Editorial

Abstract

We are delighted to welcome you all to Perth, whether it be in-person or online. We have had to wait three long years to make this conference happen. A great deal of change has happened in that time. During the last year we thought that this conference would be further delayed. However, life may not be back to a pre-COVID norm, but we have been able to welcome colleagues from around Australia into Perth once more. The last time Perth hosted ACSME was in 2015. We hope that this year’s conference lives up to the excellent conferences from the past.

The theme of the conference has not changed from the discussions that were had in late 2019. The idea came from a talk given by a University of Sydney student at the 2019 ACSME. She was part of a panel discussion and she spoke so eloquently about challenges facing students, that we felt we had to continue the conversation. The phrase that stuck in our mind was “an education for all”. All students face challenges, some more than others. We hope that the ideas that are discussed during this conference will help inspire further developments so that education is more equitable, accessible and sustainable. This is the first ACSME that is being held in-person and online, which is very much in line with the theme of the conference. We hope that those of you watching from afar have as good an experience as possible.

We thank the organising committee for the great ideas, the energy and determination to get this conference organised. Thank you to Julia Collins, Magdalena Wajrak, Damian Laird, Alyssa Van Dreumel, Reva Ramiah, Miriam Sullivan and Susan Howitt for the time they put towards shaping the conference. We owe special thanks to Joanne Castelli for being the program chair. The program committee was made up of Myra Keep, Kylie Jones, Damian Laird, Miriam Sullivan, Alexandra Yeung, and Sarah Etherington. Joanne led the team that reviewed all submissions and provided feedback where necessary. We are grateful to Ana Lopes for managing the reviewing process and the production of the proceedings, and to Glenda Key for providing us all with highly professional executive support.

We hope that you find this conference inspiring and thought provoking. We hope that you come away with new ideas to improve your teaching so that we work towards an education for all that is equitable, accessible and sustainable.

Dr Dino Spagnoli and Dr Alexandra Yeung

Co-Conference Chairs

The Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education