Education Conference Speakers
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Distinguished Keynote Speakers
Prof. Fred Paas
Professor of Educational Psychology
Department of Psychology,
Education & Child Studies
Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
Fred Paas is Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Psychology, Education & Child Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Professorial Fellow at the University of New South Wales. Since pioneering cognitive load theory in the early 1990s, he has explored how human cognitive architecture can inform the design of efficient, motivating learning environments. His recent studies examine how physical activity and embodied interactions help learners manage cognitive load in technology-enhanced settings.
Paas has published more than 300 articles and chapters, holds an h-index of 114 with over 72,000 citations, and was identified as the most productive scholar in the top five educational-psychology journals. He is Editor-in-Chief of Educational Psychology Review and serves on several editorial boards. His contributions have been recognized by election as a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association.
By linking cognitive load principles to adaptive teaching, evidence-based technology use, and learner well-being, Paas’s work offers practical guidance for policies and partnerships aimed at “Transforming Education for a Sustainable and Inclusive Future.”
Prof. Gary L. Anderson
Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
New York University,
USA
Prof. Anderson is a former middle and high school teacher and high school principal. From 1982 to 1984, he served as the principal of the Colegio Americano de Puebla. At the university level, he has taught a wide range of courses, including education policy, educational leadership, qualitative research, action research, discourse analysis, organizational theory, politics of education, teacher development, education advocacy, and the school principalship.
His research interests are interdisciplinary and diverse, with a particular focus on exploring the tensions between theory and practice in applied fields like education. This focus led to his co-authorship of two significant books on action research (Anderson, Herr, and Nihlen, 1994; Herr and Anderson, 2015), alongside extensive writings on knowledge production in applied fields of study.
His most recent work lies in the field of education policy, with a keen interest in how educational research can better inform policy and in the broader challenges of knowledge mobilization. He is particularly concerned with how neoliberal and privatization agendas are undermining public education and the broader notion of the “public sphere.” He published a study on new governance and policy networks, focusing on the Education Task Force of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and is currently working on a study of the State Policy Network and its impact on education policy and the professional identity of public sector workers. His 2018 book, The New Democratic Professional: Confronting Markets, Metrics,………
Dr. Ariel Lindorff
Department of Education
University of Oxford
United Kingdom
Ariel is an Associate Professor and Research Lecturer in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. She leads and contributes to projects related to educational effectiveness, improvement, and equity, largely in pre-school, primary and secondary phases of education. Methodologically, she has expertise in advanced statistical methods and mixed methods, and an interest in appropriately contextualised approaches to evaluation.
Ariel completed her DPhil in the Oxford University Department of Education. She holds Qualified Teacher Status in the UK, and prior to becoming a researcher she was a secondary mathematics teacher in the USA since 2006. She is also a Chartered Statistician of the Royal Statistical Society, with a Masters in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Hunter College, City University of New York.
Dr. Ariel Lindorff has contributed extensively to the field of educational effectiveness research. She co-edited the book International Perspectives in Educational Effectiveness Research (Springer, 2020) and has authored multiple chapters within it, including the historical overview and concluding reflections. Her earlier work also includes a co-authored chapter on student voice in effective classroom practices, published by Oxford University Press.
Prof. Annette Bos
Deputy Director (Education)
Director - Graduate Research
Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI)
Monash University, Australia
Prof. Annette Bos is an interdisciplinary academic and educational entrepreneur committed to understanding and influencing sustainability transitions. Her work centers on how transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning—both within society and formal education—can drive transformative, systemic change toward sustainable and just futures.
Her professional experience spans the strategic development and management of sustainable development education and applied graduate research programs. She has played a leading role in building key organizational capabilities in these areas. She envisions, designs, and delivers educational programs for a wide range of audiences, from senior executives to postgraduate students, while also conducting research and supervising PhD candidates. In all her roles, she collaborates with and leads multidisciplinary teams……..
Esteemed Plenary Speakers
Prof. Brendan Hokowhitu
Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures (IFC)
University of Queensland
Australia
Professor Brendan Hokowhitu is internationally recognized as a leading scholar in critical Indigenous studies, credited with establishing the sub-disciplines of Indigenous masculinities, Indigenous sociology of sport, and Indigenous critical physical education. As the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures (IFC) at the University of Queensland, Professor Hokowhitu provides visionary leadership, working in close collaboration with Indigenous communities, community partners, and national and international researchers. Together, they pursue the Centre’s mission to realise an equitable Australia for Indigenous peoples by 2050.
At the heart of the IFC’s innovative research approach is a transdisciplinary relational research design, combined with the synthesis of findings through systematic reviews and existing knowledge frameworks, notably via NIKI (the National Indigenous Knowledge Integration platform). The Centre’s groundbreaking scope necessitates a leader with a pioneering scholarly profile—one that Professor Hokowhitu exemplifies.
