International and Comparative Education Program at CIES 2026
The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) 2026 Conference will take place March 28 – April 1, 2026 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square in San Francisco, California. As one of the largest global gatherings of education scholars, policymakers, and practitioners, CIES brings together participants from around the world to engage with pressing issues shaping education across diverse contexts. The 2026 conference highlights research and dialogue on education, equity, global development, and social transformation.
The International and Comparative Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University is a leading interdisciplinary community of scholars, practitioners, and students engaged in advancing research, policy, and practice in education globally. With a strong focus on equity, social justice, and context-responsive approaches, the program brings together diverse perspectives to address critical challenges such as displacement, climate change, governance, and access to education. At CIES 2026, the program’s extensive participation reflects its commitment to rigorous scholarship and meaningful engagement across regions and sectors, highlighting work that bridges theory, practice, and policy in both local and global contexts.
Program Dates: March 28 – April 1, 2026
You can find the Full Online Program Here
Program at a Glance
🟦 Friday, March 28
9:45 AM – 11:00 AM
WorkshopOren Pizmony-Levy & Amanda Earl
Navigating the Publication Process with Teachers College Record
9:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Teacher Policy (Peru) & Global ReformAlejandra Cespedes Ormachea
From Policy to Practice: Teacher and Mentor Agency in Reimagining Peru’s In-Service Intercultural Bilingual Education in Amazonian Schools
Sumit Karn
Exceptional or Emblematic? The Global Diffusion of School Choice and Student-Centered Reforms and Their Implications for Peace in Education
11:15 AM – 12:30 PM
Teacher Workforce (Latin America)Jose La Rosa Villacorta
School Principal Perspectives on Performance-Based Evaluations under Peru’s Teacher Reform Law
Jonathan Beltran
Teacher Trajectories Across Colombia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Hierarchical Growth Model Analysis (2017–2023)
Nina Yacher
The Debate on Admission Selectivity in Chilean Teacher Education: Educational Equity, Education Quality, and the Professionalization of Teaching in Chile
🟩 Saturday, March 29
11:15 AM – 12:30 PM
Teacher Reform & Global EducationOren Pizmony-Levy & Maja Dahms
Global Gaps in Climate Change Education Governance
Kseniia Tishkus
Shaping Tomorrow’s Educators for a Globalized World: How Institutional Factors Foster the Implementation of Transformative Global Education
11:15 AM – 12:30 PM
Conflict, Protection & IdentityArnela Colic
Dividing up Diversity: Post-War Parallel Schooling in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Yuta Kumazaki & Nasr Fadhel Abdullah Abdo
Education for Protection and Radicalization Prevention: A Mixed-Methods Study on Resilient Capabilities through Education and Protection Projects in Yemen and Lebanon
Avner Rogel
Educators Mobilizing Affect: Queer Pedagogies Across Dysphoria, Euphoria, and Interphoria
2:45 PM – 4:00 PM / 4:30 PM – 5:45 PM / 7:45 PM – 9:00 PM
Governance, History, Multilingualism & ClimateHenan Cheng
From China to the World: Dr. James Y. C. Yen and His Contribution to International Mass Education Movement and World Peace
Talha Idiz
Catalyzing Academic Excellence: Evaluating the Impact of Turkish Research University Project on Scholarly and Institutional Performance Indicators
Haoyue Wang & Lara Patil
Innovation, Transformation, Education Governance: Technology Industry Agendas in Local School Contexts
Prem Phyak, Shamo Thar, Tsewang Chuskit, Amine Mechaal & Charlotte Parker
Policy-practice interface in multilingual education: Ideology, agency, and social justice in the Global South
Neil Potnis & Renda Sun
Family background and environmental awareness: Evidence from TIMSS 2023 among U.S. eighth-grade students
🟨 Sunday, March 30
8:00 AM – 9:15 AM / 9:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Peace, Climate & Higher EducationGita Steiner-Khamsi, Karen Mundy, Yuto Kitamura, Crain A. Soudien & Bernard Schneuwly
[Presidential Invited Symposium] Peace as an Ideal for Transforming Education: From the Universalist Aspirations of the IBE to the UNESCO Futures of Education
Merav Hayak & Naama Sadan
When Change Meets Change: Theoretical Frameworks for Organizational Transformation in Schools Facing Climate Change Educational Demands
