IAFOR > The Asian Conference on Education (ACE) > ACE2021 Overview

ACE2021 Overview

Special Announcement: ACE2021 will be held Online

Due to continued uncertainties surrounding the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, IAFOR has made the decision to hold ACE2021 entirely online via Zoom.

View the Conference Programme

Join us online for ACE2021!

November 25–28, 2021 | Held online from Tokyo, Japan

Welcome to The 13th Asian Conference on Education (ACE2021), held in partnership with the IAFOR Research Centre at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University, Japan.

ACE2021 encourages academics and scholars to meet and exchange ideas and views in an international forum stimulating respectful dialogue. This event will afford an exceptional opportunity for renewing old acquaintances, making new contacts, networking, and facilitating partnerships across national and disciplinary borders.

Since its founding in 2009, IAFOR has brought people and ideas together in a variety of events and platforms to promote and celebrate interdisciplinary study, and underline its importance. IAFOR continues to engage in many cross-sectoral projects across the world, including those engaging leading universities (Virginia Tech, UCL, Singapore Management University, University of Belgrade, Lingnan University, Barcelona University, University of Hawai’i, Moscow State University), think tanks, research organisations and agencies (the East-West Center, The Center for Higher Education Research, The World Intellectual Property Organization), as well as collaborative projects with governments and international governmental organisations (Government of Japan through the Prime Minister’s office, the United Nations in New York) and media agencies (The Wall Street Journal, JWT, HarperCollins).

With the IAFOR Research Centre at Osaka University, we have engaged in a number of interdisciplinary initiatives we believe will have an important impact on domestic and international public policy conversations and outcomes.

IAFOR's unique global platform facilitates discussion around specific subject areas, with the goal of generating new knowledge and understanding, forging and expanding new international, intercultural and interdisciplinary research networks and partnerships. We have no doubt that ACE2021 will offer a remarkable opportunity for the sharing of research and best practice and for the meeting of people and ideas.

We look forward to seeing you online!

– The ACE2021 Organising Committee

Tien-Hui Chiang, Zhengzhou University, China
Joseph Haldane, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan
Tzu-Bin Lin, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan
Barbara Lockee, Virginia Tech., USA
Yvonne Masters, University of New England, Australia
José McClanahan, Creighton University, USA
Justin Sanders, Temple University, Japan Campus

IAFOR Journal of Education (Scopus Indexed Journal)

This conference is associated with the Scopus and DOAJ listed IAFOR Journal of Education.
 

Key Information
  • Venue & Location: Held online from Tokyo, Japan
  • Dates: Thursday, November 25, 2021 ​to Sunday, November 28, 2021
  • Early Bird Abstract Submission Deadline: July 01, 2021*
  • Final Abstract Submission Deadline: September 01, 2021
  • Registration Deadline for Presenters: October 14, 2021

*Submit early to take advantage of the discounted registration rates. Learn more about our registration options.

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Conference Outline*

Thursday, November 25, 2021Friday, November 26, 2021Saturday, November 27, 2021Sunday, November 28, 2021

09:00–12:00: Plenary Session

12:00–13:15: Lunch Break

13:15–14:45: Plenary Session

14:45–15:00: Break

15:00–16:30: Plenary Session

09:00–10:30: Parallel Sessions

10:30–10:45: Break

10:45–12:15: Parallel Sessions

12:15–13:15: Lunch Break

13:15–14:45: Parallel Sessions

14:45–15:00: Break

15:00–16:30: Parallel Sessions

16:30–17:00: Break

17:00–18:00: Parallel Sessions

09:00–10:30: Parallel Sessions

10:30–10:45: Break

10:45–12:15: Parallel Sessions

12:15–13:15: Lunch Break

13:15–14:45: Parallel Sessions

14:45–15:00: Break

15:00–16:30: Parallel Sessions

16:30–17:00: Break

15:00–16:30: Parallel Sessions

09:00–10:30: Parallel Sessions

10:30–10:45: Break

10:45–12:15: Parallel Sessions

12:15–13:15: Lunch Break

13:15–14:45: Parallel Sessions

14:45–15:00: Break

15:00–16:30: Parallel Sessions

16:30–17:00: Break

17:00–18:00: Closing Session

The draft version of the Conference Programme will be available online on October 25, 2021. All registered delegates will be notified of this publication by email.

*Please be aware that the above schedule may be subject to change.

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Speakers

  • Kevin House
    Kevin House
    Education in Motion, Singapore, Durham University, UK & Chartered College of Teaching, UK
  • Yvonne Masters
    Yvonne Masters
    Executive Editor of the IAFOR Journal of Education (Scopus) & Independent Researcher, Australia
  • Robert Thorn
    Robert Thorn
    Developing Real Learners, Turkey

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Programme

  • A Cherished Burden: To Redesign Education with Purposeful Living as Its Core Outcome
    A Cherished Burden: To Redesign Education with Purposeful Living as Its Core Outcome
    Keynote Presentation: Kevin House
  • Being Resilient: Finding Ways to Publish in Difficult Times
    Being Resilient: Finding Ways to Publish in Difficult Times
    Keynote Presentation: Yvonne Masters

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Organising Committee

The Organising Committee of The 13th Asian Conference on Education (ACE) is composed of distinguished academics who are experts in their fields. Organising Committee members may also be members of IAFOR's International Academic Advisory 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 Organising 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
  • Joseph Haldane
    Joseph Haldane
    The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan
  • Tzu-Bin Lin
    Tzu-Bin Lin
    National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan
  • Barbara Lockee
    Barbara Lockee
    Virginia Tech., USA
  • 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

