The National Institute for Christian Educational annual Educating for Hope Research Symposium brings together Christian education scholars from around Australia and overseas to exchange scholarly research, insights and innovations to support, encourage and grow our Christian education sector.
The 2027 symposium will be a full-day, in-person and (partially) online event held on Monday, May 17 at the Alphacrucis University College campus in Sydney.
The 2027 Educating for Hope Research Symposium invites Christian educators, researchers, and scholars to explore a fundamental question: How do we know?
The God of the Bible invites us both to know Him and to be known by Him:
“At the heart of the gospel of truth is not truth as a mere proposition, so much as truth as a personed event: God walks into the room.” (Meek, 2011, p. 39)
Christian education therefore engages with an important question: What does it mean to truly know something?
How do the Scriptures shape the way we understand knowledge and truth? How does the resurrection of Christ influence the way we see reality and make sense of the world? What do New Testament writers teach us about truth?
Mark Strom (2011) suggests that the Apostle Paul introduced a radically different way of understanding knowledge and life: “It may well be that Paul did what no one had ever done. There was no model. There was no methodological precedent” (p. 6). If this is so, how does a biblical understanding of knowledge connect with, challenge, or move beyond the dominant ways of thinking in contemporary culture and education?
The ways of knowing in the bible are distinct from the means of knowing we assume in modern philosophy. As Alasdair MacIntyre famously observed, “Aristotle would have been horrified by St Paul” (cited in Strom, 2013).
These questions also have important implications for educational research. What research approaches and methods best support Christian scholarship and practice? What kinds of knowledge should Christian educators encourage students to pursue? How do we determine which teaching practices best serve the purposes of Christian education in our classrooms, staffrooms, schools, universities, communities, and networks?
You are warmly invited to join educational leaders, researchers, and practitioners for this inspiring gathering as we explore what it means to truly know, to teach, and to learn in light of the Christian faith.
Keynote Speakers:
Dr Mark Strom
Dr Julia Verdouw
Professor Ben Myers (MC)
Abstracts Welcome
We welcome abstract submissions from researchers in a variety of contexts, including K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and other organisations involved in Christian education research and scholarship. We encourage submissions from scholars, educators, and graduate students (for example, NICE graduates) working in the field of education.
Proposals may include different types of scholarly work connected with the conference theme of “How do we know?”, including:
- Original primary (empirical) research projects completed or in progress.
- Conceptual or theoretical investigations drawing on the philosophy of education, or theological foundations for relevant themes in education.
- Best practice research for innovative programs, partnerships, community practices in the education fields, and/or recommendations for educational or school policy.
Anticipated themes include:
- Theology for knowing: Biblical, philosophical, and epistemological perspectives on what it means to truly know.
- Methods for knowing: Paradigms and approaches for biblically faithful research and scholarship in education.
- Practices for knowing: Frameworks and pedagogies directed towards the formation of students, staff, and culture for Christian learning communities.
The research symposium will invite several keynote research addresses, concurrent (strand-based) research presentations, poster presentations, and a panel discussion, depending on presenter numbers.
Submissions are due by Friday 19 February 2027. Proposals received by this date will be reviewed, and individuals will be notified of the decision by Friday 5 March 2027.
For more information on submissions, please contact [email protected]
