Comparative education
Encyclopedia
Comparative education is a fully established academic field of study that examines education
in one country (or group of countries) by using data and insights drawn from the practises and situation in another country, or countries. Programs and courses in comparative education are offered in many universities throughout the world, and relevant studies are regularly published in scholarly journals such as Comparative Education, International Review of Education, Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies,International Journal of Educational Development, Comparative Education Review
, and Current Issues in Comparative Education
. The field of comparative education is supported by many projects associated with UNESCO
and the national education ministries of various nations.
Comparative education is often incorrectly assumed to exclusively encompass studies that compare two or more different countries. In fact, since its early days researchers in this field have often eschewed such approaches, preferring rather to focus on comparisons within a single country over time. Still, some large scale projects, such as the PISA
and TIMSS studies, have made important findings through explicitly comparative macroanalysis of massive data sets.
there is no nationwide certificate of completion of secondary education
. This raises the question of what the advantages and disadvantages are of leaving such certification to each of the 50 states. Comparative education draws on the experience of countries such as Japan
and France
to show how a centralized system works, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of centralized certification.
Critics of comparative education refer to it as Policy Borrowing.
, international development education, and comparative sociology
.
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in one country (or group of countries) by using data and insights drawn from the practises and situation in another country, or countries. Programs and courses in comparative education are offered in many universities throughout the world, and relevant studies are regularly published in scholarly journals such as Comparative Education, International Review of Education, Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies,International Journal of Educational Development, Comparative Education Review
Comparative Education Review
Comparative Education Review is the official publication of the Comparative and International Education Society, investigates education throughout the world and the social, economic, and political forces that shape it.- External links :* * *...
, and Current Issues in Comparative Education
Current Issues in Comparative Education
Current Issues in Comparative Education is an international online, open-access academic journal publishing diverse opinions of academics, practitioners, and students in the field of comparative and international education...
. The field of comparative education is supported by many projects associated with UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and the national education ministries of various nations.
Objectives and Scope
According to Harold J Noah (1985), and Dr.Farooq Joubish (2009), comparative education has four purposes:- To describe educational systems, processes, or outcomes.
- To assist in the development of educational institutions and practices.
- To highlight the relationships between education and society.
- To establish generalized statements about education that are valid in more than one country.
Comparative education is often incorrectly assumed to exclusively encompass studies that compare two or more different countries. In fact, since its early days researchers in this field have often eschewed such approaches, preferring rather to focus on comparisons within a single country over time. Still, some large scale projects, such as the PISA
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
and TIMSS studies, have made important findings through explicitly comparative macroanalysis of massive data sets.
Rationale for the Field
Many important educational questions can best be examined from an international-comparative perspective. For example, in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
there is no nationwide certificate of completion of secondary education
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
. This raises the question of what the advantages and disadvantages are of leaving such certification to each of the 50 states. Comparative education draws on the experience of countries such as Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to show how a centralized system works, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of centralized certification.
Critics of comparative education refer to it as Policy Borrowing.
Disciplinary Identity
Comparative education is closely allied to, and may overlap with, international educationInternational education
International education can mean many different things and its definition is debated. Some have defined two general meanings according to its involvement of students...
, international development education, and comparative sociology
Comparative sociology
Comparative sociology generally refers to sociological analysis that involves comparison of social processes between nation-states, or across different types of society ....
.
Comparative and International Education Society
The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) was founded in 1956 to foster "cross-cultural understanding, scholarship, academic achievement, and societal development through the international study of educational ideas, systems, and practices."See also
- World Council for Comparative Education SocietiesWorld Council for Comparative Education SocietiesThe World Council of Comparative Education Societies is an international organization of comparative education societies created in 1970. It is organized as an NGO in operational relations with UNESCO...
- International Society for Comparative Adult EducationInternational Society for Comparative Adult EducationThe International Society for Comparative Adult Education is a network of individuals and organizations with members in more than thirty countries.-Purpose:...
- Comparative Education ReviewComparative Education ReviewComparative Education Review is the official publication of the Comparative and International Education Society, investigates education throughout the world and the social, economic, and political forces that shape it.- External links :* * *...
- Comparative researchComparative researchComparative research is a research methodology in the social sciences that aims to make comparisons across different countries or cultures. A major problem in comparative research is that the data sets in different countries may not use the same categories, or define categories differently .-...
Influential Scholars
- Don AdamsDon AdamsDon Adams was an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart in the television situation comedy Get Smart , which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart...
- Bob AdamsonBob AdamsonRobert Wilson Adamson was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Adamson, a wing, claimed 1 international rugby cap for Australia.-References:...
- Robin Alexander
- Philip G. Altbach
- Kathryn Anderson-Levitt
- Robert Arnove
- David P. Baker
- Lesley Bartlett
- Aaron Benavot
- John Boli
- Mark BrayMark BrayMark Bray is the Chair Professor of Comparative Education in the Comparative Education Research Centre at the University of Hong Kong....
- Nicholas BurbulesNicholas BurbulesNicholas C. Burbules is a Gutgsell Endowed Professor of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership and an affiliate of the Unit for Criticism and Interpretative Theory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign...
- Martin Carnoy
- Robert CowenRobert CowenRobert E. Cowen is a Federal Appeals Judge with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit based in Philadelphia. He joined the court in 1987 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan...
- Michael Crossley
- Max Eckstein
- Erwin H. Epstein
- Joseph FarrellJoseph FarrellJoseph Farrell was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1961 on the Labour Panel and was re-elected to the Seanad in 1965 and 1969. Farrell was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for the Louth constituency at the 1973 general election and was...
