Learn with IREX at CIES
CIES 2024 Sessions Resources
IREX technical experts in education and youth will share their insights and learnings at this year’s Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference in Miami, FL.
IREX sessions at CIES highlight key technical work including higher education capacity building, teacher workforce/pre-service teacher education, girls' education and empowerment, youth essential skills/skill measurement, and youth-led research on youth workforce transitions.
Join IREXers virtually and in-person for the following sessions:
Highlighted Session: How Can We Design Teacher Preparation and Professional Development Systems for Resilience, Sustainability and Scale? The Role of Policy Alignment and Policy Reform.
Monday, March 11, 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET, Hyatt RegencyMiami, Merrick 1
Presenter/Discussant : Becky Ward, Marcel Ricou
In this session, IREX, the Millenium Challenge Corporation, and SUMMA, share perspectives and learning from interventions to improve teacher preparation and professional development systems in Jordan, the Republic of Georgia and Honduras, with a specific focus on interactions with the wider education ecosystem and political economy, the role of policy alignment and policy reform, and the use of data to ensure responsiveness and adaptation.
Global Perspectives on Educator Training for TVET: A Multi-Organizational Discourse
Wednesday, March 6, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET, Zoom
Presenter/Discussant: Stanley Currier, Marcel Ricou
Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) has become a central pillar in education, fostering a globally competent workforce ready to address the evolving needs of the job market. The purpose of this panel is to facilitate an in-depth exploration of the transformative power of TVET for students, educators and society. Presentations delve into topics including aligning curriculum with labor market needs, undertaking comparative analyses of TVET systems, and recognizing and validating prior research and learning. Each topic comes back to our central theme, encapsulating innovative strategies, best practices, and possible avenues for improvement in TVET education that prepares youth for meaningful employment and revenue-generating opportunities. Case studies draw examples from Iraq, Kenya and the United States.
Shifting research power relationships: Tools, best practices, and lessons learned for designing and facilitating inclusive youth-led research
Sunday, March 10, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET, Hyatt Regency Miami, Third Level, Gautier
Presenter/Discussant: Maxie Gluckman, Brian Batayeh, Indiana Jiménez Guerrero,
In this pre-conference workshop IREX will guide participants through the following: 1. Modeling the importance of situated knowledge and the centering of marginalized perspectives, participants will get to hear from youth researchers within diverse regional contexts ranging from Latin America and the Caribbean to the Middle East and North Africa. 2. Participants will hear emerging lessons learned and best practices from these processes and will be invited to share reflections to strengthen these best practices; and 3. Participants will be invited to reflect on how co-designing strategies that meaningfully engage the youth may serve to advance localized changes to build more prosperous, equitable, and inclusive societies, thinking through how they might apply this to their current and future work.
Youth Essential Workforce Skills and Engagement in Climate Action Locally and Globally through Virtual Exchange Programs
Monday, March 11, 9:45 a.m. to 11:15 p.m. ET, Hyatt Regency Miami, Third Level, Gautier
Presenter/Discussant: Amaris Mohammed, Sarah Bever, Nia Kapitanova
Socioeconomic and environmental injustices impact youth around the world. IREX and partners will examine how virtual exchange programs address critical gaps in youth development and promote students taking action on local and global issues around climate change and sustainability. Panelists will highlight the impact of the World Smarts STEM Challenge, Global Solutions Sustainabilty Challenge, and alumni who have demonstrated youth contributing to the improvement of environmental outcomes locally, developing innovative solutions to globally shared challenges, and becoming agents of change in their expanding communities. The presentation represents the perspectives of the projects' implementor, funder, educator, and student.
Shiny, New, and Sustainable EdTech? Diverse ICT Initiatives Invest in Codesign, Local Capacity and Leadership to Ensure Long-Term Impact
Wednesday, March 13, 9:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. ET, Hyatt Regency Miami, Terrace Level Orchid A
Presenter/Discussant: Lucy Maina, Sarah Bever
Through the lens of three different countries this panel explores the complex reality of Education Technology in rural and underserved ares and the opportunities and challenges that it creates for educators and learners. The panel includes research and reflection on programs from St. Lucia, the Philippines, and Kenya.
Raising student voices: Teachers’ support for student critical thinking through the Tech & Play Initiative in Kenya and Rwanda
Wednesday, March 13, 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET, Hyatt Regency Miami, Third Level, President Room
Presenter/Discussant: Lucy Maina, Sarah Bever
This panel includes members of LEGO's Learning through Play and Tech initiative who are operating in Kenya and Rwanda. Panelists will share how Learning through Play and Tech can support critical thinking and empower teacher and learner voice.
Research Localization: Methods for Promoting Meaningful Youth-Led Research
Wednesday, March 13, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, Hyatt Regency Miami, Level, Hibiscus B
Presenters/Discussant: Brian Batayeh, Magdalena Fulton, Maxie Gluckman
Youth-led research has become increasingly popular as an approach for meaningful engagement of youth. It maximizes young people's leadership potential and focuses on strengthening their capacity to conduct systematic research that ultimately aims to improve their lives, their communities, and the policies and institutions that affect them. This panel will explore designs and methods for youth-led research that place youth in central roles – moving beyond the engagement of youth purely as data collectors – to meaningfully involve them throughout the research process. Panelists will share experiences of engaging youth in co-creation of research design, data collection and analysis, and dissemination of findings to influence decision-making and recommendations for programmatic and policy change.
Protesting TVET without Results - Tips, Tricks, and Tools for Linking TVET to Industry to Better Serve Youth and the Economy
Thursday, March 14, 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET, Hyatt Regency Miami, Terrace Level; Turtle South
Presenter/Discussant: Marcel Ricou; Nidal Ayesh; Bryanna Millis; Liza Marku, Donika Macastena
Recent evidence on what works in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) underscores the need for meaningful engagement with the private sector. IREX , DAI, Crimson Capital and the Millennium Challenge Corporation with the Millennium Challenge Account - Georgia, have used a range of different tools and approaches to better link TVET providers to industries. We have conducted in depth sector assessments, targeted trainings, skills matching, as well as introducing and scaling novel models of public-private governance in TVET. This panel will present four programs that offer a breadth of experience with how to get TVET to be responsive to the private sector. Participants will walk away with practical tools, examples of how to use them, lessons from the field, and resources to roll up their sleeves and join us in the hard work of TVET reform.