The Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia
We advance scholarship and engagement with the philosophy of education.
54th PESA Conference 2026
University of Melbourne, 6-10 December 2026
Ethical thought-work and parrhesia in educational ideologies
PESA Agora
PESA Agora is a meeting place of ideas in philosophy, education, and culture.
EPAT
Educational Philosophy and Theory publishes articles concerned with all aspects of educational philosophy
ACCESS
Contemporary Issues in Education has just relaunched in 2020
EPAT Book Series
PESA and EPAT publish 2 book series, the EPAT Special Issues Book Series and the EPAT Editor’s Choice Series
We advance scholarship and engagement with the philosophy of education.
PESA aims to advance educational theory, policy, and practice. Our members promote and advance research and teaching in the philosophy of education. They encourage scholarship and critique, providing a supportive environment for students and academics in the field.
Our aim is to elevate the discipline of philosophy of education and its transformative potential in universities, schools, and public settings throughout Australasia and globally.
Read more Meet the PESA Executive
The affairs of the Society are managed by an Executive Committee, appointed by the members at the AGM.
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Post-Graduate & Early Career Researcher Group
PESA has a special focus on supporting post-graduate students and early career researchers engaging with philosophy of education.
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Indigenous Philosophy Group
The IPG supports and promotes diverse indigenous philosophical scholarship in education.
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Latest Articles
PESA Agora
- Unbecoming? Aotearoa, He Ao Māori
- The Ecology of AI Bad Code: Propagation of Error, Malignant Strains and Deviation of Values
- Work and Education
- Gaza, War Crimes and the Ethics of Global Responsibility
- Becoming Aotearoa and the Contested Remaking of a Nation’s Historiography
- The Education/EdTech Legitimation Complex
EPAT
- Trigger warnings for the political theory canon: A moderate defense
- Unlearning Cartesian consciousness: On the source of Anglo-American prejudice towards East Asian education
- South Korea as Method: Post-oriental discourse as epistemic reconfiguration of indigenous practices and educational culture in Asia
- Where I end and you begin: Subjectification and autonomy revisited
- Education without progress: What’s the point?
- Sincerity and epistemic carcerality
Scholarships and Grants
The PESA Executive welcomes requests from members for financial support to host conferences, seminars, symposia, and other events consistent with the objects of the Society. The PESA Executive also applications from members for grants to support research projects in philosophy of education. PESA also offers an annual Book award to encourage publication of works in the philosophy of education.
Postgraduate and Doctoral
One doctoral scholarship will be offered to a student working at a high level in educational philosophy and theory each year.
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Book awards
The PESA Book Award honours a PESA member whose recent authored or edited book has been formally judged by a committee to be significant to philosophy of education.
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Research Grants
Funding may be provided for editing, research materials, assistance with travel, attending writing retreats, and other activities that the sub-committee determines to be relevant.
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Support for hosting conferences, symposia and seminars
PESA Executive welcomes requests from members for financial support to host conferences, seminars, symposia, and other events consistent with the objects of the Society
Read more
Our Research Network
PESA and has a rich history which extends from its foundations in Australia and New Zealand to becoming a global organisation with international membership by the early 2000s.
President's Welcome
Kia ora, Wominjeka and Welcome,
Welcome to the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA). PESA is a learned society which aims to address all aspects of research, teaching and learning related to and informed by the philosophy of education. PESA is focused on many scholarly activities, including hosting scholarly meetings, regular conferences, seminars, webinars, and research. It supports the scholarship of PESA members through grants, scholarships, and book awards. PESA is a local and global organisation, leading conversations, and research in philosophy of education internationally with a strong commitment to the Indigenous communities in Australia, New Zealand and Australasia.
The philosophical paradigms, and ontological, epistemological, and axiological debates represented in PESA are diverse and pluralistic, emerging from a range of different philosophical schools and systems. As a Society we support safe and inclusive engagements in conferences, and scholarship that is driven by dialogue and collaboration. We aim to elevate the participation of post graduate students, early career scholars, women in philosophy and Indigenous scholarship and philosophies.
The Society’s flagship journal Educational Philosophy and Theory (published by Taylor & Francis) is a world leader in the field, with an IF of 2.054. Our journals are connected through our newly upgraded website including PESA’s outreach publication project PESA Agora, and Access: Contemporary Issues in Education, a well-known and much-loved journal. The journals are supported by a wider ecosystem of publication projects and editorial support systems.
On behalf of the Society’s Executive, which works hard throughout the year to lead the Society, it is my pleasure to welcome you to PESA. I invite you to become a member and to join us at one of our events, to browse our website, and to publish in our journals. We hope that you will enjoy being part of this vibrant, scholarly community, and engage with us to advance philosophical thinking in education.
Sonja Arndt
President
PESA
Welcome to the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA). PESA is a learned society which aims to address all aspects of research, teaching and learning related to and informed by the philosophy of education. PESA is focused on many scholarly activities, including hosting scholarly meetings, regular conferences, seminars, webinars, and research. It supports the scholarship of PESA members through grants, scholarships, and book awards. PESA is a local and global organisation, leading conversations, and research in philosophy of education internationally with a strong commitment to the Indigenous communities in Australia, New Zealand and Australasia.
The philosophical paradigms, and ontological, epistemological, and axiological debates represented in PESA are diverse and pluralistic, emerging from a range of different philosophical schools and systems. As a Society we support safe and inclusive engagements in conferences, and scholarship that is driven by dialogue and collaboration. We aim to elevate the participation of post graduate students, early career scholars, women in philosophy and Indigenous scholarship and philosophies.
The Society’s flagship journal Educational Philosophy and Theory (published by Taylor & Francis) is a world leader in the field, with an IF of 2.054. Our journals are connected through our newly upgraded website including PESA’s outreach publication project PESA Agora, and Access: Contemporary Issues in Education, a well-known and much-loved journal. The journals are supported by a wider ecosystem of publication projects and editorial support systems.
On behalf of the Society’s Executive, which works hard throughout the year to lead the Society, it is my pleasure to welcome you to PESA. I invite you to become a member and to join us at one of our events, to browse our website, and to publish in our journals. We hope that you will enjoy being part of this vibrant, scholarly community, and engage with us to advance philosophical thinking in education.
Sonja Arndt
President
PESA
