Developmental and Educational Psychology: Current Issues and Challenges for the 21st Century

The PIAGET-RIPSYDEVE international conference will be held on 26 and 27 June 2023 at the University of Geneva. It is organised by the Centre Jean Piaget of the University of Geneva in collaboration with the Association du Réseau Interuniversitaire de PSYchologie du DEVeloppement et de l'Education as part of the 15th edition of the RIPSYDEVE colloquium and the 4th Jean Piaget Conferences.

The theme of this year's conference is the issues and challenges facing research in developmental and educational psychology in the 21st century.  As researchers or practitioners, through our various roles in different institutions or associations, we must get involved to meet the major scientific and societal challenges of the 21st century in order to prepare a future for our children. That's why we think it's important for researchers and practitioners to address these issues at this international conference.

- Theme 1: Climate change and sustainable development. The psychological development of children and adolescents is intimately linked to sustainable development and the way in which we care for our environment and its current and future resources. All current research reveals the negative and lasting effects of the various types of pollution present in our environment and our food on children's neurocognitive development. Research shows that we need to take a global view of the evolution of our society and the environmental conditions that it must offer in order to promote optimum psychological development for our children. It is also essential to examine how children and adolescents construct their relationships.

- Theme 2: Mental health. Mental or psychic health is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2019) as a state of well-being in which a person can achieve self-actualisation, cope with the normal stresses of life, do productive work and contribute to the life of their community. Promoting the mental health of children and adolescents, detecting psychological disorders or instabilities at an early stage and treating them appropriately is crucial not only for the children and adolescents directly concerned and their parents, but also for society as a whole (significant social and economic consequences), in the short and long term.

- Theme 3: Social inequalities. The socio-economic environment of children and adolescents, in particular the socio-economic status of their parents, plays a significant role in their mental health. The current rise in income inequalities has consequences for children's development. Indeed, a large body of international scientific data, derived from epidemiology, establishes links between degrees of income inequality in different countries (measured, for example, by the gap between the richest 20% and the poorest 20%), and other indicators measuring the level of well-being and happiness in our societies (food, health, standard of living, environment, level of trust in people, status of women, etc.). Among these many indicators, several concern the psychological development of children.

- Theme 4: digital education. The question of the relationship between teaching, learning and digital technology has been complex and debated since the 1970s. Scientific and technological advances in the collection, access and analysis of large volumes of data have led to spectacular advances in the fields of "deep learning" and "adaptive learning", which are likely to respond to the characteristics and needs of each learner. However, the meta-analyses that examine the effects of digital tools on learning reveal mixed results, with positive effects that are modest in size and highly variable, sometimes nil or deleterious. The OECD (2015), noting the absence of a relationship between PISA test results and investment in information and communication technologies (ICT), has reopened the debate on the effectiveness of using digital devices in education.  

These four themes will be addressed by taking into account the influence that different environments (family, school, digital, etc.) have on the development and learning of children, adolescents and adults.

Papers on each of these themes will provide scientific insights into different areas of development, both typical and atypical in terms of the issues raised.

As in previous editions, the participation of young researchers, young psychologists and doctoral students is strongly encouraged, to give them the opportunity to present their work and discuss it with their peers. The format of the symposium is intended to be multi-faceted, with a wide range of themes and formats (oral and poster presentations, symposia, plenary lectures).

This international conference is aimed not only at researchers and doctoral students, but also at professionals (psychologists, ergonomists, doctors, educators, teachers, carers, speech therapists, psychomotor therapists, etc.) working in the field of developmental and educational psychology.

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