Dates: 14 – 17 November 2023

Location: National University of Samoa, Apia, Samoa

Theme: Quality Education for Sustainable Futures

Quality education for a sustainable future is an important global goal due to rapid global educational, economic, social and cultural changes affecting all nations today. Education in developing and Third World countries is vulnerable due to limited human and physical resources.

As present and future educators, we acknowledge that education is a powerful avenue to overcome economic, political, social, cultural and educational hardship. To be educated is to be empowered with the skills, knowledge and wisdom to make choices so that individuals, families, nations and the world can sustainably experience happiness and enrichment and develop solutions to today’s societal issues.

Collaboration and sharing knowledge for sustainable solutions helps educators learn from each other, and work towards solutions to common problems. The 51st Annual Conference of the Oceania Comparative and International Education Society (OCIES), to be hosted by the National University of Samoa (NUS) in November 2023, will bring together keynote speakers, participants, and collaborators from all over the world to dialogue on current and future educational research and perspectives to guide quality and sustainable education for the future.

The dream for many individuals is for children to acquire global knowledge as security for their future. The question that many of us ask, is why is education an important factor in our lives? If we tend to respond from a Samoan perspective based on missionary educational influence, then we will have to say that we have seen education as a productive and effective invention towards creating a world for sustainable lives. When missionaries arrived in Samoa in 1830, they introduced Samoans to basic formal types of education, such as basic English speaking and writing, and simple mathematical applications (Tuia, 2013; Tuia, 2019; Esera, Fa’avae & Tuia, 2021).

Education today in Oceania is vulnerable and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that we provide quality education for all. Ongoing challenges with the quality of education represents issues with which many countries grapple regardless of their level of national income or development status. One of the biggest questions that academics are asking today is how to plan for and implement quality education for future generations. Comparative dialogue between nations advances the dialogue on this question.

The 51st Annual Conference of OCIES, in collaboration with the National University of Samoa, is our platform for bringing together researchers and educators from all over the globe to share, collaborate and propose solutions to drive quality education for a sustainable future.

View or download the programme here: OCIES Final Programme (*.pdf)

(updated: 09 Nov 2023)

National University of Samoa

Webpage: https://nus.edu.ws/

Local Accommodations, Transport & Tourism

Visit Samoa Tourism: https://www.samoa.travel/

Registration for the 2023 OCIES Conference is now closed. Late registration requests can be sent via email to 2023ociesconferencesamoa@nus.edu.ws

KEY DATES

May 15, 2023 

• International early-bird registration opens
• Local registration opens
• Call opens for abstracts/session proposals

18th August, 2023 

• Deadline for abstracts/ session proposals
• Abstracts/session proposals will be reviewed as they come in, with notification of acceptance or otherwise within two weeks

August 20, 2023 

Preliminary conference programme available

August 30, 2023 

International early-bird registration closes

August 31, 2023 

International standard registration begins

October 7, 2023 

International standard registration ends

October 15, 2023 

Final conference programme available

November 14-17, 2023

51st Conference of OCIES
National University of Samoa, SAMOA

Application Deadline: closed

OCIES Conference Scholarship
One of the aims of the Oceania Comparative and International Education Society (OCIES) is to support early career CIE researchers in the region. To this end, every year OCIES provides scholarship awards for attendance at the annual OCIES conference. The 2023 Awards will provide successful applicants free conference registration and AUD $500 towards  the costs of transport and accommodation to attend the 51st Annual OCIES conference in Samoa, (14-17 November, 2023). The scholarships are open to postgraduate students (research masters or PhD) and emerging researchers (up to five years following completion of postgraduate degree). In addition to being a postgraduate or emerging researcher, applicants must be a current member of OCIES at the time of submission of application and must have an abstract accepted by the Conference convening committee for presentation.

SELECTION PROCESS and CRITERIA
All applications will be reviewed by a small committee comprised of representatives of the OCIES General Committee and wider membership. Eligible applications will be assessed based on the following criteria:

• The current and future potential of the applicant to contribute to CIE research, teaching and/or practice, and to the broader aims of OCIES
• Level of need of applicant for financial assistance, based on other resources that may be available to the applicant from their home institution or employer
• Ensuring equitable representation across gender, geographical location, and research focus of awardees will also be a consideration

Applicants will be notified by 9 October, 2023 of the outcome of the selection process.

HOW TO APPLY
To apply for an OCIES Conference Scholarship:

1. Have received acceptance of an abstract for presentation at the 2023 OCIES Conference.
2. Send the following information in an email to oceaniacies@gmail.com with the subject line OCIES Conference Scholarship Application by 11 September 2023:

• A cover letter including your name, current organisation affiliation, and a brief explanation as to why you are applying for the Award;
• what you believe you will gain from, and contribute to, attending the conference; 
• and your vision for your future engagement with OCIES.
• A copy of your submitted conference abstract and acceptance email.
• Evidence of indicative travel costs e.g. a quote from a travel agent, a screen shot of flight options.
• A letter of recommendation from a supervisor / manager who can attest to:
  • Your current and future potential to contribute to CIE research, teaching and / or practice in the region and / or beyond;
  • Your level of need (i.e. are there other resources available to candidate for attending conference within the institution) for receiving such an award 
• Evidence of current enrolment as a research masters / PhD student or as someone who has completed a qualification in the past three years.

Summary of Key Dates
Application Due: 11 September 2023
Outcome Notification: 9 October 2023
For any inquiries related to the OCIES Conference Scholarships please email: oceaniacies@gmail.com.

 Call for ABSTRACTS /  SESSION PROPOSALS

Deadline: Now Closed

OCIES 2023 invites abstracts/session proposals that connect to the overall theme in either general or specific terms and align their abstracts/ session proposals within one of the following sub-themes.

1. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education
2. Values and Relationality in Education
3. Climate Change and Sustainable Development
4. TVET and Youth Education
5. Teachers’ Voices, Perspectives and Motivation

Proposals can be submitted in the form of the following:

Conference enquiries can be sent to 2023ociesconferencesamoa@nus.edu.ws or the Conference Convener – Dr. Tavu’i Niusila Faamanatu-Eteuati, Dean, Faculty of
Education, National University of Samoa, n.faamanatu-eteuati@nus.edu.ws