Speakers

We are proud to present the following confirmed speakers for ICSEI 2019:

Professor Amanda Datnow
Data use with purpose: Promoting equity and professional collaboration in school improvement

Amanda Datnow is a Professor in the Department of Education Studies and Associate Dean of the Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses primarily on K-12 educational reform and policy, particularly with regard to issues of equity and the professional lives of educators.

A long-term member of ICSEI, Amanda has contributed substantially to our understanding of how data can assist in decisions that promote equity in schools. Data can help teachers and school leaders address gaps in opportunities for learning.

Amanda is an active researcher and an engaging public speaker. At ICSEI 2019 you will learn more about her work and ideas, and have the opportunity to talk to her about issues that you are interested in.

Professor Kathy Sylva
The effects of Early Childhood Education on academic and social outcomes:  What longitudinal studies can tell us

Kathy Sylva is Honorary Research Fellow and Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Oxford.

She has conducted several large-scale studies on the effects of early education and care on children’s development, acting as a lead researcher on the Effective Pre-school and Primary Education study (EPPE/EPPSE) which followed 3000 children from pre-school entry to the end of compulsory schooling.

Her areas of expertise are, among others, early childhood (birth to seven years), early literacy, and policy for early childhood education.

Kathy has devoted her professional life to quality in early childhood as an active researcher and a public speaker who reaches her audience. At ICSEI 2019 you will learn more about quality early childhood and will have to opportunity to talk to Kathy about her work and future directions.

Secretary general Jan Egeland
Secretary General of The Norwegian Refugee Council & Adjunct professor, University of Stavanger, Norway

Jan Egeland, Norwegian politician and researcher, is Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Egeland formerly served as United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Secretary General of the Norwegian Red Cross, and as State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs among others.

Jan has spent his life in humanitarian service. At nineteen, he volunteered in Colombia as an aid worker. Since then, NRC’s Secretary General hasn’t stopped working for people affected by war, hardships and persecution.

Jan is an accomplished public speaker who knows how to engage his audience. At ICSEI 2019, he will help us paint a bigger picture of the global situation our educational systems are a part of and are working within.

Global Teacher Prize Winner Maggie MacDonnell
Teachers Matter: Education for Resilience, Perseverance and Reconciliation

This inspirational keynote gives you an in-depth look into the classroom of Maggie MacDonnell, the winner of the Global Teacher Prize 2017.

Through engaging visuals and stories you are brought to an Arctic school in the village of Salluit, nestled in the Canadian Arctic. This is home to the second northernmost Inuit community in Quebec, with a population of just over 1,300 – it cannot be reached by road, only by air.

Inuit students in Salluit face staggeringly high dropout rates, a youth suicide crisis and disturbing social injustices. These students carry the burden of colonization and inter-generational trauma on their shoulders every day.

Maggie explains how she grounds her teaching practice in feminist, post-colonial and community development theory to allow her students to become masters of their own destiny. She shares examples of how her students have developed resiliency through innovative educational programs. This resiliency has led to suicide prevention, school perseverance and the graduation of Inuit girls who were previously drop outs.

Maggie’s approach is to turn from “problems” to “solutions”, and she has dedicated herself to creating solutions together with the community and the students.

Maggie’s keynote will underline the message of how much teachers matter, re-igniting the teaching passion for an audience of educators.

Minister of research and higher education Iselin Nybø

The minister of Research and Higher Education Iselin Nybø is opening the conference. Nybø is representing the Liberal Party, and is responsible for research policy and for higher education in Norway.

Dr. Peter DeWitt
Education Research: Making if practical so it can be impactful

Peter DeWitt (Ed.D) is a former K-5 teacher (11 years) and principal (8 years). He runs workshops and provides keynotes nationally and internationally focusing on collaborative leadership, and fostering inclusive school climates.

Within North America, his work has been adopted at the university and state level, and he works with numerous districts, school boards, regional and state organizations where he trains leadership teams and coaches building leaders.

Additionally, Peter is a Visible Learning Trainer for John Hattie, and was an Instructional Coach for Jim Knight for several years. He is the Series Editor for the Connected Educator Series (Corwin Press) and the Impact Series (Corwin Press) that include books by Andy Hargreaves, Viviane Robinson, Pasi Sahlberg, Yong Zhao and Michael Fullan.

His Finding Common Ground blog has been published by Education Week since 2011. He is the 2013 School Administrators Association of New York State’s (SAANYS) Outstanding Educator of the Year, and the 2015 Education Blogger of the Year (Academy of Education Arts & Sciences).

Peter is the author of several books including Collaborative Leadership: 6 Influences That Matter Most (Corwin Press/Learning Forward) and School Climate: Leading with Collective Efficacy (Corwin Press/Ontario Principals Council. 2017) and Coach It Further: Using the Art of Coaching to Improve Leadership (Corwin Press. 2018).

His articles have appeared in education journals at the state, national and international level, and he has presented at forums, conferences, and panel discussions at state, national and international conferences. Some of the highlights has been to present for the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), ASCD and NBC’s Education Nation.