For the past three years, some of the IALEI members jointly host a reception during the annual meeting of AERA (American Educational Research Association). The event is an alumni reception for the institutions holding it, rather than ‘an IALEI reception’. Last year it was hosted jointly by University of Wisconsin-Madison, Institute of Education, University of London and Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

The 2012 annual AERA meeting will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from April 13-17 2012. The exact time of the joint IALEI reception will be announced in February 2012. For more information on AERA, see http://www.aera.net/

Educational disadvantage takes many different forms, but globally it is a major barrier to the well-being of individuals, communities and the prosperity of nations. In 2011/2012 IALEI focus on the joint research project 'Understanding and overcoming educational disadvantage: How schools of education contribute to improving equity'.
The international IALEI conference on 'Educational Disadvantage' will take place in Melbourne in August 2012, organised by Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia.

Internationally, Higher Education access policies take on multiple models, from the strictest national unified test to total open access. Countries with low rates of participation in Higher Education seek to expand access by increasing the number of opportunities available, while those countries that have already achieved a significant level of participation tend to focus on broadening access, so as to include more under-represented groups. There are many reasons why some countries may focus on one aspect rather than the other or why some countries feel the need to meet both challenges simultaneously. Over time, however, paying attention to both is becoming important for all.

In 2012/2013 IALEI’s focus is on the joint research project 'Acces to Higher Education'. The international IALEI conference on 'Access to Higher Education' will take place in Beijing 2013, organised by the Chair of IALEI 2012/13, the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Peoples Republic of China.