Interview with theme convenors of one of seven UKFIET 2025 conference themes, ‘Systems thinking’: Mathilde Nicolai, Cambridge Education and Yifei Yan, University of Southampton. The Call for Abstracts is open until 21 March 2025.

What excites you about your theme?

We find it particularly exciting to explore how systems thinking can be contextualised in the educational context, and how it can help us better understand and drive transformative change in education systems.

By focusing on the interconnectedness of various state and non-state actors, structures and other elements within the education ecosystem, this theme emphasises the importance of taking into account context, local ownership, and thinking and working politically in all our research, practice and other work. It also invites participants to consider what it means to work at a systems level, and how education policies can be designed and implemented in a way that complement and synergise with, rather than compromise and contradict, other systemic elements to achieve effective and equitable learning outcomes. It encourages innovative thinking and the exploration of new strategies to address complex educational challenges, ultimately aiming to create more resilient and equitable education systems.

We are excited about the possibility of learning about what works from new voices that may traditionally not have shared their work at UKFIET. We welcome thought-provoking dialogues and contributions from diverse disciplinary, geographical and sectoral backgrounds on how to do things differently for education systems to be more resilient to crisis and more conducive of quality and inclusive learning.

How does your theme connect to the overall conference and today’s global landscape?

We firmly believe sustainable and systemic change cannot happen without systems thinking. By focusing on systemic change and the interconnectedness of various actors, institutions and governance levels, this theme aims at discussing how to achieve more sustainable change by working with and/or through existing systems in the mobilisation of knowledge, partnerships and innovations.

We also believe that our theme is increasingly pertinent in today’s global landscape. On the positive side, great strides have been made over the past few decades towards universal access to school. Sound educational development has also been increasingly featured as part of the global agenda on sustainable development. That said, the challenges faced by the education sector today have also become increasingly complex, for which piecemeal interventions or “stovepiped” approaches that overlook systemic interconnectedness are unlikely to offer effective solutions.

We have seen education systems crumble in a matter of months in some countries, due to national disasters, conflict or simply change in governance or politics. For such a new landscape, systems thinking provides valuable and fresh perspectives for articulating, understanding, and ultimately addressing these issues. Our theme is therefore imperative for encouraging the development of resilient, equitable and sustainable education systems that can adapt to rapidly changing circumstances and needs.

What kinds of papers/sessions would you like to see submitted under your theme?

We would love to see papers and sessions that showcase challenges, lessons learnt, successes and promising approaches on:

  • Understanding structural and relational drivers for change: Research that delves into the key factors influencing the effectiveness of education systems, including power dynamics, political economy, institutional and policy design and the role of behavioural change.
  • Cross-sector collaboration and partnerships: Examples of successful partnerships between education and other sectors or actors that enhanced educational outcomes or improved inclusion, including education in emergency settings.
  • Local ownership, innovation and multi-level coordination: Case studies and strategies for ensuring local communities and systems own educational reforms and can scale locally-led innovations. Discussions on how to promote equitable partnerships and leverage local expertise in donor-funded projects and/or projects whose design and implementation spans across multiple levels.
  • Alternative development frameworks: Papers that propose alternative frameworks or innovative approaches for sustainable educational development.
  • Interconnectedness between planning, budgeting and sustainable educational development and successful examples of improved system effectiveness.

We welcome submissions from researchers and practitioners in education from diverse geographical backgrounds and methodological orientations. Contributions from other disciplines which highlight the insights and takeaways that may benefit education systems strengthening are also highly welcomed.