CERC/SOE2025 welcomes abstracts/proposals from a wide variety of interdisciplinary and theoretical perspectives, and submissions are organized into the streams and sub-streams listed below:
 

1. Development Policies and Practices for/in Education

This sub-theme invites contributions that critically engage with the tensions and current priorities of education policies and practices at the local, national, regional and international levels. The sub-theme encourages paper submissions which address issues on education policy agendas, including, but not limited to, questions of power in governance, planning, finance and accountability of/in education systems. Contributions may engage with education policy discourses both historically and in relation to post-pandemic emergencies and current uncertainties/insecurities. The sub-theme particularly explores the strategic way/s in which uncertainty raises questions about the future of/in education such as:

1.  How has the dynamics of resilience influenced the framing of educational policy in the Caribbean?
2.  What do the characteristics of resilience imply for progress in education and human development, and how these might be implemented, particularly as it relates to historically marginalised contexts and groups?
3. In what way/s has politics been harnessed to create and sustain programmes which enable and value new forms of work, drive innovation and inform reform?

Discussing the influence of resilience on policy, whether at the local, national, regional or international levels, and its attendant implications for educational development and practices, would therefore include sub-themes such as the following:

• Shaping Resilience-focused Caribbean Education Policy
• Policy Making as a Tool for Maximizing Resilience
• Resilience as Human Resource Development
• Policy as Innovation and Curriculum Resilience
• Planning for Education in Emergencies
• Financing Education in Times of Uncertainty
• Education Policy as History and Power

2. Addressing Conflict, Crisis and Violence through/in Education

The sub-theme invites contributions which explore the complex relationship between education, conflict, crisis and violence through/in Education. Questions to guide paper submissions include:

1. What role should Caribbean education systems and agents play in contributing to educational provisions in circumstances of conflict and crisis?

2. What have been the implications of ensuring access, quality and continuity of education during displacement resulting from conflict, crisis and violence?

3. How have learners, teachers and parents, living in contexts of transition and insecurity, navigated pathways towards sustainable living?

Papers reflecting theoretically and experientially on the relationship between education, conflict, crisis and violence during the current moment of increased global tension, division, and violence are welcomed to explore topics such as:

• Building Resilience Skills through Instruction in the Caribbean
• Conflict Resolution as Resilience
• Students' Educational Attainment and the Role of Parents in Resilience Teaching/Support
• Safe Learning as an Imperative
• Interrogating the Value of Conflict Management in Schools’ Curricula
• Schooling in Times of Conflict, Crisis and Insecurity

3. Curriculum Reform in Times of Uncertainty

This sub-theme emphasises the connections between curriculum and the cultural, political, economic, social, and environmental factors and practices that shape opportunities and restrains change. While new understandings emerge to explain the current “what” and “how” of teaching and learning, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocates for a new insistence on the broader challenges of curriculum reform, such as access and quality issues, particularly because the settings in which teaching and learning occur have become highly contested, transitional and insecure. The sub-theme invites reflection on questions such as:

1. How are knowledge, skills, attitudes and values prioritized and become the basis for teaching in contexts like the Caribbean?

2. What capabilities and practices have defined future-focused education at the local, national, regional and international levels?

3. How has uncertainty determined the “what” and “how” of education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of schooling?

Research/papers focusing on curriculum policies, practices and the implications for transformative education in the Global South and North are welcomed. Papers may also focus on sub-themes such as:

• Advocating for a Caribbean Education of/for the Future
• Barriers and facilitators that Impact on the Implementation of Curriculum Reform aimed at Supporting Resilience
• Curriculum for/in Uncertainty
• Radicalising Curriculum for Education Transformation
• Advocating for Inclusive, Equitable, and High-Quality Education
• Influential Factors Shaping Educational Systems and Processes

4. Technology and Resilience

This sub-theme explores the emergence and integration of technology in education. It invites discussions on innovative practices, emerging trends, and the challenges and opportunities the digital age presents. It encourages papers which interrogate the critical role of cutting-edge technologies in building resilience. This sub-theme asks the questions such:

1. How are Caribbean education institutions approaching digital transformation?
2. What role does/should technology play in enabling education and training that is sustainable, inclusive, and empowering for learners?
3. In what ways are new technologies (re)shaping the purpose and future of education?

