Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) focus conference 2005 on Quality in Education Research: Directions in policy and practice.
In many ways, this title could be a by-line for the Association itself. Since its inception AARE has held the advancement of quality research in education within Australia (and the region more broadly) as a central concern. Over the years this has informed numerous contributions (in the form of submissions, conferences, publications, workshops and so on) by AARE members to policy and practice in education research.
This year, the quality and impact of education research continue to be a particular focus for AARE, not least because of the federal government's intention to introduce a Research Quality Framework (RQF) to inform its assessment of research generated within the Australian higher education sector (as well as various Publicly Funded Research Agencies) and to connect this assessment to future research funding.
This conference is one contribution AARE is making to the debate on what counts as quality research, how research quality is/can be understood, who sets research agendas and why, the difference that education research (can) make/s, and the particular challenges these evoke for research in the field of education. In brief, these are matters that should not be regarded as restricted by the current federal agenda. Indeed, I encourage all of us to take opportunities during the conference to consider issues of quality and impact in education research outside of the RQF's purview.
Neither is the conference the only contribution AARE is making to discussions on quality in education research. AARE has already submitted a substantial response to the RQF Issues Paper (see http://www.aare.edu.au/exec/index.htm; a copy is also included in this conference folder) and participated in the National Stakeholders Forum, which further explored these matters. A further submission, emphasising the importance of quality research in informing policy and practice, has also been lodged by AARE (see http://www.aare.edu.au/exec/index.htm) with the Federal Parliament's current review of teacher education.
And a special issue of the Review of Australian Research in Education (RARE), an edited collection authored by leading education researchers in Australia and overseas and focusing on the quality and assessment of educational research, will be launched at AARE's 2005 annual conference. Symposia at the conference, this year to be held in Parramatta from 27 November to 1 December (see http://www.aare.edu.au/conf2005/index.htm), will also take a positive approach to matters of quality in education research, offering not just critique but also a positive thesis for the field and for education researchers.
Thank you in advance for your contributions to discussions of these important matters. AARE is committed to advancing quality in education research and its impact within the field and society more broadly. Your involvement in this endeavour is highly valued. Finally, thanks to Rob Gilbert and his Committee for their time and effort in organising the conference.
Trevor Gale
President, Australian Association for Research in Education