About cies
OUR COMMUNITY
CIES is the largest and oldest of 47 Comparative and International Education Societies around the world.
The Comparative and International Education Society has over 3,500 individual members — researchers, analysts, practitioners, and students — who represent over 1,000 universities, research institutes, government departments, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral agencies across the globe.
From cross-disciplinary perspectives, CIES members explore a variety of educational issues, from early childhood and primary schooling, to higher education and non-formal learning environments. Our members also compare various topics, such as inequalities across gender, ethnicity, language, and socio economic status, or the relationship between education and cultural processes, democratization, economic development, globalization, and political conflict.
Established as an academic association in 1956, CIES has attracted a diverse audience in working towards its mission to foster cross-cultural understanding and scholarship. Within the last decade alone, CIES membership has doubled — reflecting the global expansion of academic and professional positions as well as a commitment to international education and cooperation.
SIZE
CIES currently includes over 3,500 registered members.
COMPOSITION
CIES membership is composed of equal numbers of academics, practitioners, and students.
EXPERIENCE
Early career members benefit from professional mentoring and training provided by senior scholars working in the field of CIE.
GLOBAL REACH
CIES members come from over 125 countries across the globe, making it a truly international Society.
OUR MISSION
THE COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SOCIETY SEEKS TO CONTRIBUTE TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF EDUCATION THROUGH ENCOURAGEMENT AND PROMOTION OF COMPARATIVE EDUCATION AND RELATED AREAS OF INQUIRY AND ACTIVITY.
CIES is dedicated to increasing understanding of educational issues, trends, and policies through comparative, intercultural, and international perspectives.
CIES organizes conferences, produces publications, and supports professional networking and research opportunities for the field of comparative and international education.
CIES members represent over 120 countries across the globe.
As professionals, students, and volunteers we work and study in diverse types of organizations including academic institutions, research institutes, federal and international agencies, nonprofit mission-driven associations, and businesses.
ACTIVITIES AND WORK
Our charter guides and directs the members of the Society to:
– Promote teaching and research in comparative and international education in institutions of higher learning in both national and international contexts;
– Foster application of comparative theories and research in applied settings;
– Facilitate publication and dissemination of comparative, cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, and international studies contributing to interpretation of developments in the field of education in their broad and interrelated political, economic, and social context;
– Encourage educational and cultural exchanges; and
– Promote and foster understanding of how educational policies and programs can improve social and economic development.
GOVERNANCE OF CIES
The Society is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes, as a non-profit institution to contribute to an understanding of education through encouragement and promotion of comparative and international education and related areas of inquiry and activity.
Leadership for the Society comes from the Board of Directors, Committees, Special Interest Groups (SIGs) working with the Executive Director and the OED administrative staff.