ECER 2010 Conference Review - Numbers and Testimonials

• 1650 presentations in the Main Conference
• 1750 researchers from 70 different countries
• 226 reviewers from 35 different countries, many of them also chairing sessions

Participants were invited to an on-line questionnaire on ECER 2010. Overall, 554 conference attendees (30%) took part in the online survey. 68.4 % of them were female, 31.6 % male, the age varied from 22 to 78, with a mean of 43.
The following data presents a selection of results.

Respondents indicated that on average they attend three conferences per year and that – on average – two of these are international conferences.  68% of respondents do not attend more than 3 conferences a year.

For almost half of respondents (49.2%) the ECER 2010 was the first ECER conference; another 26.7% reported to have been to one or two previous ECERs. The remaining respondents varied greatly in their previous ECER attendances with numbers ranging from three to more than ten.

Testimonial

"Because it was for first time when I had the possibility to participate in an international conference everything was new and interesting. I was delighted to meet persons and researchers from different countries and to make some new contacts. It was great because I had the chance to talk with persons who studied the same research topics (I just finished my phd on cooperative learning). I have an idea now about new themes for research and I learned about good presentation and a bad PPT)"

Overall, the evaluations were very positive both when sessions were judged by presenters as well as by listeners.

76 % of presenters agreed with the statement that the academic quality of the session they presented in was excellent (27,7 % choosing the top, 48,7 % choosing the second top rating). Similarly 68.7 % of listeners agreed that the quality of sessions they had visited was excellent (22.3 % choosing the top and 46,4 % choosing the second top rating)

This means that only 5.4 % of presenters and 10.1 % of listeners disagreed with the statement. Others were undecided. 

Testimonial:

"I recall a couple of session which were particularly inspiring because the interplay between the speaker and the audience was particularly rich in suggestions/insights. I think that a role in this king of success is played by the ability of the chairman."

Accademic discussions

Likewise, 64.9 % of presenters and 65.3 % of listeners indicated that they profited from the discussion triggered by presentations (they chose one of the top two ratings) whereas only 13 % of presenters and 11.6 % of listeners stated that they did not benefit from discussions (they chose one of the two low ratings). Similar results were obtained for the other statements addressing the coherence between contributions presented in a session (58,9 % of presenters and 61,9 % of listeners agreeing), the session’s contribution to fostering European dialogue (65,6 % of presenters and 66,1 % of listeners agreeing), the level of English (68 % of presenters and 65,6 % of listeners agreeing), and the satisfaction with handouts received during sessions (63 % of presenters and 55,5 % of listeners agreeing).
 

Testimonial:

"This ECER conference was very positive experience, I met people who share the same research interests and we also established a group to continue in future cooperation in the research in two or three countries, we are still looking for some new contacts."

Respondents were asked to indicate their general impressions of the conference. These impressions were generally very positive with mean rating being lower than 2 on all items.

Testimonial

"The overall service and taking care made an impression. There were several small things like a free transport card for Helsinki area, coffee with pastry served at the venues, clear info, presenting ourselves in the audience to create community spirit etc. If something was not in order, like I did not have an envelope ready for myself at the registration, the service was quick and friendly. Of course, our symposia were a success, too."

Respondents gave a number of reasons for attending ECER and alluded to several issues that they think is special about this conference.

• The international nature of the conference and its European focus were mentioned most frequently. In terms of the latter issue some respondents stated that they appreciated the lack of an otherwise prevalent dominance of North American views.
• Other central motives were the broad approach of the conference incorporating a great variety of topics as well as networking opportunities and the prospect of meeting colleagues.
• Likewise, the aim of developing and being exposed to new ideas and to gain an overview of current issues in various fields in educational research as well as the opportunity to present and promote one’s own research were frequently mentioned by respondents.
• Others praised the quality of contributions and the professional organization of the conference as factors making an attendance desirable.
• Some responders stated that they attended as a response to recommendation by colleagues and some Finnish attendants reported the location of the conference as a main factor.
• Finally, a great number of respondents reported that they consider ECER to be the most important European conference on educational research and that this assessment drove their decision to attend.