The delegation from the University of Victoria, Canada, led by the dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof. Ralf St. Clair, visited the Faculty of Education of East China Normal University and attended a two-day forum on education involving both universities.
Teachers and students from two universities
On the evening of November 6th, 2017, the forum was opened by the host, Yang Fuyi (Director of International Affairs Division of the Faculty of Education, ECNU). Yang Fuyi warmly welcomed the delegation and gave a brief introduction to the discipline construction and development of the two sides. Then, professors from the University of Victoria, including Prof. James Nahachewsky, Prof. Tim Pelton, Prof. Leslee Francis Pelton and Dr. Sam Liu gave reports respectively on the topics of “Towards a Curriculum of Reconciliation: a Case Study of Three Indigenous Adult Learners’ Literacies in Our Digital Age”, “Developing Mastery of Time Concepts by Integrating Lessons and Apps” and “Using Social Media and Big Data to Monitor Mental Health in University Students”.
Prof. Ralf St. Clair presenting his report.
On the morning of November 7th, the forum was carried out and hosted by Dr. Li Mei (Associate Professor of the Institute of Higher Education). Professors from University of Victoria, including Prof. Ralf St. Clair, Prof. Deborah Begoray, Prof. Honore Rodriguez France and Dr. Li Zhe gave reports respectively on the topics of “Why Educational Research Doesn’t Add up, and What We Can Do About it”, “Empirical Research in Education: Qualitative Approaches”, “‘Tse-e-llat’–An Ethno-cultural Study Using an Indigenous Paradigm and Its Implications for Educational Practice”, and “Ethnography as a Methodology in Higher Education Research: Changes and Challenges”.
Lifetime Professor Honore Rodriguez France while giving his report.
Besides these excellent speeches, the two sides had a heated discussion from different perspectives especially on the future of cooperation.
During this visit, Prof. Yuan Zhenguo met with the delegation from University of Victoria in person and held a discussion on the exchange programs available to teachers and students, during which both sides reached agreement. Prof. Huang Zhongjing (Director of the Department of Education), Prof. Yang Xiangdong (Director of Department of Education Psychology) and Zheng Tainian (Professor of the Institute of International and Comparative Education) were present.