Action Research: organising a virtual conference on science education justice and inclusion

Resumo

Action Research is usually concerned with formal teaching and teachers, in schools and universities. In this case, the practitioner is a science education researcher engaged in Science Education for Social Justice. It is an account of organising and implementing a virtual conference on Inclusion within this theme. It is also about broadening our understanding of Action Research to include the work of science education researchers. Naturally, very little has already been written about the role of science education conference organisers, or about conferences on science education for social justice. Nevertheless, in the spirit of opening up a distinctly new avenue for research, and one that is directly relevant to teachers of the sciences and teacher educators in the sciences, this paper is offered for consideration.

1. The research question was: what are the characteristics and challenges of organising a conference on Science for Global Justice: Inclusion?
2. The experiment was designed to include both the theme for papers and the process of running the conference.
3. Data in the form of the first paper for the conference (available at iosteflipped.wikispaces.com) contained the literature research on the benefits and challenges of organising a virtual conference on Inclusion and to be Inclusive, in Science Education Research. The first paper also contained a convenor's commentary on the process.