The Office of Continuing Education and Global Programs sponsors the Rutgers Invitational Symposium on Education (RISE), an annual conference that examines a critical educational issue. Recent conferences have focused on multiculturalism, inclusion, the impact of emerging national and international identities on educational policy, charter schools, adult basic education, and early literacy. The yearly Reading Recovery Conference focuses on new directions in early literacy. The Rutgers Conference on Reading and Writing is a major professional meeting for New Jersey educators who are concerned with the development of literacy skills for children. It features speakers and workshop leaders of national and international prominence. GSE also sponsors a wide variety of smaller workshops, institutes, and professional development activities in keeping with its mission of service. Programs are also planned cooperatively with school districts to meet the particular needs of district personnel.
Rutgers International Symposia have focused on global issues. The 1993 conference "Promise and Challenge in Teacher Education and International Perspective" was one of the first systematic attempts by teacher educators to view teacher training as a global issue. The 1999 conference "Diversity in the New Millenium: An International Perspective" brought together scholars from China, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States to examine the impact of emerging identities upon educational policy and practice.
