IPDA Bulletin – June 2020

Welcome to the Summer Bulletin from the International Professional Development Association. We hope that this finds you and your families keeping safe and well during these challenging times. This short edition focuses on the changes made to the Annual Conference in the light of the coronavirus pandemic, and also introduces you to the newly appointed Chair and Vice-Chair of the International Committee. 

Despite changes to our normal working circumstances, there are a number of ways in which you get involved with IPDA, and keep in touch with developments in professional learning across the globe.  At the end of the Bulletin are contact details for our Regional Associations who are arranging a number of fascinating events that you can enjoy from the comfort of home.

Remember IPDA is your organisation, so if you have any ideas please do not hesitate to get in contact with us.

Annual Conference 2020

‘Imagining the post-professional:  Identity, ethics and response-ability beyond professional standards’ 
27th-28th November 2020

The 2020 Annual Conference will still go ahead as planned; however, it will move to a virtual, online format. The decision to move online will enable local, national and international conference attendees to join us, and provides us with exciting new opportunities to engage with members near and far. We have secured exciting keynote speakers from Belgium and South Africa. Conference fees are offered at a reduced rate, and will include an IPDA online membership for 2020. 

• £30 for current IPDA members
• £45 for non-IPDA members.

Booking will be available soon on the conference web page. Look out for notifications on social media when booking is available. 

We have also extended our key dates, including the call for abstracts:

• 30.06.20 Abstract submission ends
• 14.07.20 Review decisions announced
• 10.09.20 Presentation times announced
• 30.09.20 Registration deadline

You can submit your abstract here.

Introductions from the Chair and Vice-Chair of the IPDA International Committee (IC)

Professor Hazel Bryan, Chair, International Committee

I am honoured to take up the role of Chair of IPDA.  I have been a member of this inclusive and vibrant association for many years and look forward to working with our members, International Committee, Regional Associations, conference, social media and communications sub-groups to continue essential discussions around global initiatives and issues in professional learning and development. 

Professional learning and development can take many forms and the immediacy and dynamism of practice, as well as the soto voce process of crafting text have shaped my own.  It has happened through the rich interactions of everyday professional life as well as those special times that I’ve set aside for working with colleagues, for seminars and conferences.  And of course, the IPDA journals, Regional Association activities and annual conferences have played a key role in these opportunities.  

Professional learning and development has been a significant theme in my professional life, currently as Dean of Education and Professional Development at the University of Huddersfield and previously as Head of the School of Education and Humanities at the University of Gloucestershire, Head of the Department for Professional Development and Director of Masters Degrees at Canterbury Christ Church University.   Together with Professor Alex Kendall, our previous IPDA Chair, I co-edit the IPDA journal, ‘Practice: contemporary issues in practitioner education’.  I sit on the Board of the Society for Educational Studies (SES) and on the Editorial Board of the British Journal for Educational Studies and Chair the UCET Research and International Committee.  My research interests are situated at the interface between education policy and values and my current work focuses on policy in relation to professional learning and development and radicalisation and extremism; as you can imagine, the professional learning and development issues for professional practitioners relating to these themes are many and varied. 

So do continue to contribute to our community – you will find a warm welcome. Follow Hazel on Twitter.

Paul Campbell, Vice-Chair, International Committee

I am delighted to have been elected as Vice-Chair of IPDA. Having spent two years on the International Committee, and the last year as Chair of IPDA Hong Kong, it has been great to see the work of the association develop and grow. I have a background in primary education, working in Scotland, Australia, Spain and now Hong Kong. After teaching and leading across the primary age range, I have recently been appointed as Lead Teacher Curriculum in a large international primary school. This involves working with teams across the school on learning, teaching, assessment, professional development and quality assurance.

In all my professional and voluntary roles, I’ve always had a keen interest in professional learning and development, and particularly the conditions, structures and systems that influence and enable it. My Masters research looked at teacher agency in education policy development. I am in the final stages of the Doctor of Education (EdD) programme at the University of Glasgow, where I am finishing my thesis on collaboration for school and system-wide improvement. I am also on the Editorial Board for the Journal, ‘Management in Education‘, and am the Educational Leadership Network Co-Coordinator for the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) where I also lead their publications sub-committee.

I am excited about IPDA and its future. Given the complexity of our contemporary socio-political context and how that influences learning and development across professions and contexts, now more than ever we need global networks. These need to explore innovative, wide-ranging, and productive ideas to ensure professional learning is accessible, meaningful, and impactful. IPDA’s international conference in November this year will make an important contribution to this. We’ll be exploring the exciting theme ‘Imagining the post-professional: Identity, ethics, and response-ability beyond professional standards’. 

I’m looking forward to working together with the International Committee, and IPDA members and friends as the association continues to grow in size and influence. Be sure to get involved and get in touch. Follow Paul on Twitter.

Updates from your Regional Associations

IPDA Cymru

IPDA Cymru is a growing organisation in Wales, aimed at supporting and promoting good professional learning practice for all practitioners and professionals engaged in education. We are really keen to welcome new members and have some exciting plans for 2020. Follow us @IPDACymru to find out more.

Mae IPDA Cymru yn fudiad sydd yn tyfu yng Nghymru ac mae wedi ei anelu at gefnogi a hyrwyddo ymarferion dysgu proffesiynol da ar gyfer pawb sydd yn gweithio ym myd addysg. Rydym yn awyddus i groesawu aelodau newydd ac mae gennym gynlluniau cyffrous ar gyfer 2020. Dilynwch ni @IPDACymru er mwyn cael mwy o wybodaeth

IPDA England

IPDA England invites you to join us in a range of seminars, workshops and ‘slow conversations’ about the vital role of CPD in England. Please click on our IPDA England page on the website, and follow us on Twitter @ipdaengland. We look forward to meeting you online at the IPDA annual conference 2020. 

IPDA Hong Kong

So far, the IPDA Hong Kong association has brought together a wide cross section of the professional learning community in Hong Kong. Over the coming weeks, more information and updates will be available via dedicated space on the IPDA website. 

If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch with Paul Campbell (Chair of IPDA HK) pcampbell91@gmail.com. 

IPDA Ireland

IPDA Ireland is committed to having collaborative conversations about professional learning, policy and practice. We welcome all new members and look forward to seeing you at our upcoming seminars. 

If you would like to know more about us then please click on our IPDA Ireland page and follow us on twitter @ipdaireland.

IPDA Scotland

IPDA Scotland has recently been revitalised and has developed a healthy following on twitter, hosted an engagement event and ongoing online IPDA conversations. There are plans for a webinar on 16th June 2020 to support practitioners in writing an abstract for the forthcoming IPDA international conference. They also have a blog in development and are looking forward to developing synergies with the other IPDA regional associations. 

Contact the Chair of IPDA Scotland, Catriona Oates with any queries catriona.oates@uws.ac.uk

IPDA India

The aim of IPDA India is to provide opportunities for professional learning of members at local, national and international level. IPDA India seeks to coordinate the efforts of various agencies engaged in the professional development of teachers and teacher educators, to promote networking among the stakeholders of education to support career long professional learning. IPDA India operates from Partap College of Education, Ludhiana. Find out more at http://partapcollege.org/ipda-india/

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Thank you for your continued support of IPDA. We look forward to seeing you online at one of our forthcoming events, and to meeting you face-to-face once again in the future.

Kind regards,

The IPDA International Committee

Please send general queries to: Dr Helen Lewis, Honorary Secretary.