Jamie Marshall & Jin Ha Joe Kim
Exploring the feasibility of establishing a University for Peace office in Goseong: towards integrated peace curriculum on the Korean Peninsula
2:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Refugee, Civic, Language & Climate EducationMary Mendenhall, Melissa Rooney, Ashleigh Marie Sable, Kemigisha Richardson & Moisa Saidu
Reimagining Education Through the Arts: Insights from Refugee Schools in Uganda
Oren Pizmony-Levy, Avner Rogel & Tali Yariv Mashal
Developing a Survey on Commitment to Civic Engagement in Liberal Democracy: Methodological Lessons from Israel
Prem Phyak
Community agency and activism for mother tongue education: The case of the Yaakthung language in Nepal
Yixuan Yang, Maha Dahms & Oren Pizmony-Levy
Empowering Educators at Scale: A City-Wide Model for Climate Change Professional Learning
Noa Urbach, Christina Ann Torres & Oren Pizmony-Levy
Bridging Educational Divides: A Research-Practice Partnership to Empower Teachers to Integrate Climate Change Across Subjects
2:45 PM – 4:00 PM / 4:30 PM – 5:45 PM
Displacement, Governance, Inclusion & Social ReintegrationAnna Azaryeva Valente
Unpacking the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus: Global Norms, Local Practices, and the Case of Sudan (2018–2023)
S. Garnett Russell
The Role of Organizations in Supporting Newcomer Families in New York City
Chenyang Zhang
Understanding Academic Disengagement Among Rural Youth in China: Perspectives from Teach For China Volunteers
Camille Fabo
Education for Peace and Nationalism: Cross-National Diffusion and Selective Adoption of Liberal Policies in Conflict-Affected Contexts (1945–2021)
Leonardo Arevalo
Civil Society, Education, and Transitional Justice: The Colombian Experience after the 2016 Peace Agreement
Victoria H. Jones
Learning Amidst Liminality: Asylum-Seeking Parents’ Navigation of Education Access on the Borderlands of Greece
Sara M. Pan Algarra
Climate Disasters, Internal Displacement, and Adolescent Girls’ Education in the Honduran Sula Valley
Mia A. Chin
Rise and Fall of Early Grade Education in the Global South
Kemigisha Richardson
Reconceptualizing Inclusion Through the Lived Experiences of Disabled Students in Contexts of Forced Displacement: A Comparative Case Study
Yifei Wang & Yourong Yao
Whose Language Counts? Language Policy as Identity Pedagogy: Mandarin Promotion and Portuguese Preservation in Macau’s Schools
Amanda Earl & Sara M. Pan Algarra
Women-led organizations advancing women and girls' rights in Honduras: The case of the Association of Mutual Support between Women - Honduras (APOMUH)
Regina Cortina, Jonathan Beltran Alvarado, Sara M. Pan Algarra & Nina Yacher
Gender hierarchies in high-ranking Chilean and Colombian universities
Amanda Earl & Jacinta Toribio Torres
Women graduates of intercultural higher education in rural Mexico
Gita Steiner-Khamsi
Data for Accountability in Education: The Trajectories and Translations of a Global Script
🟧 Monday, March 31
2:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Global CitizenshipJulia Aronchi
Localizing Global Citizenship: A Mixed Methods Case Study of Caminho do Futuro Program in Brazilian Public Schools
8:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Film & PedagogyAndreia Davies
Reading the World Film Preview Workshop: Special preview clips from the unreleased film and film curriculum presentation
4:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Climate Education (Comparative)Darren Rabinowitz
Constitutional Commitments, Civic Consequences: Whether Environmental Provisions Shape Youth Eco-Citizenship Across 22 Countries
🟥 Tuesday, April 1
9:45 AM – 11:00 AM / 1:15 PM – 2:30 PM
Policy & GovernanceGita Steiner-Khamsi
Time in Education Policy Transfer: The Seven Temporalities of Global School Reform
Gita Steiner-Khamsi
Uptake of Local Policy Expertise: Factors that Improve the Utility of Policy Research
Kevin Anthony Henderson
Organizational Isomorphism and Convening Power in Global Education Governance: The Case of the World Economic Forum
9:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Education & TraumaDiana Morea-Ghergu
When Genocides Fail to Teach: International Organizations Educating for Racialized Cultural Trauma and Public Grief – The Roma Holocaust Case
11:15 AM – 12:30 PM
Education in EmergenciesMary Mendenhall, Jihae Cha, Danielle Lorber Falk, Christopher Henderson & Vrinda Chopra
From Sidelines to Systems: Examining Teacher Development for Play-Based Learning in East African Refugee Settings