Dear Colleagues,
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 holds biennial conferences. The next one, the 15th Conference of the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA 2023), will take place in Cappadocia, Turkey from August 28 to September 1, 2023. Hacettepe University, Gazi University and Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University will host the ESERA 2023 Conference. Due to its central location and excellent facilities, the conference will be organized on Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University campus with state-of-the-art convention center and other facilities.
STEM fields, namely science and technology together with engineering and mathematics, have had an enormous impact on human societies over the 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 for 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 the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Science, heritage, culture and arts are uniquely interconnected in Cappadocia. Hence, the theme of the ESERA 2023 Conference is set as “Connecting Science Education with Cultural Heritage”. Since the region is extremely rich in culture and carries the heritage of several historical cultures to this date, we hope that 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.
We are looking forward to seeing you all in Cappadocia in 2023!
On behalf of the Local Organizing Committee,
Gultekin Cakmakci, Hacettepe University, Chair of the Conference
Mehmet Fatih Tasar, Gazi University, Chair of the International Scientific Committee
Mustafa Hilmi Colakoglu, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University
