International Conference on the Development of World-class Discipline of Education and Seminar on the Educational Thoughts of Professor Chengxu Wang was held by ZJU’s College of Education on March 19. More than 60 educational experts from the United States, Canada, Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong, and well-known domestic scholars gathered together to discuss the construction of educational disciplines and the educational ideas of Professor Chengxu Wang.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Prof. Guping Zhou, the Vice President of Zhejiang University Development Council and Director of China Academy of West Region Development. Prof. Qiang Zheng, ZJU's Vice President, and Prof. Xiaozhou Xu, Dean of Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences gave welcome addresses respectively. The launch ceremony of Collected Works of Chengxu Wang was held and was unveiled by Professor Qiang Zheng and Professor Zhenguo Yuan, Dean of Faculty of Education at East China Normal University. Prof. Wen Zheng, the Director of Division of Higher Education in Guangdong Provincial Department of Education, and Prof. Zhenguo Yuan gave congratulatory addresses to cherish the memory of Professor Wang. 

The conference was divided into 3 sessions. In Session 1, focusing on the development of discipline of education under the context of “World-Class University and World-Class Discipline” Strategy, deans from Beijing Normal University, East China Normal University, Nanjing Normal University, Xiamen University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, South China Normal University and Zhejiang University presented the experience and development of discipline in their own university, pointed out the issues such as the orientation of educational disciplines and student cultivation, and explored the development strategies, staging a fantastic feast of sparking ideas. Prof. Xudong Zhu, the Dean of Faculty of Education in Beijing Normal University, figured out that Beijing Normal University suffered quantitative and qualitative deficiencies in scientific research achievement, severe delayed graduation of students and low proportion of foreign faculty while putting forward relevant strategies. Prof. Zhenguo Yuan mainly concentrated on what World-Class discipline stands for, how shall we maintain and exert the characteristics of educational discipline and how shall we construct our own paradigm of education. Moreover, he emphasized that the focus and mission of educational researchers ought to be predictive research rather than simply description of current educational situation. Prof. Jianhua Hu, the former Dean of School of Education Science in Nanjing Normal University, proposed several instructive strategies, including promoting international cooperation and developing interdisciplinary research. Exploring the position of educational discipline, Prof. Haifeng Liu, the Director of Institute of Education in Xiamen University, stated that we shall polish the evaluation methods of “World-Class University and World-Class Discipline”. As a Director in the university of science and technology, Prof. Yingqiang Zhang illustrated how shall the college of education clarify its orientation and development strategies. Prof. Xiaozhong Lu, the Dean of School of Education in South China Normal University, and Prof. Jianmin Gu, the Dean of the College of Education in Zhejiang University, stated that higher education shall keep pace with the society, especially in the new era and under the context of “World-Class University and World-Class Discipline” Strategy.  

In Session 2, six experts from different regions and countries presented their opinions on the regional and international experience and trend of discipline of education. Prof. Rui Yang, Associate Dean of Faculty of Education in the University of Hong Kong, indicated that strongly influenced by western traditions, the University of Hong Kong in the future shall exert to promote the amalgamation of Sino-western culture, and thus find its unique ways of development. Prof. Bernadette Baker from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in University of Wisconsin-Madison stressed that to achieve the excellence in education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, great attention shall be attached to the current context and principles of diversity. Concentrating on OISE Academic Plan 2017-2022, Prof. Creso Sa from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education in the University of Toronto, mentioned that priority in the next five years were internationalization, equity, diversity, indigenization, and research. Prof. Liang Zhang from Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology in New York University, introduced the procedures and indicators of higher education recognition, summarized the potential issues of the indicators and interpreted the reasons according to the current context. Prof. Yong-Je Woo from College of Education in Seoul National University, pointed out that Korea suffered severe educational inequality, and thus needed to find a new education model. Prof. Jessica Li from Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, gave a general introduction of her university and mentioned that in the future, the university tended to ensure the rigor and relevance of academic programs as well as enhance the quality of the student experience.

Session 3 was a seminar on the Educational Thoughts of Professor Chengxu Wang. Prof. Zhongming Wang, the Senior Professor of Humanities and Social Science of Zhejiang University and son of Chengxu Wang, Prof. Zhengfan Lin, the former President of Hangzhou Normal University, Prof. Libing Wang, the Chief of Section for Educational Innovations and Skills Development (EISD) in UNESCO Bangkok, and Prof. Wei Chen, the Dean of School of Vocational Education, South China Normal University, were invited to attend the seminar where they recalled the works and unforgettable sayings of Chengxu Wang and all stated that Prof. Wang has a powerful and far-reaching for them, educational discipline and even the academia. 

To sum up, the conference facilitated discussions and exploration of discipline development under the context of “World-Class University and World-Class Discipline” Strategy and with the launch of Collected Works of Chengxu Wang, helped educational researchers reconsider the methods, paradigm and perspective of educational discipline.