The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) 2025 Conference

Exploring planetary futures, sustainability, and educational transformation with ASU voices at CIES 2025.

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.

The 2025 Annual Meeting took place in March 22-26 in Chicago. The event featured representation from ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, including students with the Educational Policy and Evaluation, PhD program.

Scholars, students, and researchers including Iveta Silova, Maria Teresa Tatto, Hang Duong, Wyatt James Brooks, Neelakshi Rajeev Tewari, Minji Kim, Ketevan Chachkhiani, Irine Samsonia, Tara Lynn Bartlett, Adnan Turan, Janice Mak, Gustavo Fischman, Margarita Pivovarova, Bea Rodriguez-Fransen, Dilraba Anayatova, Nicole Oster, Andrea Weinberg, Michelle Jordan, Emmanuel Adeloju and Victoria Desimoni.

The following reflections from Emmanuel Adeloju, Nicole Oster and Dilraba Anayatova offer personal insights into the experience of presenting and learning at CIES 2025.

Emmanuel Adeloju’s Reflection:

This March, I had the opportunity to co-present at two major education conferences, CIES 2025 in Chicago and NSTA’s National Conference in Philadelphia, where I shared our research on sustainability education, Action-Oriented Pedagogies, and school-based citizen science. Both conferences brought together inspiring educators, researchers, and innovators, all working on different exciting projects, all focused on redefining education.

At CIES, our first presentation, "Preservice Teachers’ Visions for Action-Oriented Pedagogies for Sustainability Education," explored how preservice teachers design lessons that move beyond traditional classroom learning. Action-Oriented Pedagogy (AOP) isn’t just about learning facts, it is about students taking on roles like Advocates, Scientists, Innovators, Artists, Solutions steward, and Implementer/Builder/Maker to tackle real-world sustainability challenges.

We analyzed lesson plans from preservice teachers and one of our findings was that, while the teachers encouraged students to brainstorm and make plans, they were mostly not student-led and short of potentially resulting in meaningful consequential actions. This gap highlights an opportunity: How can we better prepare teachers to facilitate deeper, student-centered action? The discussion reinforced the need for teacher education programs to emphasize co-designing projects with students, because when kids see their work making a real difference, learning becomes transformative.

Our second presentation, "Building a Regional Network of School-Based Citizen Scientists for Sustainable Energy Futures," focused on agrivoltaics, an approach to co-locate solar energy generation and agriculture where solar panels shade crops, conserving water while generating clean energy. Through our K-12 citizen science program, students collected, analyzed, and presented results from their data to scientists, community experts, and at conferences.

What stood out? Teachers built networks, some used social media to link classrooms across regions, while others partnered with Indigenous communities to integrate traditional farming knowledge. One key takeaway was that when students see their work as relevant beyond the classroom, not just a school assignment, engagement increases.

Just days later, at NSTA, we shifted from research to practical classroom tools. In "Safety Science and Sustainability: Online Resources to Inspire Student Action," we introduced Xplorlabs, a free platform with interactive labs and design challenges that turn students into problem-solvers. Two teachers from our team shared how they used these resources to spark student-driven projects, like social media campaigns to create awareness about Lithium-ion battery safety.

Our final session, "Creating a Regional Network of K-12 Community Scientists for Sustainable Futures," brought the agrivoltaics project full circle. Again, teachers joined us live, sharing how they implemented Agrivoltaics in their schools and presented findings to different audience. Hearing students describe their work, collecting plant health data, and presenting their findings to stakeholders was a powerful reminder that when we give youths real-world problems to solve, they rise to the challenge.

Both conferences reinforced an important idea: Education shouldn’t just prepare students for the future, it should empower them to shape it. Regardless of the approach we take to engage students, the goal should be the same, fostering agency, hope, and real-world impact.

As I reflect on these experiences, I’m reminded that the best learning happens when students don’t just acquire knowledge, but use it to drive a change for social good. And as educators, our job is to give them the tools, support, and opportunities to do just that.

Nicole Oster’s Reflection:

At the CIES conference, I found myself drawn into sessions related to climate education and spaces where storytelling, art, and affective experiences served as powerful modes of scholarly engagement. In storytelling circles, I connected with others through shared responses to the evolving crises shaping educational research. The Semali Symposium reminded me of the importance of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledges and the role of art in reimagining education for more sustainable futures. The Environmental and Sustainability Education SIG highlighted the value of national and international collaboration and ongoing community-building in addressing global environmental challenges through education. Sessions on adapting education to environmental crises highlighted the value of diverse methodologies. In the arts-based “Awakening CIE” session, I saw how artistic practice revitalizes knowledge production. At the New Scholars SIG meeting, I felt welcomed into a supportive network and left with a sense of possibility about future mentorship, collaboration, and contribution to the field. Reflecting on my first time attending CIES, I am grateful for the opportunity to join coalitions that center social and ecological justice in times of crisis.

These moments also brought the artist role in Action-Oriented Pedagogies to life (the artist as an actor who inspires action through emotion, beauty, and imagination). Whether through Indigenous art, storytelling circles, or arts-based research, I was reminded that fostering transformation often begins by eliciting feelings, wonder, and new ways of seeing. In times of crisis, these artistic approaches are vital to building connections and co-creating just educational futures.

Dilraba Anayatova’s Reflection:

I had the best time presenting with the best people and truly had so much fun with Tara Bartlett, Victoria Desimoni, Nicole Oster Adnan Turan Emmanuel Adeloju at CIES - Comparative & International Education Society! Beyond words to my advisor Iveta Silova for always pushing me to grow and learn more!!

A huge shoutout to Will Brehm for organizing such an incredible session to Reimagine CIE with sounds, video, and art - so inspiring and soul-filling!
As my time serving the Europe and Central Asia SIG comes to an end, I want to thank the amazing team Max Antony-Newman and Elise Ahn for making it such a rewarding experience. Grateful for the most thoughtful and supportive mentoring team in the New Scholars Committee, what a joy to connect with so many brilliant people!

CIES will continue its vital work convening global educators, researchers, and practitioners to explore the future of education. Mark your calendars for upcoming Annual Meetings:

2026 — San Francisco, CA | March 28 to April 1
2027 — Madison, WI | March 21 to 25

We look forward to seeing how these future gatherings will build on the energy and insights shared in Chicago.