Davetli - Plenary

Brunel University of London

"He has worked in mainstream and special schools, and at several universities in England. He undertakes research and teaching in special and inclusive education, with a particular interest in challenging behaviour and exclusions, learning difficulties in the classroom, and links between schools, families, and communities."

Davetli - Plenary

Ohio State University

" Dr. Peter V. Paul is a Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at The Ohio State University, where he has served since 1984. He earned his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Paul wears bilateral cochlear implants and is the father of a son with Down syndrome and autism. One of his primary responsibilities is preparing teachers for the education of d/Deaf and hard of hearing students.

His research focuses on inclusion, vocabulary, language, and literacy. He has authored over 285 publications, including books such as Language and Deafness, Literacy and Deafness, and Reading and Deafness, which are widely recognized in the field.

Dr. Paul has delivered numerous national and international presentations and workshops on language, literacy, and inclusive education. He currently serves as the editor of the American Annals of the Deaf and sits on several editorial boards.

His honors include the 2022 King Salman International Award for Disability Research, the Edward Fay Award, and his college’s Faculty Impact Award.

Davetli - Plenary

Miguel Augusto Meneses da Silva Santos is a Coordinating Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, where he currently serves as Vice-President of the School of Education and sits on the Board of inED – Centre for Research and Innovation in Education. He holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and a Master’s in Special Educational Psychology from the University of Minho, and a degree in Psychology from the University of Coimbra.

His research focuses on Educational Sciences, with emphasis on Special Education and Educational Psychology. He has participated in 14 funded research projects, leading three, and currently coordinates the Portuguese team of the Erasmus+ project SOULSS – Scaffolding Online University Learning: Support Systems, dedicated to fostering inclusion in higher education. He has collaborated with over 100 researchers and supervised more than 60 master’s and doctoral theses. His work also includes a decade-long leadership role in institutional initiatives supporting students with additional needs in higher education.

Davetli - Plenary

Professor Sonia Blandford DSc (Hon), EdD, MPhil, MA, BEd, Cert Ed., FRSA, FCollT, FCCT

Over 40 years in education as teacher, school senior leader, researcher, teacher educator, university dean of education, pro-vice chancellor, school governor, MAT member and trustee, author; Emeritus Professor of Social Mobility Plymouth Marjon, Visiting Professor of Education UCL, Honorary Professor Warwick University, Senior Research Fellow Oxford University; Founder and former CEO award-winning charity - Achievement for All 3As; The Prince’s Trust Learning Lead – Taskforce 2030. Named in Debrett's Sunday Times 2015 and 2016 list of the Top 500 Most Influential People in the UK, 2016 Women of the Year Awards, 2018 UK Social Mobility Award Leadership of the Year, 2022 BBC Making a Difference Awards.

Co-created Teacher Training Resource Bank and Teach First programme; Co-Author European Commission Improving Teacher Education; Founding Vice-President Chartered College of Teaching; UK lead for European Agency for Inclusion and SEND Raising Attainment research report.

Editor Teaching Times Inclusion Journal; c.300 articles and 55 book publications including Born to Fail? Social Mobility, A Working Class View;’ Social Mobility Chance or Choice?’ Teaching and Learning to Unlock Social Mobility for Every Child: Building Learning Futures, Routledge.