2007-2008

News Release

REF NO.: 176

SUBJECT: Memorial to Host Symposium 2008: Post Confederation Educational Reform, From Rhetoric to Reality

DATE: May 2, 2008

             From May 7-9, 2008, Memorial University’s Faculty of Education, in affiliation with the Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development, will host Symposium 2008: Post Confederation Educational Reform, From Rhetoric to Reality. This is an event that will draw teachers, administrators, policy professionals and interested citizens to discuss the future of this province from an educational perspective.
            “The research and discussion generated by this conference are intended to have a constructive impact on the future direction of education in Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Dr. Gerald Galway, Faculty of Education, Co-Chair of the Symposium.
            “Newfoundland and Labrador’s school system may have come a long way since Mosquito School House and the Orphan’s Asylum School, but there are still educational barriers to overcome, to ensure that the determined and innovative spirit that has driven this province for centuries is transmitted to future generations,” Dr. Galway said.
            “Public discussion of education in this province should not be limited to Open Line,” said Dr. David Dibbon, associate dean of the Faculty of Education. 
           “Memorial’s Faculty of Education is taking research outside the walls of the ivory tower to inspire informed, public conversation about the past, present and future of education. Symposium 2008 is a seminal event that will address the role of education in creating a sustainable future for Newfoundland and Labrador in a world that is becoming globalized at a breakneck pace.”
            The Faculty of Education will welcome such nationally acclaimed speakers as Dr. Ben Levin, Canada Research Chair in Education Leadership and Policy (OISE), Dr. Charles Ungerleider, director of research and knowledge mobilization for the Canadian Council on Learning. The conference will open with an address by Dr. Phil Warren policy scholar and former minister of education who will discuss the story of the reform of this province’s denominational education system.
            The Faculty of Education gratefully acknowledges the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teacher’s Association and Chartwells for their support with the conference. For more information, and for a complete conference schedule, please visit  www.mun.ca/educ/symposium2008/  

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