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Dr Maxwell Ho Chun Sing
Assistant Professor, Department of Education Policy and Leadership;
Associate Co-Director, Academy for Educational Development and Innovation,
The Education University of Hong Kong
Biography
Dr Ho is an experienced educator who has dedicated himself to promoting teacher entrepreneurialism, entrepreneurship education, and financial literacy throughout his career. He earned a Bachelor of Education (Business Studies) degree with first-class honours from the Education University of Hong Kong in 2008, following which he rose through the ranks quickly to become head of technology education (KLA) and administration group as a middle manager. His finance and entrepreneurial curriculum won him the Teacher award for business and financial education in 2016, a recognition from the HKABE, HKEdCity, EDB, and IFEC.
Dr Ho continues to contribute to the field of education since joining EdUHK. As a Research Fellow at the Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change, he has performed leadership and educational practice research. In 2020, he was awarded the Emerald publishing award for his excellent doctoral research and is now invited to provide leadership training to primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. He has also been named President of the Hong Kong Association of Business Education, demonstrating his continued commitment to the growth of this sector. His teacher entrepreneurialism series has trained over 400 school leaders so far.
In 2021, Dr Ho received the Emerald Young Researcher Award for his exceptional contribution to education in Hong Kong, validating his continued research interests in teacher entrepreneurialism, entrepreneurship education, and financial literacy. His efforts were further acknowledged by the Michael Fullan Emerging Scholar award in 2023.
Abstract
Title: Making Interdisciplinary Research Happen in Education: Why It Matters, What It Is, and a Practical Framework
Interdisciplinary research is crucial for addressing educational challenges such as learning recovery, equity, wellbeing, digital transformation, sustainability, and workforce change. However, many projects fail not due to weak ideas, but due to lacking shared concepts, rigorous designs for credible evidence, and institutional support for collaboration.
This session equips researchers—particularly those initiating new studies or seeking partners—to move from interest to implementation. It clarifies multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary approaches and their implications for publication, funding, and impact. Drawing on key literature, it presents a practical framework integrating:
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conceptual alignment,
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methodological rigour,
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institutional embedding.
Participants will receive actionable guidance to refine questions, find collaborators, strengthen designs, and enhance real-world relevance.
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Dr Rhoda Myra Garces-Bacsal
Associate Professor,
United Arab Emirates University
Biography
Dr Garces-Bacsal has served as an educator for 25+ years (Philippines, Singapore, UAE) and led projects connected to diverse picturebooks, social and emotional learning, inclusive and culturally sustaining pedagogies. She is an Associate Professor with the Special and Gifted Education Department and served as Assistant Dean for Research & Graduate Studies for the College of Education, UAE University for five years. She led two collaborative research projects with University College London and organized high-profile events to build research capacity and scholarship of faculty members and students in her college. Her website, GatheringBooks.org, is followed by over 200 countries since 2010.
Abstract
In this Journal Spotlight Session, Dr Garces-Bacsal would be speaking about being part of the Editorial Board of Education Innovations: Systems and Future Learning – an interdisciplinary journal committed to engaging academics and scholars in synergistic dialogues on educational pedagogies and practices, theories and policies. She will discuss the aims and scope of the journal and what the editorial members are looking for in terms of the quality of manuscript submissions. Dr Garces-Bacsal will likewise speak about her experiences in supporting novice academics with the key events that she has organized and how to make educational research translational to enable community members and stakeholders to benefit from research findings that could directly impact professional practice and policy. The brief session would conclude with an invitation to submit a manuscript for the current call for paper related to Educational Leadership, Management, and Policy for Preparing the Future Workforce: Global Perspectives and Local Realities.
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