Conference Agenda

On behalf of the International Forum for Teacher Educators’ Professional Development (InFo-TED), we propose a special tribute session at the ECER 2026 conference in Tampere in memory of our dear colleague Kari Smith (1949–2025). Kari Smith was a leading international scholar whose work fundamentally shaped research and practice in teacher education, assessment, and the professional development of teacher educators. Her passing represents a significant loss to the international educational research community.

Rather than functioning as a commemorative event, this session is designed as a forward-looking scholarly tribute. Drawing on Kari Smith’s intellectual legacy, the symposium aims to stimulate critical reflection on future directions in teacher education research and practice; conceptually, methodologically, and institutionally. In doing so, the session aligns closely with the mission of ECER Network 10 and Kari’s own enduring commitment to academic rigour, professional learning, and international dialogue.

Conceptual Framing

Kari Smith’s career bridged school practice, teacher education, and research in a way that remains exemplary. After an extensive career as a schoolteacher, she completed her doctorate in 1998 on pupils’ self-assessment, launching a prolific academic trajectory that resulted in more than 500 scholarly contributions. Her work addressed enduring and emerging challenges in teacher education, including assessment for learning, teacher professionalism, quality assurance, the relationship between individual teachers and professional communities, and teacher educators and their professional learning.

At an early stage of European discussions on teacher education, Kari Smith co-authored a seminal article that outlined future scenarios for the field. These scenarios refers to questions that remain highly relevant today in the context of teacher shortages, increasing accountability, and changing university-school relationships. Equally important was her role as a community builder: as founder and long-standing chair of InFo-TED, as chair and later director of NAFOL, and through leadership roles at institutions such as the University of Bergen and NTNU. Across these contexts, Kari consistently foregrounded the learning and development of teacher educators and doctoral researchers.

Structure and Contributions

The session will be chaired by Ruben Vanderlinde and consists of three /four integrated contributions, followed by a structured dialogue with the audience. Presenters contribute primarily in their capacity as teacher educator–scholars, while also drawing on their organisational and institutional experiences. The aim is to offer a multifaceted yet coherent conversation, avoiding a traditional “presentation carousel” and instead fostering shared reflection on the future of the field.

Format and Intended Contribution

Following the contributions, ample time will be reserved for dialogue with the audience, focusing on how Kari Smith’s legacy can inform future research agendas, institutional arrangements, and doctoral education in teacher education. The session thus aims not only to honour Kari Smith’s life and work, but also to extend her influence into the future by engaging the ECER community in collective reflection and sense-making. We respectfully propose this session to ECER Network 10 as a scholarly reflection on Kari Smith’s work and influence, and as an invitation to consider how her ideas can continue to inform future research and practice in teacher education

Eline Vanassche, KULeuven; Helma Oolbekkink-Marchand, HAN University of Apllied Sciences; Paulien Meijer, Radboud University The first contribution reflects on Kari Smith’s role in shaping the international field of teacher educator development through InFo-TED. Drawing on collective experiences within the network, the presentation will discuss how Kari’s work continues to inform conceptual and methodological approaches to researching teacher educators’ learning, as well as emerging challenges and future research directions. Particular attention will be paid to Kari’s commitment to doctoral education, including the supervision and mentoring of early-career scholars

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The second contribution focuses on Kari Smith’s influence on university–school partnerships, particularly through her support of the university school model in Trondheim. Using empirical insights and institutional reports, this presentation examines how university schools can function as hubs for innovation in teacher education—through combined teacher positions, extended practicum and residency models, and co-created research and development. The contribution connects these developments to Kari’s broader vision of practice-based knowledge production and sustainable collaboration between schools and universities.

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The third contribution builds on a co-authored paper by Kari Smith and May Britt Postholm on practice-oriented research. The presentation will revisit key ideas from this work, situating them within current debates on research relevance and knowledge mobilisation in teacher education. In addition, the speaker will briefly reflect on the close scholarly and personal friendship with Kari, illustrating how intellectual collaboration and human connection were deeply intertwined in Kari’s academic life.

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In the last contribution, Lily Orland-Barak reflects on a shared professional and academic journey with Kari Smith, one which unfolded throughout the years as a long, dialogic passage traveled by two close friends together. From their early days as teachers of English, through their work as mentors, and later as teacher educators and educational researchers, Kari and Lily’s paths were braided through ongoing conversations of ' close friends in talk '. These conversations-anchored in trust, care, and intellectual risk-taking became a form of authentic talk: a space where uncertainties, challenges and fears were voiced, ideas rehearsed, and professional identities slowly re-authored. Across time, their conversations cultivated shifts in how each understood teaching, mentoring, and research-not as isolated roles but as evolving practices shaped by personal histories, shared experiences, challenges, and the sedimented wisdom of collegial friendship.

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