Innovation & Education is a double-blind, peer-reviewed international publication from BMC, part of Springer Nature sponsored by Korea National University of Education. The journal aims to promote high impact research on teaching and learning. It focuses on innovation, complexity and change as the driving forces of educational research and practice. Research is presented in relation to contemporary changes in modern knowledge, driven by ideas emerged from the so-called ‘fourth industrial revolution’, including robotics, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and new biotechnologies. Such changes are transforming entire systems of production, management, and governance. Similarly, they require transformative understanding of the way students learn, education systems and policies, innovative teaching approaches, and the role of schools, universities and teachers, not only in hyper-technologic contexts, but also in affluent and developing societies.
The journal addresses and connects six main areas of research: advances in theories of education; digital learning and teaching; STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics education) education; innovation and higher education; innovation and teacher education; innovation and life-long learning.
Advances in Theories of Education: With the advancement of the fourth industrial revolution in particular, the reconceptualization of learning and teaching emerged as a critical topic in all areas of educational research. The aim of this section is to encourage and disseminate new, innovative empirical research on learning and teaching for the betterment of our teachers, students, and ultimately the society. The scope includes, but is not limited to, research on advances in theories of learning and teaching targeting all age levels (investigated via true- or quasi-experimental designs, qualitative data analysis methods, or mixed methods. Empirical studies on learning and teaching analyzed with newer methods such as machine learning techniques are particularly valued.
Digital Education: From computers to tablets and smartphones, most learners have easier, faster, and more affordable access to information, learning resources, experts, peers, and a wider community of educators. This section serves as a platform for research on a variety of issues related to digital technologies for innovative education. The scope of digital technology for learning and teaching includes, e-learning, massive open online course (MOOC), mobile learning, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and extended reality (XR), Internet of Things (IoT), and Robots. We encourage papers on research on provocative education, including deeper learning, crossover learning, maker education, future education, and so on for all levels of education.
STEM and STEAM Education: The STEM session aims to foster inter-connected, multi-disciplinary research through contributions that are empirically grounded which blend subject content expertise with educational endeavors. Contributions will be encouraged from scholars and practitioners within and across education and subject content fields (e.g. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), to promote scholarly exchange and discussion on emerging issues and frontier research in STEM education. The session features original research and reviews in STEM education. Interdisciplinary and innovative research contributions are preferred.
Innovation and Higher Education: The world has advanced considerably and the need for higher education is greater than ever. Traditionally, higher education has focused on character development to prepare individuals for productive contributions to society. Recently there has been a greater focus on career development. This tension has caused researchers in higher education to rethink the role of higher education for the individual as well as for society. Furthermore, ever-increasing inequity in access to higher education calls for research on ways to remediate and/or improve the current states. The Innovation & Higher Education section provides a focus for research on a variety of issues related to the higher education field, which uses qualitative, quantitative, and other advanced research methodologies. Topics considered in this section cover equity issues, globalization, government policies, governance systems, faculty and student issues, curriculum, teaching methods, instructional design, and student management, and so on in both undergraduate and graduate levels. The section encourages scholars to submit research addressing provocative issues for postsecondary education.
Innovation and Teacher Education: In general, the term “innovation” in the field of teacher education mainly refers to new and creative ways to empower teachers. However, in order to create something new, it is pertinent to reflect on our past and recount the steps we have taken during the complex change processes leading up to the present context. It is also necessary to become fully aware of the current situation so that we can appropriately define the areas that can be further developed by means of innovative ideas. As a result of understanding the factors that shape our present context, we can reconstruct, renovate, renew as well as create approaches and methods in teacher education to promote lasting effects and enhance the teachers’ professionalism. This section, The Innovation & Teacher Education serves as a platform for research on issues concerning both pre- and in- service teachers, teaching, and teacher education aiming to enhance theory, research and practice in teacher education via publication of research. We welcome varied approaches to empirical research (both qualitative and quantitative) on issues related to theories and methods aligned to support and sustain innovation in teacher education. We also highly encourage action research studies to help bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Innovation and Lifelong Learning: The civilization achieved by humanity has shown that human beings have learned from anywhere, anytime in the history. The notion of lifelong learning points out that learning is a fundamental and enduring process throughout life. Lifelong learning has emphasized cooperation across different sectors of education such as schools working with community, higher education working with various educational institutions, and organizations working for recognition of prior learning experiences. In this sense, “innovation” meets “lifelong learning” to understand coherence across the whole of the educational system. The section Innovation & Lifelong Learning provides a focus for research on a variety of issues related to innovative practices of the lifelong learning area. Introducing and sharing lifelong learning issues from different countries is encouraged. Topics considered in this section may include, but not limited to, adult learning and development, international lifelong learning, workplace learning, and lifelong learning policy. The section provides international scholars with a way to present and disseminate provocative issues internationally.
