It is a pleasure to welcome three internationally respected academics as keynote speakers: Prof. Gita Steiner-Khamsi (presentation in German), ProfRita Hofstetter (presentation in French) and Prof. Thurston Domina (presentation in English). In their work, the researchers integrate diverse perspectives to shed light on lines of continuity and processes of change in educational systems.

Gita Steiner-Khamsi, is professor of international and comparative education at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York and chair holder of the UNESCO Chair in Comparative Education Policy at the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Her research priorities include comparative analyses of national education policies from a transnational perspective, global reform processes, and education in international cooperation and development. Prior to her emigration to the United States (1995), she established and directed for almost ten years the unit «Intercultural Education» at the Ministry of Education of the Canton of Zurich.

Rita Hofstetter is professor of the history of education at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva. Her research focuses on the history of pedagogy, the professionalisation of teaching professions, the emergence of compulsory schooling and the development of school subjects as well as international stakeholders and networks in education policy.

Thurston Domina is professor of educational leadership at the School of Education, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In his research, he explores equal opportunity in education, «sorting processes» at schools, the interaction between families and schools, and how out-of-school factors impact scholastic achievement.