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World Council for Comparative Education Societies

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World Council of Comparative Education Societies
AbbreviationWCCES
Formation1970; 55 years ago (1970)
Founded atOttawa, Canada
TypeNGO
Legal statusActive
AffiliationsUNESCO
Websitewww.worldcces.org

The World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) is an international organization of comparative education societies created in 1970 in Ottawa, Canada. It is organized as an NGO in operational relations with UNESCO. The current president is Dr. Kanishka Bedi.[1][2]

History

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The WCCES was founded in 1970 in Ottawa, Canada, by the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES). The founding members include comparative education pioneers Joseph Katz (Comparative and International Education Society of Canada) (CIESC), Gerald Read (CIES-USA) and Leo Fernig (International Bureau of Education). They were greatly influenced by the spread of national, regional and language-based comparative and international education societies during the 1960s and founded the WCCES to unite the societies that existed at the time: the CIES-USA, the CIESC, the Comparative Education Society in Europe (CESE), the Japan Comparative Education Society (JCES) and the Korean Comparative Education Society (KCES). With the purpose of spreading comparative education globally, the WCCES has gained 46 national, regional and language-based member societies as of 2025.[3][4][5][6]

Governance and Operation

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Although the WCCES is open to all eligible societies, it mainly serves the academic community. The organization supports research programs that concern globalization, theory and methods in comparative education and gender equality and equity in education, among other topics. Through its recruitment efforts, the WCCES has been able to facilitate the formation of new member societies and maintain existing ones that were nearly defunct.[5][7]

The WCCES holds a World Congress normally every three years and symposia every year in-between two consecutive Word Congresses, where individuals representing member societies convene in a general assembly. The general assembly shares updates on the WCCES work that has transpired in the years since it last convened and engages in decision-making when necessary. The WCCES Executive Committee—the president, two vice presidents, executive director, treasurer and member society representatives—and chairpersons convene at least annually to govern the organization.[5]

The WCCES Executive Committee has planned to hold World Congresses in various regions of the world to stimulate comparative education activity where they are held. Due to the limited funding the WCCES receives, the executive committee meetings are usually held online through Zoom.[5]

Publications

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The WCCES publishes two peer-reviewed journals , Global Comparative Education: Journal of the WCCES co-edited by N'Dri T. Assie-Lumumba and Kanishka Bedi and World Voices Nexus: The WCCES Chronicle co-edited by Kanishka Bedi, Gauri Hardikar and Oleg Gubin, and WCCES-Brill Book Series edited by Kanishka Bedi. The journal and the chronicle are published in the six official languages of the United Nations, viz. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian. [7]

Inclusion and Diversity

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Historically, the WCCES has mainly operated its affairs and online presence in English, due to the relatively few resources the executive committee has had compared to better-resourced organizations such as UNESCO.[5]

Because attendance at WCCES meetings is self-funded by member society representatives, equitable representation has been a concern. The executive committee has responded to the issue by holding World Congresses and Symposia in hybrid mode - onsite as well as online. [3]

Congresses

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Historic list of conferences[8]
Number Location Year
I Ottawa (Canada) 1970
II Geneva (Switzerland) 1974
III London (UK) 1977
IV Tokyo (Japan) 1980
V Paris (France) 1984
VI Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 1987
VII Montreal (Canada) 1989
VIII Prague (Czech Republic) 1992
IX Sydney (Australia) 1996
X Cape Town (South Africa) 1998
XI Chungbuk (Korea) 2001
XII Havana (Cuba) 2004
XIII Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) 2007
XIV Istanbul (Turkey) 2010
XV Buenos Aires (Argentina) 2013
XVI Beijing (China) 2016
XVII Cancún (Mexico) 2019
XVIII Ithaca, New York (USA) 2024

Member Societies

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The WCCES member societies include the following:[5]

References

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  1. ^ "WCCES". World Council of Comparative Education Societies. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Dr. Kanishka Bedi". World Council of Comparative Education Societies. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  3. ^ a b Manzon, Maria; Bray, Mark (April 2006). "The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) and The World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES): Leadership, Ambiguities and Synergies" (PDF). Current Issues in Comparative Education. 2.
  4. ^ Wilson, David N. (March 2003). "The Future of Comparative and International Education in a Globalised World". International Review of Education. 49 (1/2): 29. Bibcode:2003IREdu..49...15W. doi:10.1023/A:1022961620383. JSTOR 3445472. S2CID 145054680. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Bray, Mark (May–July 2008). "The Wcces and Intercultural Dialogue: Historical Perspectives and Continuing Challenges". International Review of Education. 54 (3/4): 299–317. Bibcode:2008IREdu..54..299B. doi:10.1007/s11159-007-9076-6. JSTOR 40270035. S2CID 145366882. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  6. ^ "About WCCES". World Council of Comparative Education Societies. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  7. ^ a b Interculturalism, society and education. Rotterdam: Sense. 2010. p. 31. ISBN 9789460912474. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Past World Congresses". World Council of Comparative Education Societies. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
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