Friday, January 3rd is the opening ceremony of the 27th ICSEI at the ballroom of the Royal Ambarrukmo Hotel, Yogyakarta. Officially opened by the Vice Minister of Education of the Republic of Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Ir. H. Musliar Kasim, MS, the opening ceremony was attended by the Rector of Yogyakarta State University, the board of ICSEI, the guests, and the conference participants. The opening ceremony was started by a semi traditional dance performed by the students of the Dance Education Department and then followed by a welcoming speech by the Rector of YSU. Prof. Dr. Rochmat Wahab, M.Pd., M.A..

The ICSEI President, Professor Alma Harris, gave her welcoming remarks to the 27th ICSEI participants. In her speech, she pointed that the aspiration of making a difference through improving students’ performances at schools was not a dream, it had to be a reality though tangible challenges remained. It was about improving the teacher teaching and the student learning. Given countries like Indonesia and China where the huge numbers of population are supported by the booming economy, Indonesia is among the surprises of the new global era. ICSEI had been based mostly in the western context, but now Asian and other parts of the world contexts must be considered since Asia has dominated the world in many aspects of sciences and education. The educational researchers and practitioners should be more aware of what questions to ask, so that the results of their works come from a series of inquiries. Through schools, teachers can make changes. Of course, the changes in the classroom are not visible, but in years time, the result can be seen. Besides, international comparisons are made possible through this conference to look for explanation for educational excellence. That is the reason for networking, to work, sit together with people with the same interest.

Continuing the program, it was the speech and the official opening of the conference by Prof. Dr. Ir. H. Musliar Kasim, MS as the Vice Minister of Education of the Republic of Indonesia. He addressed the two important educational issues faced by the nation. The first is curriculum change, and the second is the low rate of students’ enrollment to higher levels of education that is in senior high schools and higher educations. He also emphasized the importance implementing a characterized curriculum in Indonesian education. The program was closed by the singing performances by two students of the Music Education Department of YSU and music by Violet Orchestra.