In 1912, the International Committee of National Federations of Teachers in Public Secondary Schools was established in Belgium.

Internationally, it was known as FIPESO, an acronym derived from its French name: The Federation Internationale des Professeurs de l'Enseignement Secondaire Officiel.

[6] A significant reorganization of the international trade union movement occurred in the wake of the second world war.

IFTA, FIPESO, and FISE formed a liaison group, the Joint Committee of International Teachers' Federations, the same year.

In 1951, following the split in the WFTU and the creation of the anti-communist ICFTU, two new international education secretariats were created.

WOTP, FIPESO and the IFTA formed the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP).

The conservative and determinedly anti-communist International Federation of Free Teachers' Unions (IFFTU) was created the same year as the WCOTP.

[9] The WCOTP worked closely with the United Nations, UNESCO and the ILO to study the problems of teachers throughout the world, and focused much of its attention on Africa and Asia.

For the first 15 years of its existence, the WCOTP worked heavily on a draft UNESCO instrument which would create a consensus on the status, salaries, and protections teachers should have.

[6] The IFFTU and WCOTP remained strong rivals, each organization's policies and actions often reflecting the rivalry between the NEA and AFT (which were their respective secretariat's largest members).

[6][7][8][10] On January 26, 1993, the WCOTP and IFFTU merged at a convention in Stockholm to form Education International.

The collapse of Soviet bloc communist also helped to remove lingering political differences between the two groups (as well as the reason for the IFFTU's existence).

For large organizations (such as those in the United States, Canada and Europe), this means each delegate may cast tens or even hundreds of votes.

[14] A World Congress composed of delegates meets every three years,[15] at a place set by the Executive Board.

For EI, that means guaranteeing labour rights and ensuring good working conditions, as well as manageable workloads and competitive salaries for teachers and education workers.