It is a key part of ESREA’s mission to support doctoral and early career researchers. We therefore warmly invite doctoral candidates to present at the conference and offer bursaries to support participation. We also recognise that doctoral students need specific spaces for peer learning, networking and mentoring and we will all hold a pre-conference and also award a prize for the best doctoral paper.
All PhD students attending the conference are cordially invited to the PhD pre-conference, which will take place before the opening of the main conference. The pre-conference is included in the conference fee.
The main topic of the pre-conference is the dialogue between different approaches to adult education research, and interdisciplinary approaches will be introduced and developed in workshops focused on the use of sociological, psychological, methodological and other perspectives.
Furthermore, a separate session will be devoted to a debate on the use of social media in the adult education research community. Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the functioning of ESREA, its goals, and activities.
The meeting will be an opportunity for sharing experiences with PhD research and studies, and a networking opportunity among the students and with the present ESREA members.
The coordinator of the pre-conference is Zdeněk Sloboda (zdenek.sloboda@ff.cuni.cz) from Charles University.
Registration for the PhD pre-conference is possible via registration form (from May 1 to August 31, 2025).
Updated provisional programme – September 24, 10:30–16:00
venue: Faculty of Arts, Charles University
10:00-10:20 … Registration
10:20-10:40 … Opening, introducing ESREA activities
10:40-12:10 … Workshop: Theatre of the oppressed and social activism in social space as educational
activities (Dana Moree, Faculty of Humanities, Charles University)
Theatre of the oppressed is a method developed as intervention tool opening social dialog about empowerment and oppression in our societies. However, more and more often it is used also as a research method. We will be concentrated on both – theatre of the oppressed as intervention and as an research tool.
12:10-13:00 … Lunch break
13:00-15:00 … Parallel workshops:
(1) Position of social theory in research in adult education (facilitator: Stanislav Holubec, Institute of History, Czech Academy of Science)
Theory is a crucial part of academic work. We will use this meeting as an opportunity to present selected PhD theses and discuss the interconnection between theory and research in front of an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary audience, comprising both PhD students and advanced scholars.
(2) Methodological and psychological aspects of research in adult education (facilitatiors: Jan Kalenda, Tomáš Baťa University & Alexandra Fonville, Faculty of Arts, Charles University)
The workshop will include presentations by selected participating PhD students. Their research will serve as an entry point to discussions and workgroups on the methodological and psychological aspects of research in adult education.
Representatives of ESREA will also participate as counsellors during the workshop(s).
The outcomes of the meeting will be presented at the end of the session.
15:00-16:00 … Debate: New media, social networks and adult education research community
(moderators: Kristina Robertson, ESREA social media coordinator & Zdeněk
Sloboda, Faculty of Arts, Charles University)
ESREA will award the prize for the best PhD paper. The recipient will have the opportunity to prepare a manuscript based on her/his paper for review by ESREA’s RELA journal with the help of a selected member of the Scientific Committee.
The full paper needs to be submitted by 5 September. Please mind the template and instructions published here.
Submissions will be reviewed by a committee and the award will be announced during the main conference program.
Ph.D. student participants who are individual members of ESREA or studying at institutions which have institutional membership of ESREA can apply for 10 bursaries (400€). Applications will be open from 1 April to 15 April. Applications can be sent to the conference e-mail address esrea2025@ff.cuni.cz (e-mail subject: Bursary application). In your application, please describe in detail the reasons for your request – in particular what form of funding you may (not) receive from your institution.
