE). Wei Shin currently teaches undergraduate, graduate and executive leadership and professional development courses on curriculum planning and implementation, assessment literacy, formative assessment and reflective practices. He is also involved in leading several research projects on Assessment for Learning and student self-regulation in MOE and schools (e.g. http://www.nie.edu.sg/project/oer-12-15-ccd). As the focal contact person for NIE of the Network on Education Quality Monitoring in Asia Pacific, he has regularly been invited by UNESCO to be their assessment specialist-representative and guest speaker on formative assessment and alignment of curriculum, assessment and teaching.

Hidenobu Sumioka
Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, ATR, Japan

Biography

Dr Hidenobu Sumioka is attached to the Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory in ATR, Japan, where he is the group leader of Presence Media Research Group. This group makes use of presence media technologies such as Hugvie, a cushion with a minimalistic human-shape design that transmits human presence, that integrate tactile information and remote conversation in order to improve interaction and reduce stress. With the collaboration of the industry consortium, this technology aims to create new business areas such as remote counseling.

Dr Sumioka is an invited Associate Professor in the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, Department of Systems Innovation at the Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University. He is also an Invited Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Intercultural Studies at Kobe University. He has also been a senior assistant at Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Informatics, University of Zurich, Switzerland, and a fellow of Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

Keynote Presentation (2019) | Emerging Education with Social Robots
Reiko Yamada
Doshisha University, Japan

Biography

Dr Reiko Yamada is a professor at the Faculty of Social Studies and Director of the Center for Higher Education and Student Research at Kyoto’s Doshisha University, Japan, where she was also the former dean of the Faculty of Social Studies. She received her MA and PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Education, in Social Sciences and Comparative Education. She has long been interested in comparative higher education policy in OECD countries. More recently, she has conducted a quantitative study for student development and is engaged in comparative student research between Japan, Korea and the United States. She served as the Director of the Center for Learning Support and Faculty of Development and Assistant Academic provost at Doshisha University. She also served on the committee of the Central Education Council in Japan. She was the first president of the Japanese Association of the First-Year Experience. She is the author of For the Quality Assurance of Undergraduate Education (Toshindo, 2012). She is also editor of Quality of Higher Education and its Evaluation: Japan and the World, (Toshindo, 2016).

Emerging Education with Social Robots
Keynote Presentation: Hidenobu Sumioka

Recent advances in robotic technologies enable robots to support us in our daily activities such as social interactions. Such robots, called social robots, often make us interact in more intuitive and casual ways than a real human because of the lack of nonverbal cues and demographic messages. Thanks to this characteristic, they are just beginning to be applied to various fields of social interaction such as education. In this talk, I will present the potential applications of social robots in education, introducing three aspects. First, social robots can easily change their relationship with us by playing different roles. They can become our teachers, our students, and our peers, depending on their social contexts. Second, by referring to our field experiment with a teleoperated android, I will show that they can facilitate human-human communication and can also provide opportunities for us to improve communication skills. Finally, I will present the physical embodiment of the robot that enables us to overcome our limitation to build social bonds with people and provide us with a new way of making close human relationships.

Read presenter biographies.

Plenary Learning: Harnessing Technology to Support Independence and Interdependence to Maximize Learning for All
Featured Presentation: Michael Menchaca

Many of us have heard the term plenary to describe a conference session. But what does that really mean? Plenary can be defined two ways: Complete in every aspect and fully attended by all entitled to be present. Thus, in regards to a conference, a plenary session is one that every registrant is entitled to attend and there should not be competing sessions at the same time. In its more general definition, plenary refers to totality: For example, plenary power, which is power complete and boundless.

From an educational standpoint, plenary learning should be something we strive for: complete and boundless education for all. While I do not purport to provide ultimate answers to centuries old, deeply philosophic ruminations about the nature of knowledge, I will provide a model for how technologies can afford understanding in complex learning environments.

