Welcome Letter
Dear all,
Our new SIG, 21st Century Educational Alternatives: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Patriarchy, Militarism, and the Climate Crisis is now official at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES). It was formed by us, The Alternatives Project. TAP is a diverse, transnational collective of progressive academics, union members, civil society activists, and social movement participants concerned with building a global collective critical voice-oriented towards education and societal transformation. We felt CIES needed a place and home for progressive scholars who are seeking more fundamental changes to comparative and international education and related research, so we formed this SIG.
This year was a busy year. We held our first elections, appointed Co-Chairs (Carol Anne and Frank) and Secretary (Virginia), officially launched the SIG, created our website (please login here to join and pay SIG dues), and welcomed new CIES members! During the CIES meeting in Miami we also held a successful march/protest/rally in solidarity with the Miami-Dade Teachers Union, sponsored a wonderful set of panels, and several keynote panels about the attacks on public education and academic freedom (thanks to all who organized and participated in these events). (See the list of our panels/presentations from 2024).
While CIES 2025 might seem a way off, there are several things we'd like to get everyone started on:
1) CIES 2025 CALL FOR PROPOSALS: This is our 4th year of soliciting proposals for our 21C Ed Alternatives Track, and each year, we've had a great turnout with wonderful and well-attended panels. We hope to continue with proposals for exciting KEYNOTES, topical debates, and opportunities to shed light on the critical issues we want to address in education. See our call for papers/panel proposals here and please share widely with your CIES networks. The deadline for submissions is September 10th.
Volunteers Needed!!
We need your participation to make sure our SIG will thrive during CIES.So please consider signing up for these two important committees:
2) VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR CIES PROPOSAL REVIEWS: After the proposal submission deadline, we will be looking for several volunteers to review and organize papers into panels. You can sign up here.
3) VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO ORGANIZE SITE VISITS AND FOLLOW-ON EVENTS WITH EDUCATOR ORGS AND CSOs IN CHICAGO. Each year, we have also organized off-site visits at the CIES conferences (a visit to the George Floyd Memorial and meeting with MN activists, several webinars and a march with the Miami Dade Teachers Union, etc) and we'd like to continue building relationships with activists and local communities where the conferences are held. If you are interested and/or have contacts with educator groups or civil society organizations in Chicago, please let us know HERE. A committee will be created based on this form.
We will have a very productive year with all your participation! Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Frank Adamson, California State University, USA: Co-Chair. adamson@csus.ed
Carol Anne Spreen, New York University, USA: Co-Chair. spreen@nyu.edu
Virginia Gomes, University of Maryland, USA: Secretary/Treasurer. vigomes@umd.edu
21st Century Educational Alternatives: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Patriarchy, Militarism, and the Climate Crisis SIG officers.
Cordially,
The Alternatives Project
Education Justice for Societal Transformation
Our officers
Frank Adamson
Co-Chair
I am currently an Associate Professor of Education Leadership and Policy Studies at California State University, Sacramento, have been a member of CIES for over 20 years, and previously co-chaired the Globalization in Education SIG. As a researcher, I study how different political and economic approaches, including education privatization, relate to education equity and opportunity, and have published 4 books and over 50 publications on these topics. As SIG co-chair, I would support the strong and growing presence of scholars working on SIG topics and continue our work with local education advocates in CIES conference locations. My education includes an MA in Sociology and a Ph.D. in International Comparative Education, both from Stanford University.
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Carol Spreen
Co-Chair
I am currently an Associate Professor of International Education at New York University. I have been a member of CIES for over nearly 30 years, I served on the Board of Directors from 2015-2018, I Chaired the Nominations committee, Honorary Fellows committee, and served on the EOD Search Committee. I have been a member of the Globalization in Education SIG. As a researcher, I study working on issues of poverty, inequality and human rights in education. Broadly, her research addresses three areas: (1) global influences on educators lives and work, (i.e. how international policies and organizations shape teachers and classroom practice); (2) the global impact of corporate privatization and aid organizations on educational equity and the right to education and, (3) exploring radical imagination/counter-hegemonic innovations in education social movements. My most recent book: Learning in Third Space: Lessons from educators, artists and activists examines radical/progressive education reform alternatives that support social transformation. I have a BA in international development (American University), and MA in Instructional Leadership (University of Illinois), MPhil Policy Studies (Teachers College), and PhD in International and Comparative Ed/Sociology/Policy Studies (Columbia University),
Virginia Gomes
Treasurer-Secretary
As an active volunteer of The Alternatives Project and the CIES track that officially evolved into this SIG at CIES 2024. Born in Brazil, I am currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Maryland, College Park. My academic journey has led me to specialize in transformative pedagogies that prioritize youth empowerment, cooperation, and solidarity. Additionally, I am passionate about contemplative and holistic education, as evidenced by my contributions to scholarly articles and book chapters on the subject. My ongoing research focuses on the impact of Cooperative and Solidarity pedagogy in rural areas of Brazil. I firmly believe that fostering genuine human-to-human and human-to-nature connections is paramount in steering our schools and societies away from competition and individualism towards more inclusive and dignified spaces. I am eager to leverage my Latin American background to enrich the discourse at CIES, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to our collective pursuit of innovative educational alternatives.