On October 19, 2024, the 8th Worldwide Forum for Comparative Education&International Conference on Education Transformation and Human Development 2024 was grandly held at the Yingdong Academic Hall of Beijing Normal University. The event was organized by IICE and the International Education Research Center of Beijing Normal University, with co-organizers including the Comparative Education Branch of the Chinese Education Society, the UNESCO International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education, and the UNESCO Research Centre of Zhejiang University.
The theme of the forum was "Social Transformation and Futures of Education", with over 300 experts and scholars from more than 10 countries gathering to discuss cutting-edge topics in global educational reform. The forum also invited 29 top domestic and international scholars to deliver keynote speeches and participate in roundtable forums, offering their insights on international education reform and development. The forum lasted for two days and featured 12 keynote speeches, 2 roundtable forums, and 54 parallel sessions.
During the opening ceremony, Professor CHEN Xing, Vice President of Beijing Normal University; Mr. GU Mingyuan, Emeritus President of the Chinese Society of Education and Distinguished Professor of Beijing Normal University; and Professor ZHU Xudong, Dean of the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University, delivered speeches. All three speakers emphasized that with the acceleration of globalization, technological advancements, and social transformation, how education can respond to these changes has become a significant challenge and opportunity for global educators. The opening ceremony was hosted by Professor GAO Yimin, Deputy Director and Professor of the Institute of International and Comparative Education.
Professor CHEN Xing, Vice President of Beijing Normal University delivered speech
Mr. GU Mingyuan, Emeritus President of the Chinese Society of Education and Distinguished Professor of Beijing Normal University
Professor ZHU Xudong, Dean of the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University
After the opening ceremony, a series of keynote speeches were delivered by distinguished scholars. Professor RAO Congman, Director and Professor of the Institute of International and Comparative Education, Northeast Normal University; Professor Susan L. Robertson, President of the Comparative and International Education Society, Professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Education, Cambridge University, UK; Ms. Irina Bokova, former Director-General of UNESCO; Professor Hervé Varenne, Teacher’s College, Columbia University, USA; Professor PENG Zhengmei, Director and Professor of the Institute of International and Comparative Education, East China Normal University; Professor Régis Malet, President of the French-Speaking Countries Comparative Education Association and Professor at the University of Bordeaux, France; Professor Meira Levinson, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA; Professor Florian Waldow, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany; Professor LI Jun, Immediate Past President of Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), Professor at Western University, Canada; Professor Michael Crossley, University of Bristol, UK; Professor Fukuoka Mina, President of the Japanese Comparative Education Society and Professor at the Faculty of Education, Nagoya University; and Professor TENG Jun, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University and Director of the International Education Research Center of Beijing Normal University, each delivered a keynote address.
The discussions focused on frontier issues in comparative education, including research-oriented teacher education, educational development in social change, cultivating global competencies in the context of globalization, the implications of educational anthropology for comparative education, the new mission of Chinese comparative education, ethical reflections in educational practice, new forms of global educational governance, the international narrative of Chinese education, the importance of social environment and cognitive justice in comparative education research, the contributions of comparative education in an era of fragmentation, and the role of large language models in global education knowledge production.
The keynote speeches were moderated by Professor WU Xueping, Vice President of the Comparative Education Branch of the Chinese Education Society and Professor at the Faculty of Education, Zhejiang University; Professor LI Yanping, Vice President of the Comparative Education Branch of the Chinese Education Society and Professor at the Faculty of Education, Shaanxi Normal University; Associate Professor HUANG Yu of the IICE at Beijing Normal University; and Associate Professor HU Yiyun of the IICE at Beijing Normal University.
Professor RAO Congman, Director and Professor of the Institute of International and Comparative Education, Northeast Normal University
Professor Susan L. Robertson, President of the Comparative and International Education Society, Professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Education, Cambridge University, UK
Ms. Irina Bokova, former Director-General of UNESCO
Professor Hervé Varenne, Teacher’s College, Columbia University, USA
Professor PENG Zhengmei, Director and Professor of the Institute of International and Comparative Education, East China Normal University
Professor Régis Malet, President of the French-Speaking Countries Comparative Education Association and Professor at the University of Bordeaux, France
Professor Meira Levinson, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA
Professor Florian Waldow, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
Professor LI Jun, Immediate Past President of Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), Professor at Western University, Canada
Professor Michael Crossley, University of Bristol, UK
Professor Fukuoka Mina, President of the Japanese Comparative Education Society and Professor at the Faculty of Education, Nagoya University
Professor TENG Jun, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University and Director of the International Education Research Center of Beijing Normal University
The conference also featured two roundtable discussions on the themes of "Education Exchange and Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative" and "High-Level Education Opening-up and Education Modernization".
During the roundtable discussion on "Education Exchange and Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative", Professor LIU Baocun, President of the Comparative Education Branch of the Chinese Society of Education and Director and Professor of the Institute of International and Comparative Education, Beijing Normal University, served as the moderator. The discussion included insights from Mr. GU Mingyuan, Emeritus President of the Chinese Society of Education and Distinguished Professor of Beijing Normal University; Professor WU Jian, Vice President of South China Normal University; Professor Pruet Siribanpitak from the Faculty of Education at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Professor Manzoor Ahmed from the Institute of Education Development at Bangladesh Rural Development University; and Professor Leang UN, Head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The group engaged in an in-depth analysis and heated discussion on educational cooperation and exchange under the Belt and Road Initiative, exploring its implications, challenges, and opportunities.
The roundtable discussion on "High-Level Education Opening-Up and Education Modernization" was moderated by Professor CHEN Shijian from Zhejiang University. The discussion featured contributions from Mr. TANG Qian, former Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO; Professor WANG Yingjie, former Vice President of the World Comparative Education Society and Professor at the IICE, Beijing Normal University; Professor WANG Dinghua, Party Secretary of Beijing Foreign Studies University; Professor SHI Xiaoguang, Vice President of the Comparative Education Branch of the Chinese Society of Education and Professor at the Faculty of Education, Peking University; and Professor XU Hui, Vice President of the Comparative Education Branch of the Chinese Society of Education and Professor at the Faculty of Education, Southwest University.
The group engaged in insightful exchanges and intellectual discussions on high-level education opening-up and education modernization. Their dialogue offered valuable ideas for advancing the internationalization and modernization of education in China, helping to shape future directions in these areas.
In the 54 parallel sessions, experts and scholars engaged in in-depth discussions on five sub-themes: "Ecological Justice and Educational Reform", "Digital Transformation and Educational Transformation", "Industrial Upgrading and Educational Innovation", "Demographic Changes and Educational Response", and "'Belt and Road' Initiative and High-Level Education Opening-Up". These discussions provided a platform for exploring cutting-edge issues and advancing understanding in these key areas of educational development.
The World Comparative Education Forum, founded in 2002, is held once every three years, and this year marks its 8th edition. The forum has provided a cross-cultural dialogue platform for scholars from around the world, facilitating deep exchanges of ideas and the widespread sharing of experiences. It has offered new perspectives for exploring educational models that adapt to the demands of future societies. At the same time, the forum has injected new energy into the development of the field of comparative education, created opportunities for the world to understand China's comparative education research achievements, and built a platform for showcasing the latest progress and experiences in China's education reform and development.