To that end, the session will focus on the conference theme and provide a model for and examples of technologies that support both independence and interdependence and ultimately “encourage individual growth while also underlining the importance of belonging and of the reciprocal responsibilities and privileges of education.

Read presenter biographies.

Academic Governance / Management / Administration in Higher Education in Asia
Featured Panel Presentation: Grant Black, Lisa Lam, Tsediso Michael Makoelle, Leong Wei Shin, Reiko Yamada & Justin Sanders

For universities to compete in the global marketplace, excellence in research and teaching are standard principles. Increasingly, operational efficiency is added to that list. Along with the global trend toward convergence around these standards, it is now commonplace to expect faculty members who lead a campus, department or program, additionally to be excellent in leadership, strategy and management. The skills of research and teaching do not necessarily align well with those needed for leadership and management. The need is pressing for hybrid individuals with both academic and administrative expertise.

Challenges in academic management are pervasive in tertiary education worldwide. Particularly in Asia, often historic management practices – university-wide and at all levels of operations – are likely to differ in organisational culture from management principles adopted through university reform. Differences between governance and management, and the role of faculty (both as individuals and as a body) place new demands on the organisation. Is there a gap between policy and implementation? In the rapid shift to new governance and academic management models, to what extent has the historic foundation of university administration remained in place while only adopting the nomenclature and surface appearance of reform? How can we evaluate the translation of reform policy on the macro and micro levels of government policy, institutional reform, departmental practices, and student learning outcomes? In the Asian context, are there country differences in approach to training and support for academic management? This expert panel of practitioners will engage in a lively discussion around these timely questions.

Read presenter biographies.

Tien-Hui Chiang
Zhengzhou University, China

Biography

Distinguished Professor Tien-Hui Chiang is the Vice President of RC04 (Sociology of Education) of International Sociological Association, UNESCO, a member of the Constitutional Standing Committee of the World Congress of Comparative Education Societies UNESCO and the International Distinguished Professor of University of Crete, Greece. He was a Fulbright Senior Scholar, visiting at UW-Madison, Wisconsin, USA, Guest Professor at Beijing Normal University and is the Ex-President of the Taiwan Association for Sociology of Education. His specialty covers sociology of education, globalization and education policy, sociology of curriculum, teaching profession and comparative education. He has written over 100 essays. He was the co-editor of Cross Education Dialogue, Crisis in Education and Interculturalism. He was also a contributor to Elite, Privileges and Excellence edited by Professor S. Ball. His outstanding academic achievements have awarded Professor Chiang many prizes, such as the Distinguished Scholar of the Ministry of Education, Taiwan. He is the editor of International Journal of Educational Research and Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, and a section editor of the Springer Encyclopedia: Educational Philosophy and Theories and the Springer Encyclopedia: Teacher Education.

Keynote Presentation (2018) | Teacher Competences Function as the Discourse of International Competitiveness within the Institutionalized Milieu in the Epoch of Globalization
Steve Cornwell
The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) & Osaka Jogakuin University, Japan

Biography

Steve Cornwell is the President of IAFOR, and President of the Academic Governing Board. He coordinates and oversees the International Academic Advisory Board, and also serves on the organization's Board of Directors.

Dr Cornwell is Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Studies at Osaka Jogakuin University, and also teaches in the online portion of the MA TESOL Programme for the New School in New York. He helped write and design several of the New School courses and has been involved with the programme since its inception.

He has also been involved with the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT), (an affiliate of IAFOR) serving on its National Board of Directors as Director of Programme from 2012-2016; where his duties involved working with a volunteer team of 50+ to put on JALT’s annual, international conference each autumn.

Most recently, since 2012, he has been the Committee Chair of Osaka Jogakuin University’s Lifelong Learning Committee and is responsible for their evening extension Programme geared towards alumni and community members. He is also the Vice-Chair of Osaka Jogakuin University’s English Education Committee which is responsible for suggesting policy regarding English Education and also responsible for developing material for the integrated curriculum.

