The IIE’s Third International Conference on Teaching and Learning is scheduled for 23 to 27 November 2026 at the Emeris Sandton Campus. The conference gathers researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and institutional leaders under a single theme: Equity in Education, not as rhetoric, but as an action-based agenda.
By Dr Bronwyn Batchelor of The Academic Centre of Excellence at The IIE and Advtech
We have spent long enough treating equity in education as an aspiration. A warm ideal invoked at the start of policy documents and quietly forgotten by page ten. The reality, visible in classrooms and campuses across South Africa and the world, is that who thrives and who does not is still largely determined not by talent or effort, but by postcode, language, gender, income, and ability. It is time to stop describing the problem and start designing the solution.
“Unlike formal equality, which assumes uniform provision is sufficient, equity demands that we examine how our policies, cultures, pedagogies, and systems support or hinder every learner’s ability to achieve meaningful outcomes.”
That is exactly the charge The IIE’s Third International Conference on Teaching and Learning has set for itself. Scheduled for 23 to 27 November 2026 at Emeris’s Sandton Campus, the conference gathers researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and institutional leaders under a single theme: Equity in Education, not as rhetoric, but as an action-based agenda.
Eleven conversations that matter right now
What makes this conference worth your calendar is the breadth and urgency of its sub-themes. From AI’s promise and peril in the classroom, to student mental health, decolonial curriculum reform, disability inclusion, and the financial barriers that keep capable students from ever reaching graduation.
| 1. AI in Education: Equity, Ethics & Access | Responsible use of AI and educational technologies to improve equity, access, and inclusion; democratisation of AI tools; AI-proof assessments. |
| 2. Emerging Models of Education | Hybrid, blended, flipped, and HyFlex learning; online and distance education; innovative delivery models that widen access. |
| 3. Mental Health & Wellbeing | Intersections of student wellness, mental health, and academic performance; institutional support and the role of educators. |
| 4. Transformative & Transgressive Learning | T-Learning, decoloniality, cultural and curriculum relevance, and centring marginalised voices in academia. |
| 5. Equity in Assessment & Evaluation | Fair measurement of learning; reducing biases; alternative and authentic assessments; inclusive assessment design. |
| 6. Digital Equity & the Future of Learning | Bridging the digital divide; access, connectivity, and skills; ethical implications of educational technologies for underserved communities. |
| 7. Inclusive Education & Learning Diversity | Teaching approaches for students with diverse learning needs; neurodiversity; language and multilingualism; disability inclusion. |
| 8. Transformation, Social Justice & Curriculum | Curriculum transformation; culturally sustaining pedagogies; equity across public and private higher education sectors. |
| 9. Spatial & Institutional Equity | Designing inclusive physical, digital, and hybrid learning environments; institutional culture, belonging, and accountability. |
| 10. Student Funding, Access & Social Mobility | Financial barriers, funding models, student retention, employability, and social mobility as equitable outcomes. |
| 11. Professional Development for Equity | Training programmes for educators; continual professional development; building equity literacy; supporting emerging researchers. |
Together, these eleven sub-themes form a map of the terrain any serious educator, administrator, or researcher must navigate in 2026. The conference does not offer easy answers, it offers something more valuable: a room full of people who have done the hard empirical work, and the structural conditions to actually compare notes.
Why Johannesburg, and why now?
South Africa is not a neutral backdrop for this conversation. It is one of the world’s most unequal societies, home to both world-class universities and communities where basic digital connectivity remains a luxury. Hosting this conference here, at a pivotal moment for post-pandemic recovery and amid growing calls for curriculum transformation, is itself a statement. The IIE and Emeris are insisting that the global scholarship of education must be conducted from and for contexts like this one.
For South African academics, this is a rare opportunity to have locally-grounded research in conversation with international scholarship on the same stage. For international delegates, it is an opportunity to encounter contexts that will genuinely challenge and enrich your assumptions.
Online presentations will be considered for the first day of the conference, removing geographical barriers for those who cannot travel, an equity-conscious decision that is itself consistent with the conference’s values.
Key dates at a glance
| Milestone | Date |
| Abstract submission deadline | 29 May 2026 |
| Feedback on abstracts | 30 July 2026 |
| Early bird registration closes | 30 August 2026 |
| Full paper submission deadline | 30 September 2026 |
| Final registration closes | 15 October 2026 |
| Conference | 23–27 November 2026 |
The question equity in education forces us to ask is simple and devastating: are our institutions genuinely open to everyone, or merely formally so? Answering it honestly requires research, courage, and community. Johannesburg this November is where that community convenes. Be part of it.
Visit conferences.iie.ac.za for submission guidelines, accommodation recommendations, and conference fees. Enquiries: co********@****ac.za
