Mexico City, January 18, 2023.— With the aim of generating educational knowledge to conduct research for the common good, the Universidad Panamericana held the Second International Congress on Educational Research on January 12 and 13 .
Research for the common good
During the event’s opening ceremony, held in the Panamericana auditorium, Dr. Martha Vergara Fregoso of the Regions Commission of the Mexican Council for Educational Research, A.C., said:“Research, as we understand it at this conference and within this Mexican Network of Educational Research Scholars, means conducting research with people for the common good,”she explained.
Next, Dr. Sandra Vega Villarreal, coordinator of the Mexican Network of Educational Researchers (REDMIIE), thanked the Pan-American University for making the event possible and said to those present: “Thank you for being here and for being open to dialogue ( …)”.
Regarding the significance of the conference, he added that within REDMIIE there was a recognized need to reevaluate educational research: “The idea that knowledge is produced through interaction with others who are present, who are contributing, and who make the construction of knowledge possible is a new way of looking at educational research,” he said.
“We believe that the theme of our conference—‘Why do we research?’—is an invitation to reflect on what we are doing as researchers. This marks the beginning of an effort to build and produce knowledge in the field of educational research, ” he added.
Working toward a better world
For her part, Dr. Claudia Ortega Barba, Director of Research at the Panamericana University’s Mexico City campus, noted during her opening remarks that we are facing a world characterized by constant change, which creates a sense of crisis: “In these complex times, we need education specialists who are capable of reflecting and innovating,” she said.
“(…) Given that educational research is an activity that generates knowledge in a specific area of human endeavor—namely, education (…), and that such knowledge must be shared in order to reach a wider audience, this event is particularly significant, ” he stated.
He also noted:“Initiatives like these clearly demonstrate the academic community’s commitment to contributing to it. (…) A dedication to research in the field of education fosters a utopian vision of working toward a better world.”
The Impact of Educational Research
Dr. Francisco Aliaga Abad, a professor at the University of Valencia, Spain, then delivered the keynote address: The Impact of Educational Research.
The doctor began by referring to the conference’s question, “Why do we seek knowledge?” He explained that this question pertains to what we hope to achieve through knowledge and where we want to take it. “We do not live in a Platonic world; we are supposed to seek knowledge and learn in order to bring about change. We are educators, and education is an applied science,” he stated.
“Researchers, academics, and scientists are considered intellectuals because we work with our minds and we want to learn. We often teach in order to learn, and we learn in order to teach,” he said.
Aliaga also discussed Campbell's Law, which states that the risk of corruption of a social indicator is proportional to the extent to which it is used in decision-making.
He went on to say that Spanish educational research is no better than Mexican research; the only difference is that the former has much greater visibility and international impact: “Campbell’s Law is something that those of us in the field of evaluation must never forget.”
He concluded his presentation by paraphrasing Georges Clemenceau: “Why measure academic impact? (…) Perhaps research evaluation is too important to be left solely in the hands of indicators. (…) What are we measuring? Social impact? Academic impact?” he asked.
Educational research in the current context
At the panel discussion Educational Research in the Current Context, participants included Dr. Inés Dussel, Research Professor in the Department of Educational Research at CINVESTAV-IPN, Mexico; Dr. María Guadalupe Olivier Téllez, Academic Secretary at UPN-Ajusco and President of COMIE; and Dr. Germán Rolando Vargas Rodríguez, Director of Research at the Faculty of Education of the Juan N. Corpas Foundation, Bogotá; with Dr. Martha Vergara Fregoso, General Coordinator of RedMIIE, serving as moderator.
“It is important to rethink the value and role of research not only in driving progress, but also in achieving equity in education. (…) The goal is to conduct research that is useful, reliable, and accessible to everyone, ”said Dr. Vergara as she opened the panel discussion.
The three panelists agreed that one of the key issues education researchers must consider is the training of new researchers—teaching them how to think, what to research, how to research, and why to research.
Dr. Vargas noted that, while there are many challenges, it is important to expand research networks and maintain dialogue within Ibero-America:“Let’s rethink educational issues from these perspectives, but without losing sight of the fact that we are part of a global society.”
Dr. Dussel noted that, in her view, we need to work on overcoming both institutional and disciplinary boundaries that prevent us from rethinking the nature of educational research: “We need to consider disciplinary boundaries and address issues related to digital media (…)”.
“We must advocate for educational research that is not necessarily focused on solving immediate problems,” he said, adding that it is important to work with an agenda that does not ignore these current issues, “but that does not succumb to the demand for immediate results.”
Finally, Dr. Olivier stated:“If we think of educational research as something that must be oriented toward the common good, it seems to me that the central component should be an ethical approach. (…) We need to change our role as researchers, not only in what we teach but also in our own research practices.”
