Reparative Futures for International and Comparative Education?

Overview & Synopsis

This article is based on the BAICE Presidential Lecture delivered at the 2025 UKFIET conference, which was on the theme of 'Mobilising knowledge, partnerships, and innovations for sustainable development through education and training'. It argues that anti-racist and reparative perspectives are vital for remaking the field of international and comparative education and that this remaking is urgently needed to counter the rise of ethnonationalism and genocidal violence. If we are to create futures of education that are characterised by justice, it is essential to listen to and actively redress ongoing histories of repression and domination. This requires us to 'mobilise knowledge' in the service of truth-telling and repair, with human connection at the very centre. For, in these ruins, we must create alternatives.