The main theme of the conference was "The need for Educational research to champion freedom, Education and development for all".

Professor Howie, a well-published researcher, presented a paper entitled "Reflections on South African model of reading effectiveness". The paper was co-written with Dr Surette Van Staden, also a researcher at the CEA and a lecturer in the Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education at the University of Pretoria.

Prof Howie obtained her PhD in Education from the University of Twente in the Netherlands and is currently a member of the OECD’s expert group for the Progress in International Student Assessment (PISA 2015), a member of the international Questionnaire Development Group for the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2011) and was a member of the Scientific Committee for the IEA International Research Conference for 2010.