Inclusion Not Exclusion: Comparative Educational Perspectives at the Heart of Sustainable Development in the Gulf States

Abstract Welcome to this special edition of FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education. This issue celebrates the rich variety of research brought together at the 6^th Annual Gulf Comparative Education Society (GCES) Symposium in April 2015. Hosted by Middlesex University at their Dubai campus, the symposium was an opportunity to share and critically discuss matters related to comparative and educational research in a region where opportunities for such activities can be challenging to access. Speakers from Kuwait to Oman came together, and in the form of the conference found both a voice and a support network. The richness of this meeting of minds has been captured in part though this special edition. Building on the quality of research that FIRE has become recognized for, we hope you will find the content of this issue interesting, thought provoking, and even controversial, as all good research should be. Above all, we hope it inspires even more academics from within this region to come forward and participate in the debate at future GCES conferences.