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As you may know, the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) was formed at the European Conference on Research in Science Education held in Leeds, England, in April 1995. Since then, ESERA has held biennial conferences. The 15th Conference of the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA 2023) occurred in Cappadocia, Türkiye, from August 28 to September 1, 2023. Hacettepe University, Gazi University and Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University hosted the ESERA 2023 Conference. Due to its central location and excellent facilities, the conference was organized on Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University campus with the state-of-the-art convention center and other facilities.
STEM fields, namely science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, have enormously impacted human societies over recorded history. Today, they constitute an integral and inseparable part of the societies in which we live. On the other hand, resources of cultural heritage can play an important role in improving science teaching and learning in formal and informal settings.
“Connecting Science Education with Cultural Heritage” is one of the main goals of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO seeks to build peace through international cooperation in education, sciences, and culture and carry out programmes to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Science, heritage, culture, and arts are uniquely interconnected in Cappadocia. Hence, the ESERA 2023 Conference’s theme is “Connecting Science Education with Cultural Heritage.” Since the region is extremely rich in culture and carries the heritage of several historical cultures, we hope the theme will trigger a new way of looking at science teaching as the concept of “cultural heritage” has not been adequately utilized in the literature.