Papers are also invited which focus on sub-themes such as:

• Education and New Technologies in Caribbean Education
• Digital Resilience as Innovation and Strategy
• Digital Skills Funds: Transforming the Challenge of Service in the Caribbean
• Emerging Trends in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity
• The Role of Technology in Higher Education as a Transformative Tool for Resilience/Sustainability
• Online and Blended Learning in Education

5. Supporting Student and Teacher Wellbeing

This sub-theme asserts that understanding the nature of the wellbeing practices and psychological skills needed to navigate the challenges affecting learning and teaching today warrants exploration. The sub-theme invites submissions which consider: the way/s in which mental and physical health interact with the workloads of teachers and learners to affect learning and teaching and the nature of mental health and wellbeing initiatives which nurture resilient. It examines the importance of well-being practices in fostering healthy learning and teaching environments. This sub-theme asks questions such as:

1. How do Caribbean education institutions enable and foster healthy learning and teaching settings?

2. How might competencies such as self-awareness, responsible decision-making, and relationship skills be nurtured to empower students to achieve academic success?

3. What practices or strategies might support safe learning environments and/or the development of a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing?

Other sub-themes include:

• Towards a Model of Student Wellbeing in the Caribbean
• Building Capacity by Supporting Wellbeing Practices
• Teacher Wellbeing as a Source of Resilience
• Emerging Trends in Student and Teacher Wellbeing Research
• Supporting Teachers to Improve Teaching and Learning
• Creating Safe Learning Environments

6. Education for Sustainability

This sub-theme focuses on ways in which education might be leveraged to provide opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and values that could contribute to sustainable development. The sub-theme also discusses the implications for sustainable education policy and practice particularly in developing contexts such as Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The sub-theme is guided by questions such as:

1. What are some of the strengths and limitations of advancing sustainability education in the Caribbean?

2. How can education be used, through pedagogical and adaptive practices, curriculum design and policies, to promote sustainability?

3. What have been some of the opportunities, challenges and and costs associated with promoting research and practices that support and advance the UN Sustainability Goals (SDGs)

Other sub-themes include:

• Navigating Resilience and Sustainability for Caribbean Enterprise
• Sustainability as Adaptive Practice
• Leveraging Learning for Sustainability
• Linking Education Quality to Resilience
• Sustainable Financing of Education
• Education and Development for Resilient Teachers

7. Teacher Professional Development and Inclusivity

This sub-theme emphasizes the value of building inclusive and diverse professional learning experiences for educators. It promotes dialogue about options and strategies for addressing gaps in teachers’ professional development, particularly as it relates to inclusion practices. This includes, but is not limited to, discussion about strategies that promote social justice and diversity practices in teacher education settings.

This sub-theme considers questions such as:

1. What types of professional development opportunities for inclusive education are most beneficial to Caribbean educators?

2. How might teachers’ professional development contribute to creating a successful and sustainable inclusion for leaners?

3. How do/could/has ongoing monitoring and supervision enable teachers’ competence in the use of inclusive practices?

Other sub-themes include:

• Navigating Teacher Professional Development in the Caribbean
• Teacher Collaboration within School Ecosystems
• The Role of Professional Development in Shaping Resilience
• Inclusivity as Access and Opportunity
• Inclusivity and its Role in Teacher Professional Development
• Transformative/Adaptive Pedagogy for Teacher Educators

8. Assessment, Attainment and Learner Success

This sub-theme explores innovative assessment models and practices to improve learning outcomes and support learners’ success. It emphasises the importance of adapting innovative assessment and

feedback practices in response to the rapidly evolving/changing educational landscape. The sub-theme also highlights a focus on considering assessment and attainment matters such as accessibility, equitable opportunities and diversity in addressing the needs of learners and fostering their growth and development.

Some questions guiding the sub-theme includes:

1. In what way/s does assessment hinder, enhance or advance education development and resilience in the Caribbean?

2. How can school systems continue to drive learning gains in a post-pandemic era?

3. How might digital tools be utilized to improve assessment designs and facilitate attainment?

Other sub-themes include:

• Approaches to Learner Preparedness and Success in the Caribbean
• Fostering Resilient Learners by Diversifying Assessment
• The Impact of Violence on Learners' Educational Attainment
• Innovative Models and Practices in Assessment
• Assessment and Attainment in the Digital Era – Past to Present
• Learning Recovery as Resilience

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