To close the conference, Janet Looney, Director of the European Institute for Education and Social Policy, shared her reflections on the conference and the presentations she attended. “They reinforced for me that, at the policy level and European level […] that we’re focusing on the right things,” Looney said. She noted how she saw potential applications to policy from the conclusions drawn in presentations, and she thought it was great to see people challenging accepted beliefs within the field. The research presented throughout the conference reinforced previous findings that show how expectations placed on and support provided to students are critical, as is teacher sensitivity to student needs. This last factor again reinforces the fact that teachers have complex jobs. Looney also highlighted the lack of focus on feedback culture and the need to determine how education professionals can nurture a culture where people can confidently give and receive feedback. She emphasized the importance for students to have agency and to share their voices. Looney concluded with some reflections on the use of AI within education, saying that teachers and machines can be friends and, while AI cannot replace teachers, it can complement teachers’ work.
Katia Engelhardt, a Senior Education Analyst at European Schoolnet, added her thoughts about the potential of AI and its privacy implications and asked the audience, “What kind of direction or future do we want to go to?” Engelhardt also reflected on the burgeoning Ukrainian refugee crisis and how it will test people’s trust and the trust of society at large. She noted that the impact of this crisis ultimately determines how welcoming we are and how diverse of a society we want to become. Melanie Ehren highlighted a recent experience from a call with European inspection agencies, noting that a representative from the education ministry in Ukraine asked people to support Ukrainian children in getting a robust education despite the ongoing crisis. Accommodating and supporting these refugee children will raise many issues and challenges in our education system, and everyone within the field of education must rise to the occasion to support these youth.
