Willy Wielemans (born in Belgium, 1939) studied philosophy in Rome (1962) and for the degrees of M.Ed. (1967) and Ph.D. Ed. (1973) in the University of Louvain/Belgium (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven). His Ph.D. was a comparative study on 'The impact of the industrialization process on education in France and Italy from 1860 till 1970'. From 1974 to 1975 he gained the certificate of 'Expert in Educational Planning' at the UNESCO International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP). From 1976 till 2000 he was associated at the Research Centre for Comparative Education of the Catholic University of Leuven. In 1978 he was appointed to the Chair of Educational Policy Analysis & Planning; in 1986 to the Chair of Comparative Education at the same University. From 1979 to 1982 he was the Chairman of the Department of Educational Sciences. From 1986 till 2000 he was the Chairman of the Research Centre for Comparative Education. His main research was on 'Comparative Education', 'Education in relation to Society and Culture' and on 'Educational Policy Analysis & Planning'.
He has been a visiting professor at the Shanghai Normal University (China, 1986), at the Catholic University of Montevideo (Uruguay, 1991/1993/1995), at the Assumption University in Bangkok (Thailand, 1996/1998/2000), and at the University of Pretoria (South Africa, 1992).
Since its early beginning he was a founding member of the Steering Committee of the 'ERASMUS-SOCRATES' network of more than 14 European universities.
In the 80's he was the President of the 'Dutch-speaking Society for Comparative Education' (NGVO). From 1996 till 2000 he was elected as one of the vice-presidents of the Comparative Education Society of Europe (CESE); then, from 1996 till 2004 he acted as a member of the Executive Committee of CESE. At the CESE-Conference in Athens (2008), he was elected as a CESE Honorary Fellow. Many times he acted as a coordinator of working groups at CESE conferences.
Since 2000, he is an Emeritus Professor.
He is the author and/or editor of various books on (comparative) education and of many articles and chapters in books. He is a member of several editorial boards, such as the 'Tijdschrift voor Onderwijsrecht en -beleid (TORB)' (Journal for Educational Law & Policy).
His main publications in English are:
- W. Wielemans & P. Chan, Education and culture in industrializing Asia. Leuven, Leuven University Press, 1992, 473 p.
- W. Wielemans, 'The labour market as the driving force of Belgian higher education'. In: European Journal of Education, 1988(23), Nrs. 1/2, pp. 77-90.
- W. Wielemans, 'Comprehensive education in Belgium: a broken lever?' In: European Journal of Education, 1991(26), Nr. 2, pp. 167-178.
- W. Wielemans, 'Beyond the individual: the dominant 'image of man' in western culture and its implications for education in the 21st century'. In: Yaacov Iram & Zehavit Gross (eds.), The role and place of humanities in education. Jeruzalem, Graphit Press Ltd./The School of Education - Bar-Ilan University (Ramat-Gan), 1995, pp. 163-182.
- W. Wielemans, 'Beyond the individual: a comparison of emerging images of man in sciences. A critical analysis of the dominant 'image of man' in western culture and its implications for education in the 21st Century'. In: T. Winther-Jensen (Ed.), Challenges to European education: cultural values, national identities, and global responsibilities. Frankfurt a/Main, Peter Lang, 1996, pp. 81-99.
- W. Wielemans, 'Educational policy in the countries of the European Union: facts, trends and critical interpretation'. In: A.M. Kazamias & M.G. Spillane (Eds.), Education and the structuring of the European space. North-south, centre-periphery, identity-otherness. Athens, Seirios Editions, 1998, pp. 113-140.
- W. Wielemans & S. Berkhout, 'Towards understanding education policy: an integrative approach'. In: Educational Policy, 13(3), July, 1999, pp. 402-420.
- W. Wielemans, 'European educational policy on shifting sand?' In: European Journal for Educational Law and Policy, 2000, 4, pp. 21-34.
His main books and articles were published in Dutch, such as:
- W. Wielemans, Voorbij het individu. Mensbeelden in wetenschappen. Leuven, Garant, 1993; 1995, 230 p. (English: Beyond the Individual. Images of the Human Being based on paradigm shifts in sciences).
- W. Wielemans, Ingewikkelde ontwikkeling. Opvoeding en onderwijs in relatie tot maatschappij en cultuur. Leuven, Acco, 2000, 253 p. (English: Inclusive development. Education in relation to society and culture).