With a diverse academic background, Professor Hokowhitu has made significant theoretical contributions across multiple disciplines, including Indigenous film and media, Indigenous healthism, and Indigenous critical theory. As the Centre’s Area of Responsibility Leader for Knowledge Transfer, his extensive experience in Indigenous research leadership and community-centric, collaborative methodologies will be pivotal in shaping policy impact ………
Dr. Ni Luh Nyoman Seri Malini
Faculty of Humanities
Udayana University
Indonesia
Dr. Ni Luh Nyoman Seri Malini is a distinguished faculty member at the Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University, where she teaches in the English Literature Department. She holds a Doctorate in Linguistics (2011), a Master’s in Linguistics (2004), and a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature (1993), all from Udayana University. With over two decades of experience in language education and assessment, Dr. Malini has completed several advanced training programs from prestigious institutions such as the University of Oregon, The University of Queensland, and the American English Institute. Her expertise spans language teaching methodology, assessment, and research methodology. In addition to her academic contributions, she serves as Coordinator of the External Quality Assurance Center at Udayana University, Editor-in-Chief of the Udayana Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, and an assessor for the National Accreditation Agency for Higher Education (BAN-PT). She is also the Coordinator of the Bali, Nusa Tenggara Barat, and Nusa Tenggara Timur Chapter of TEFLIN (The Association for the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language in Indonesia) and remains actively involved in professional organizations such as ASIA-TEFL, AALA (Asian Association of Language Assessment), and the Indonesian Linguistic Society (MLI).
Prof. Ana M. Martínez-Alemán
Associate Dean, Faculty & Academic Affairs
Golden Eagle Foundation Faculty Research Fellow
Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch School of Education and Human Development
Boston College, USA
Title: "Philosophical Qualitative Research in Higher Education: Bridging Reflection and Empirical Inquiry"
Ana M. Martínez-Alemán researches topics at the forefront of higher education and campus culture. Her book Online Social Networking on Campus: Understanding What Matters in Student Culture was the first to explore social media’s impact on campus. Currently, she examines college students’ political engagement, and online racialized aggression. Her most recent book explores student sexual violence activism and institutional practice.
The author or coauthor of seven books and dozens of publications, she has also delivered more than 100 talks. Since 2002, she has edited the Educational Policy journal and has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Higher Education and the American Educational Research Journal. Martínez-Alemán and her coauthors received the 2016 AERA Division J Outstanding Publication Award for their book Critical Approaches to the Study of Higher Education and the 2019 AERA Division J, Outstanding Publication Award, and 2018 Outstanding Publication Award, Association for the Study of Higher Education for Technology and Engagement: Making Technology Work for First-Generation College Students.
Martínez-Alemán is Professor of Education and has served as the Associate Dean of Faculty and Academics since 2017. She joined the Lynch School in 1998 and served as department chair for the Educational Leadership and Higher Education Department from 2007 to 2017. In 2023, Martínez-Alemán served as the President of the Association for the Study of Higher Education. In 2016, Martínez-Alemán was elected Vice President of Postsecondary Education (Division J) at the American Educational Research Association (AERA).Martínez-Alemán earned a doctorate in higher education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and received master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the State University of New York, Binghamton.
Prof. David Gurr
Faculty of Education
The University of Melbourne
Australia
As a Professor in Educational Leadership within the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne, his responsibilities include preparing and teaching in pre-service and post-graduate programs, supervision of Masters and Doctoral research and representation on appropriate committees. He is the leader of the educational leadership academic group of the faculty and was the Associate Dean (staffing) in 2019) which involved him in all matters to do with academic staff appointment and development, teacher allocation, academic workload, and direction setting. Over recent years David has served on the following committees: faculty executive, staffing, finance, learning and teaching, diversity and inclusion, honours, master of education, and academic programs. He teaches in the areas of educational leadership, strategic leadership, and school effectiveness and improvement. He is a founding member of the International Successful School Principalship Project, and co-led an Australian team that was awarded a national grant for this project in 2005. He is also a founding member of the International School Leadership Development Network, which is a joint partnership between UCEA and BELMAS. He is a founding member of the Association for Teacher Leadership and Scholarship. He has more than 250 publications and has presented more than 230 times at international and local ……..
Assoc. Prof. Samantha Govender
Deputy Dean for Teaching and Learning
Curriculum and Instructional Studies
Faculty of Education
University of Zululand
South Africa
Samantha Govender is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies and is currently the Deputy Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand in South Africa. She holds a Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies from the University of Zululand. Her scholarly and professional research field of interests are curriculum and teacher development, teaching, learning and assessment in higher and tertiary education. She has supervised Doctoral and Masters’ students to completion and has published several articles and book chapters in accredited journals. Samantha has also peer reviewed numerous scholarly articles and examined master’s and doctoral thesis for different institutions. She has presented research papers at various local and international conferences. She is part of the Fundisa for Change Professional Learning Community and steered the Keep It Cool Climate Change Education Project. She is also currently involved in initiatives for Education for Sustainable Development, climate action and environmental learning with an emphasis on teacher education.