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Prof. Cynthia Coburn, Northwestern University (USA)

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Policy Implementation: The intersection of learning and power

The last quarter century has witnessed an upsurge in policy making related to instruction in the United States, Europe, and beyond. However, new policy can only provide a window of opportunity for change. The degree to which policy fosters improved teaching and increased student learning depends upon the nature of its implementation. In this talk, I will draw on findings from multiple studies of instructional policy implementation to put forth a portrait of implementation as the intersection of learning and power. Policy often requires teachers and others to learn instructional approaches in a process that is shaped by social interaction and constrained by organizational conditions. At the same time, this learning is shaped in profound ways by relations of power and authority. Finally, I will show how these learning and political processes are key to stability and change in the social structure of schools and schooling.

Prof. Naomi Ellemers, Universiteit Utrecht (NL)

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Diversity, ambition, and career success

During the past years, increasing numbers of women have obtained university degrees and have started academic careers. Yet, despite numerous initiatives promoting diversity and gender equality, women still are less likely to advance and have success in acquiring research grants or positions of academic leadership. Attempts to explain this pattern often refer to biological features of men and women that elicit systematic differences in their skills, interests, and life choices.

In this talk, I will draw on different strands of research carried out in my lab, to examine the validity of these explanations through the lens of social and organizational psychology. These studies systematically compare the influence of individual level abilities and ambitions of men and women against their work experiences and leadership in the organization. The insight this provides into mechanisms that explain the differential career success of men and women can help organizations develop more effective diversity policies, both in academia and in the labor market more generally.

Prof. James Gross, Stanford University (USA)

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Emotion Regulation

From time immemorial, we have been deeply ambivalent about our emotions. On the one hand, emotions are said to aid in decision-making, prepare us for rapid motor responses in times of trouble, and facilitate social interactions. At the same time, however, emotions are said to be dangerous and destructive, crippling our ability to think flexibly, leading us to respond maladaptively, and compromising crucial social relationships. In this talk, I draw upon recent work in affective science to consider what emotions are, why we are so ambivalent about them, and how we can skillfully regulate our emotions so that we can make the most of them.