Joseph Haldane
The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan

Biography

Joseph Haldane is the Chairman and CEO of IAFOR. He is responsible for devising strategy, setting policies, forging institutional partnerships, implementing projects, and overseeing the organisation’s business and academic operations, including research, publications and events.

Dr Haldane holds a PhD from the University of London in 19th-century French Studies, and has had full-time faculty positions at the University of Paris XII Paris-Est Créteil (France), Sciences Po Paris (France), and Nagoya University of Commerce and Business (Japan), as well as visiting positions at the French Press Institute in the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas (France), The School of Journalism at Sciences Po Paris (France), and the School of Journalism at Moscow State University (Russia).

Dr Haldane’s current research concentrates on post-war and contemporary politics and international affairs, and since 2015 he has been a Guest Professor at The Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University, where he teaches on the postgraduate Global Governance Course, and Co-Director of the OSIPP-IAFOR Research Centre, an interdisciplinary think tank situated within Osaka University.

He is also a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade, a Member of the International Advisory Council of the Department of Educational Foundations at the College of Education of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network for Global Governance.

From 2012 to 2014, Dr Haldane served as Treasurer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (Chubu Region) and he is currently a Trustee of the HOPE International Development Agency (Japan). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society in 2012, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2015.

A black belt in judo, he is married with two children, and lives in Japan.

Tzu-Bin Lin
National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan

Biography

Dr Tzu-Bin Lin (林子斌) is an associate professor at the Department of Education and Graduate Institute of Education Policy and Administration, National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU). Prior to this position, he was the full-time learning researcher at Bournemouth University (BU) in the UK and assistant professor in the Policy and Leadership Academic Group in the National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore. While working at NIE, He was the Coordinator for Management and Leadership in Schools (MLS) program for two years. Currently, Dr Lin is the Head of Intern Program and Supervision Division at the Office of Teacher Education and Career Service at NTNU. He is also in charge of the nation-wide leadership empowerment program for potential curriculum leaders in junior high schools funded by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan. Dr Lin’s research interests are in education policy and leadership, media literacy and TESOL. He was the executive editor and editorial board member of the Bulletin of Educational Research. Currently, he is an assistant editor of Cogent Education and editorial board member in several international journals such as Asia TEFL, NAMLE journal of Media Literacy Education, Secondary Education Quarterly (Chinese) and Journal of Educational Research and Development (Chinese).

Featured Presentation (2017) | Continuing Professional Development for Educational Professionals in Secondary Schools: A Case Study of a Leadership Empowerment Program in Taiwan
Yvonne Masters
Executive Editor of the IAFOR Journal of Education (Scopus) & Independent Researcher, Australia

Biography

Yvonne Masters is an independent researcher in Australia. She has been involved with IAFOR for several years as a member of The Asian Conference for Education Organising Committee, as co-facilitator of The Asian Undergraduate Research Symposium, and as a member of the International Academic Advisory Board. Yvonne is the current Editor-in-Chief of the IAFOR Journal of Education, a Scopus indexed, open access journal on education.

Yvonne was a teacher and teacher educator for over 40 years and is still passionate about education. She was a senior lecturer in Professional Classroom Practice in the School of Education, University of New England, Australia, a position that she accepted after five years as Director of Professional Experience in the same School. Prior to taking up her position at UNE, she had 30 years’ experience in secondary schools including in the roles of Curriculum Coordinator, Deputy Principal and Principal. Her teaching experience spans three Australian states. Her research interests centre on undergraduate research, academic publication, teacher education and policy, professional experience, teacher identity, online learning and virtual worlds. Yvonne was awarded her PhD, focused on school principalship, from Deakin University.

