Education as an Ecosystem: A Global Dialogue. BCES Conference Books, Volume 24

Overview & Synopsis

This volume of the BCES Conference Books arrives at a moment when the global education community faces both unprecedented challenges and remarkable opportunities. The 24th Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES), held in Sofia in July 2026, convened under the theme "Education as an Ecosystem: A Global Dialogue." This framing was chosen deliberately--to shift the collective imagination away from mechanistic, linear models of education toward a richer, more organic understanding of how learning truly happens. For too long, education has been viewed as a mechanical system: a linear process of inputs and outputs, governed by standardized policies and isolated disciplines. The contributions gathered in this volume invite a paradigm shift. They propose reimagining education as an ecosystem--a dynamic, interconnected, living network where every element, from policy to pedagogy, from preschool to university, exists in a relationship of mutual influence. An ecosystem thrives on diversity, resilience, and the ongoing exchange of energy and resources. It cannot be understood by examining a single species in isolation, but only by observing the complex web of life as a whole. Similarly, one can no longer understand education by looking solely at curriculum, technology, or assessment. One must see how they interact with teacher well-being, legal frameworks, international benchmarks, and early childhood experiences. The global dialogue serves as the approach to mapping this education ecosystem. By bringing together diverse voices and perspectives from across continents and scholarly traditions, this volume creates a space for the cross-pollination of ideas essential to the health and evolution of education worldwide. This volume is structured into five parts, and reflects the ecosystemic commitment to seeing connections across traditionally separate domains: (1) Comparative and International Education; (2) International Education Issues; (3) School Education and Well-being in Schools; (4) Higher Education and Teacher Education and Training; and (5) Law and Education. This collection is offered to educators, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners as both a record of scholarly exchange and an invitation to continue the dialogue on education as an ecosystem. [Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]