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Review Committee

  • Dr Sin Yu Cherry Chan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • Professor Chingya Chiu, Chang Jung Christian University, Taiwan
  • Dr Edsoulla Chung, The Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • Dr George Cremona, University of Malta, Malta
  • Professor Dary Dacanay, St. Patrick School, Philippines
  • Professor Biljana Djoric Francuski, University of Belgrade, Serbia
  • Dr Minako Inoue, Health Science University, Japan
  • Dr Hong Li, Emory University, United States
  • Dr Lewis Teo Piaw Liew, Mas Gading Community College, Malaysia
  • Dr Sonal Mobar Roy, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, India
  • Dr Nhung Nguyen, Deakin University, Australia
  • Dr Elymar Pascual, Talangan Integrated National High School, Philippines
  • Dr Kittipong Phumpuang, Naresuan University, Thailand
  • Dr Olga R. Bondarenko, Russian, Russia
  • Dr Nitta Roonkaseam, Phranakhon Rajabhat University, Thailand
  • Dr Nilda San Miguel, Masapang Elementary School, Philippines
  • Dr Andrew Spowage, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
  • Dr Ko Wai Tang, The Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • Dr Tina Wong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

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Kevin House
Education in Motion, Singapore, Durham University, UK & Chartered College of Teaching, UK

Biography

Kevin has spent almost thirty years in global education, and has worked in school systems in Africa, Europe and Asia. More recently he held a senior position with International Baccalaureate working on curriculum design and policy, before joining Education in Motion (EiM). He began his current role by establishing the group’s ConnectED Institute for Learning & Research and is now developing a new curriculum and credentialing model for a concept high school called SE21.

Kevin gained his doctorate in Education from the University of Bath where his thesis was awarded the Jeff Thompson Research Award. He has published academic work on such topics as educational values, pluriculturalism, teacher professional learning, curriculum & assessment design, and educational leadership.

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.

Keynote 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?
Robert Thorn
Developing Real Learners, Turkey

Biography

Robert Thorn is an international educator and former principal with more than thirty years’ experience in various educational systems and cultural settings. He is a proponent of learner-development-centred approaches to education and is the Founding Director of Developing Real Learners – a non-profit organization intent on helping schools develop learning communities that will, ‘through their own cultural perspectives, foster an approach to education that develops the holistic learner, leading to wise action and all within the current systems young people find themselves in.’ Robert’s message is one of communities transforming themselves and their approach to education through accessible and straightforward processes that rely on our common humanity and their own cultural perspectives. He is currently involved in projects in India, Pakistan, Singapore, Turkey and the Middle East.

Keynote Presentation (2022) | Beyond Resilience – Laying the Foundations of an Education Young People Really Need
A Cherished Burden: To Redesign Education with Purposeful Living as Its Core Outcome
Keynote Presentation: Kevin House

This presentation argues that the first two decades of this century have been dominated by global policymakers and think-tanks’ repeated warnings of student learning not meeting society’s future needs. This is in large part due to a fixation on a narrow taxonomy of academic knowledge that ignores ‘soft’ skills and capabilities development. Consequently, we face a skills crisis just as accelerating technological advancement is creating an employment one. Equally as unfortunate, this approach to education has also led to a hierarchical relationship in which society values abstract, academic learning to the detriment of experiential, skills-based learning. All this is compounded by industrial-scale examinations and league tables that weaponize academic outcomes and lead young learners to become disillusioned with the purpose of education.

In this era, how do we use education to build resilient young people equipped to face the enormous uncertainties of the future? Is it possible to bring academic knowledge, experiential knowledge, soft skills, and competencies together with greater equity? This presentation attempts to answer these questions by examining a concept high school that is currently being developed by the Education in Motion school group. This model posits that young people need schooling to provide actionable, not abstract solutions to problems created by our binary approach to education. This innovative high school model argues that learning design must acknowledge systems thinking, circular economics and sustainable citizenship while balancing disciplinary knowledge with skills for the future.

Read presenter's biography
Being Resilient: Finding Ways to Publish in Difficult Times
Keynote Presentation: Yvonne Masters

Back in March 2020, the IAFOR Journal of Education blog spoke about maintaining the impetus of writing and publishing, and its importance in academia. At that time, lock-downs were just starting and there was the same optimism as voiced in 1914: it’ll all be over by Christmas! It is now 18 months later and the end isn’t really in sight. Those in education have had to find new methods of delivery, and academics who research and publish have certainly had to develop strategies to maintain those all important accountability measures. So how has it been and can it be done? How can academics be resilient and continue to publish in difficult times?

In this forum discussion, the Executive Editor of the IAFOR Journal of Education will talk with members of the editorial and reviewing team who have met the challenge of continued publication. They will discuss the challenges and the strategies used to address these. For all those who struggle to maintain impetus in writing and publication, this forum may provide valuable insights into different ways of keeping focus.

Read presenter's biography
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
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
Barbara Lockee
Virginia Tech., USA

Biography

Dr Barbara Lockee is Professor of Instructional Design and Technology at Virginia Tech, USA, where she is also Associate Director of the School of Education and Associate Director of Educational Research and Outreach. She teaches courses in instructional design, message design, and distance education. Her research interests focus on instructional design issues related to technology-mediated learning. She has published more than 80 papers in academic journals, conferences and books, and has presented her scholarly work at over 90 national and international conferences.

Dr Lockee is Immediate Past President of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, an international professional organisation for educational technology researchers and practitioners. She earned her PhD in 1996 from Virginia Tech in Curriculum and Instruction (Instructional Technology), MA in 1991 from Appalachian State University in Curriculum and Instruction (Educational Media), and BA in 1986 from Appalachian State University in Communication Arts.

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.

Keynote 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
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