A word from CILTER’s Centre Director
Welcome to the website of CILTER!
I am excited to introduce to you the Centre of International, Language and Teacher Education Research (CILTER), a research centre affiliated with the International Education and Lifelong Learning Institute (IELLI) at the University of St Andrews.
The impetus for establishing CILTER is a passion shared by IELLI staff and PG students to bring education research and practice closer to one another. As a primarily teaching unit/school, IELLI has a wealth of diverse experience in conducting world-leading and practice-focused research in international education, language education, teacher education, and their intersection. Publications by IELLI academic staff regularly appear in international and high-impact journals. IELLI professional services staff also engage in research activities relevant to their roles. Some examples include publishing a book to support students transitioning to university study, conducting a research study on Residential Assistants to better support their training, to name but a few. Our postgraduate community is a research powerhouse. Our MSc students are encouraged to embrace open science practices including publishing their dissertations on research platforms such as Open Science Framework (see an example dissertation here). Some of our MSc students co-author with their supervisors to further refine their dissertations that are published in leading academic journals. Our DProf students, who are undertaking a by-publication programme, have rich experience in publishing in academic and professional journals (see our Newsletter for some recent publications).
At IELLI, we are biased about engaging in research that have direct relevance and immediate impact on our multifaceted roles in education. This is exemplified in our Research and Impact Strategy. While some examples of research can be academic outputs such as those outlined above, we advocate for a focus on cultivating a research mindset and embedding research processes in everything we do. No matter what we do as academic staff, professional services staff, and PG students, we engage in research in one way or another and we are proud of it! CILTER exists as a one-stop shop to showcase Edu-X research (i.e., collaborative, interdisciplinary and interprofessional education research) activities that IELLI staff and students are involved in. CILTER also serves as a gateway for likeminded academics and professionals to connect with us, to explore ideas and get our hands dirty in cutting-edge research that involves academics and professionals with different expertise, brought together by a shared vision to improve education.
CILTER is interested in research that is at the intersection. That is why our signature seminar series is the “Edu-X” series, where academics and professionals with diverse backgrounds engage in critical and intellectual dialogues on educational issues. I am confident that CILTER will become a community that embraces diversity and inclusivity in research practice and nurtures the next generation of educationalists who possess not only expert knowledge but also the agility and tenacity to bring research closer to practice.
Professor Sin-Wang Chong (Ph.D., PFHEA, FRSA)
Founding Director, CILTER