Last week, many GIER members attended the AARE 2023 conference in beautiful Melbourne. We, GIER, are very excited about supporting every GIER member, specially our HDR students. PhD students presented across symposiums and individual papers. Six PhD students presented in two symposiums organised by our GIER members, A/Prof Jen Alford and Dr Greg Vass.
A/P Jen Alford organised and presented a symposium called Challenging assumptions about getting to the school gate; exposing systemic, sexual harassment; resisting racist, colonial attitudes… all in a day’s work for girls and women in schools? This symposium included three empirical papers presented by our students, Rochelle Banks, Areej Yousef and Nina Ginsberg. These three talented students explored how place/places/contexts shape the experiences of girls and women in education, and subsequently make more visible the truths of their experiences and their capacity to make their voices heard.
Dr Greg Vass gathered with Bradley Hall, Danson Zheng and Nandini Dutta to present The educational imagination, policy discourses, and possible futures: in the case of global citizenship, competency based reforms, and excellence programs. The symposium explore education policy related concerns to do with power, decision-making, and the potential for social implications that flow beyond the school gate. Nandini, Brad and Danson traversed through contextual terrains that critically interrogated the how’s and why’s behind that explain the structural arrangements and practices within the educational system.
The AARE experience was very positively received by our students. Areej said that “It was exciting to attend and present for the first time at AARE and I am very thankful for the flexibility and support of GIER. As a Palestinian Australian academic, I am feeling rather vulnerable during this time, so to get an opportunity to present and talk about my research in which “voice” and giving voice to marginalised communities is a pivotal goal is very important.
Areej gifted us a very heartwarming presentation. She left us with a strong provocation “If we (e.g. as a Muslim Palestinian female scholar) are taking the risk to tell these stories and to come present in such a precarious political environment, are we all willing to truly listen?”. We all hope that we are willing to truly listen.
For our recently awarded Dr Nandini Dutta,
Attending AARE, 2023 was more than a mere event; it was a journey of discovery and growth. From casual conversations over coffee to more structured networking sessions, the conference not only allowed me to share my insights but also connected me with a community of passionate individuals dedicated to advancing knowledge and education. The invaluable connections made, and the knowledge gained will undoubtedly resonate throughout my academic and professional journey.
Finally, Brad also reported about his experience at the AARE 2023 and said that
AARE provided me a thrilling time engaging with research and scholars face-to-face (including my external supervisor) related to Health and Physical Education. It was also a joy to spend time with fellow Griffith HDR’s in a different environment.
We are proud of our students’ initiative, engagement, and performance; they also conveyed being grateful for the grants we, GIER, provided them to attend AARE. Brad said he “hoped that they continue this initiative, as it was a truly valuable experience”. Nandini shared Brad words by adding, “A heartfelt thank you goes out to GIER (Griffith University for Educational Research) for providing me with the opportunity to be part of this enriching experience. We also hope the same, Brad. We do enjoy supporting our great students’ ideas.
You can also see more photos and know more about the AARE 2023 experience on our Linkedin Post
