Welcome to CIES 2021!

The CIES 2021 Program Chair and Planning Committee welcomes you to the 65th Annual Meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society! The 2021 CIES conference will take place April 25-29, 2021, in Seattle, Washington, and virtually through May 2, 2021 (although adjustments to the on-site portion may occur due to the uncertainties of COVID-19). We anticipate a vibrant engagement of researchers, students, practitioners, and policy makers, in a welcoming and inspiring professional community.

The 2021 conference theme, Social Responsibility within Changing Contexts, focuses our attention on closely examining the work we do and how others in the field experience our work, in a changing environment with a growing variety of actors who may or may not share the same visions for the future. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, we see rapid changes in political, economic, environmental, cultural, and social spaces. Along with these changes is an increasing variety of actors, including non-state actors who are now more involved. These changes influence education globally and locally. This calls for revisiting the relationships among context, actors, visions, and action, and our own collective social responsibility.

Contextual changes include the global sharing of cultural values, a refinement of neoliberal economic and political agendas, and the acceleration of environmental challenges. In addition, we often recognize a narrowing of the purpose of education toward economic outcomes, particularly as they are framed discursively in policy and practice, and the prioritization of technological innovations over other forms of learning. Alongside and within these changing contextual processes, values, and conditions are new actors in the education and development arena, including corporations, corporate philanthropies, celebrities, and billionaires, and perhaps the emergence of new social movements. What are their agendas and processes? How might we revisit the various visions and agendas of all development and education actors, along with our theories of action? How do we do the work we do? How are lives consequently affected? How does social responsibility – of corporate entities, governments, development organizations, communities, and researchers – interact with these changing contexts, the growing range of actors, and evolving visions and approaches to education globally and locally?

In the current era of COVID-19 we are planning for an unknown future. We anticipate an on-site participation options in Seattle along with the virtual forms of engagement, including hybrid (synchronous) sessions and online (asynchronous) sessions. With this multi-pronged approach we will be able to adjust according to the situation, whatever it may be. Please check the conference website for more information about our flexible approach and presentation options, and updates as they become available. We appreciate your patience as we plan for an unpredictable future. Please check the conference website for regular updates, contact us at cies2021@cies.us for questions.

We have an exciting conference planned, with several keynote and plenary panels which will explore conference theme from a variety of perspectives. Bilingual presentations are invited this year, and 2021 will expand on the virtual presence begun last year. We look forward to seeing all of you in Seattle or virtually. Please encourage your colleagues and friends to attend CIES 2021, to get to know the vibrant organization that CIES is, and to engage with our professional community.

Program Chair
Karen Monkman, DePaul University and University of Pittsburgh

Program Coordinators
Dao Nguyen, University of Pittsburgh
Xi Wang, University of Pittsburgh