President's Message
The World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) is an international organization of comparative and international education societies, with a history of 40 years and 38 Constituent Societies from around the world.
- As comparativists, we were established to advance the field, and aim to promote comparative and international studies in education throughout the world.
- As educationists, we aim to uphold education for international understanding in the interests of peace, intercultural cooperation, mutual respect among peoples and human rights. Comparative studies are conducted with a goal to explore similarities and differences in education systems, to improve education systems and/or to realize the right of all to education.
- As a world organization, we are an NGO with a formal relationship with the UNESCO, and we maintain close linkage with our international partners, such the International Bureau of Education. Our Statutes adhere to the ideals of the United Nations and all its member organizations.
The WCCES is an open, inviting, dynamic and inclusive community, with dedicated academics and professionals in our member societies who are responsive to both global and local educational issues, holding inter-disciplinary, intercultural and international perspectives. In the last forty years, the WCCES has benefited from a rich diversity of membership. Our member societies have world renowned theorists who have developed comparative education into an academic field with a distinctive body of knowledge and set of comparative research methodologies. They also include members who are outstanding scholars and practitioners who play central roles in the work of such international organizations as the UNESCO and its agencies, the World Bank, the OECD, the IEA, and the ADB, thereby exercising significant influences on educational policies at both national and international levels.
Those who attend our Congresses are dynamic and engaged scholars and practitioners in many areas of comparative and international education, who are not only engaged in large-scale system level research and development but also conduct research on schools, classrooms, students, teachers and various approaches to pedagogy. The growing significance of ethnographic and qualitative research has also contributed to the development of the field, especially in relation to the importance of context and culture in comparative studies.
The WCCES is always open to diverse cultural voices from all regions of the world, and all comparative possibilities. It provides an umbrella to educational analysts who would like to compare, and invites inputs from various disciplines and perspectives. The WCCES and its community of scholars contribute to a wider and more inclusive vision for the future, one that builds upon the academic resources of multiple and diverse civilizations.
I extend my warmest invitation and welcome to you — join a society in your region (see the list on this website for contact details) and join us in our effort to advance our educational field, and bring betterment to our societies by improving the quality of education and realizing education for all.
Professor Wing On Lee
Dean of Education ResearchNational Institute of Education, Singapore