She is an active researcher and gained, in collaboration with other researchers, 4 Internal UNE School of Education Research grants; was a partner in a $200,000 ALTC (OLT) grant, VirtualPREX: Innovative assessment using a 3D virtual world with pre-service teachers; in 2014 achieved a UNE Seed Grant for a one year project to explore teacher quality; and in 2015 gained a $50,000 OLT seed grant to develop resources to assist pre-service teachers to gain online teaching skills to assist them in teaching wholly online into virtual schools.

Yvonne serves as a reviewer for several education journals and is a senior reviewer for IAFOR conferences. She presents on a variety of education topics including publishing as an academic, teacher education policy, undergraduate research, and online teaching at a range of conferences, both Australian and international.

Roundtable Presentation (2021) | Being Resilient: Finding Ways to Publish in Difficult Times

Previous Presentations

Keynote Presentation (2020) | Embracing Difference/Challenging Difference: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Workshop Presentation (2020) | Embracing Difference, Finding Commonality – Collaborative Research and Writing
Featured Panel Presentation (2018) | Thriving in Publication: Ethical Guiding Principles for Academic Publication
Featured Presentation (2017) | Change in Education: By Whom? For Whom?
José McClanahan
Creighton University, USA

Biography

Dr Joseph (José) McClanahan is an Associate Professor of Spanish and Associate Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. There, he teaches at all levels of the curriculum, including language and culture courses abroad. He has taught in both Latin America and Spain. Recently, his research interests have focused on the area of teaching courses related to Languages for Special Purposes, in particular courses related to teaching Spanish to future healthcare professionals. He also has a strong interest in curricular development and design that centres on new students entering the university. He has also led student educational trips to almost every continent on the globe.

Featured Presentation (2017) | Skills for the Future: How Mentoring Students Through Undergraduate Research Provides Tools for Success After University
Justin Sanders
Temple University, Japan Campus

Biography

Justin Sanders has worked in a range of educational settings globally. Most recently he served in Singapore as Global Recognition Manager for the International Baccalaureate (IB), helping the organisation build bridges with higher education institutions around the world and improving postsecondary pathways for more than 100,000 IB students annually. Before relocating to Singapore, he spent several years with the IB’s research department in Washington, DC, investigating and communicating the impact of an IB education. During his time at the Association for Community College Trustees, he assisted community college boards and senior administrators around the United States in improving their institutional governance and administration. Prior to moving to Washington, he served for two years as an education volunteer with the United States Peace Corps in Azerbaijan, where he worked on improving educational infrastructure and capacity in a small rural community. Throughout his career, he has helped to organise dozens of local, national and international education conferences and events. He holds a BA in intercultural communication from the University of Arizona, an MA in international education from The George Washington University, and is currently pursuing a PhD in international education at Osaka University, Japan. His research explores the conception and implementation of internationalisation at national universities in Asia.

Panel Presentation (2019) | Academic Governance/Management/Administration in Higher Education in Asia
Zachary Walker
Institute of Education, University College London, UK

Biography

Dr Zachary Walker is an academic, author, and speaker. In 2018, Zachary joined the University College London (UCL) Institute of Education (IOE) as an Associate Professor. At IOE, Zachary currently serves in the Department of Psychology and Human Development as the Programme Leader for Graduate Programs in Special Education and International Inclusive Leadership.

Prior to joining IOE, Zachary was a faculty member at the National Institute of Education in Singapore from 2013-2018, where he served as a leader in Pedagogical Development and Innovation and on the 21st Century Teaching and Learning Framework taskforce.

He was named a Think College Emerging Scholar (2012), as well as a Millennium Milestone Maker by the World Academy for the Future of Women (2015). He was awarded the John Cheung Social Media Award for Innovation in Teaching and Pedagogy (2015), and was nominated for the Wharton School Reimagine Education Awards (2016). Zachary's current work focuses on educational neuroscience, mobile technology, and leadership. He has delivered talks to education leaders and higher education faculty in North America, Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Keynote Presentation (2018) | The Things that Do Not Change