- Mark Ginsburg
- Ivor Goodson
- Gottfried Hausmann
- Brian HolmesBrian HolmesBrian Holmes is a Professor of Philosophy at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where he teaches an intensive summer seminar. He has worked with the French Graphics collective Ne Pas Plier from 1999 to 2001...
- Torsten HusenTorsten HusénTorsten Husén was a Swedish educator. Husén became Master of Arts in 1938, was an assistant at the Department of Psychology at Lund University from 1938 to 1943, became Doctor of Philosophy in Lund in 1944, and Associate Professor of Education at Stockholm University in 1947...
- Gail P. Kelly
- Gerald K. LeTendre
- Gita Steiner-Khamsi
- Henry LevinHenry LevinHenry Levin began as a stage actor and director but was most notable as an American film director of over fifty feature films. He broke into film in 1943 as a dialogue director for the films Dangerous Blondes and Appointment in Berlin for Columbia Pictures...
- Mark MasonMark MasonMark Mason may refer to;*Mark Mason , retired Guyanese long jumper*Mark Mason , American public address announcer for the Portland Trail Blazers*Mark Mason, pseudonym of Septimus Winner , American songwriter...
- Noel McGinn
- John W. MeyerJohn W. MeyerJohn W. Meyer is a sociologist and professor at Stanford University, located in Palo Alto, California, noted for his contributions to the study of organizations, diffusion, and modern mass education...
- Harold J. Noah
- Lynn W. Paine
- Rolland G. Paulston
- David PhillipsDavid PhillipsDavid Phillips may refer to:*David Phillips , Canadian actor*David Phillips , former Canadian international...
- Francisco O. Ramirez
- Fernando ReimersFernando ReimersFernando M. Reimers is the Ford Foundation Professor of International Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is also the Director of Global Education and of the International Education Policy Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.Reimers is a fellow of the...
- Val Rust
- Osman Ozturgut
- Jürgen Schriewer
- Michele Schweisfurth
- Yasemin N. Soysal
- Ronald G. Sultana
- Margaret SuttonMargaret SuttonMargaret Sutton was most famous as the author of the Judy Bolton Series of mystery books, 38 volumes published between 1932 and 1967...
- Carlos TorresCarlos Alberto Torres (academic)Carlos Alberto Torres was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 1, 1950. He is a political sociologist of education, a published poet and short story author. He did his undergraduate work in sociology in Argentina , his graduate work in Mexico Carlos Alberto Torres was born in Buenos Aires,...
- Maria Teresa Tatto
- Erik Wiseman
- Farooq Joubish
Major Reference Handbooks
- Educational Research, Methodology and Measurement: An International Handbook. 2nd ed. Edited by J.P. Keeves. New York: Pergamon, 1997.
- International Handbook of Research in Arts Education. Edited by Liora Bresler. New York: Springer, 2006.
- International Encyclopedia of Adult Education and Training. 2nd ed. Edited by Albert C. Tuijnman. Oxford, UK; Tarrytown, NY: Pergamon, 1996.
- International Encyclopedia of National Systems of Education. 2nd ed. Edited by T. Neville Postlethwaite. Tarrytown, NY: Pergamon, 1995.
- International Companion to Education, Edited by Moon, B. Ben-Peretz, M & Brown S. London & NY: Routledge, 2000.
- International Handbook of Educational Change. Edited by Andy Hargreaves, et al. Boston,: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998.
- International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Administration. Edited by Kenneth Leithwood, et al. Boston: Kluwer Academic, 1996.
- International Handbook of Teachers and Teaching. Edited by Bruce J. Biddle, Thomas L. Good, Ivor F. Goodson. Boston,: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998.
- International Handbook of Women's Education. Edited by Gail P. Kelly. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.
Other Resources
- Altbach, Philip G. Comparative Higher Education: Knowledge, the University, and Development. Greenwich, CT: Ablex Pub. Corp.,1998.
- Comparative Education Research Approaches and Methods. Edited by Mark Bray, Bob Adamson and Mark Mason. Hong Kong and Dordrecht: Springer, 2007.
- Emergent Issues in Education: Comparative Perspectives. Edited by Robert F. Arnove, Philip G. Altbach, and Gail P. Kelly. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1992.
- Arnove, R. and Torres, C. eds (1999) Comparative Education: The Dialectic of the Global and the Local. Oxford: Rowan and Littlefield.
- International Perspectives on Educational Reform and Policy Implementation. Edited by David S.G. Carter and Marnie H. O'Neill. Washington, DC: Falmer Press, 1995.
- Quality Assurance in Higher Education: An International Perspective. Edited by Gerald H. Gaither. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998.
- Higher Education Policy: An International Comparative Perspective. Edited by Leo Goedegebuure, et al. New York: Pergamon Press, 1994.
- David G. Hebert. Music Competition, Cooperation, and Community: An Ethnography of a Japanese School Band (Ann Arbor: Proquest/UMI, 2005).
- Alexandra Kertz-Welzel. "Didaktik of Music: A German Concept and its Comparison to American Music Pedagogy." International Journal of Music Education (Practice) 22 No. 3 (2004): 277-286.
- Harold J. Noah and Max A. Eckstein. Toward a Science of Comparative Education (New York: Macmillan, 1969).
- Harold J. Noah and Max A. Eckstein. Secondary School Examinations: International Perspectives on Policies and Practice (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993). ISBN 0-300-05393-2.
- Harold J. Noah and Max A. Eckstein. Doing Comparative Education: Three Decades of Collaboration (Hong Kong: The University of Hong Kong Press, 1998). ISBN 962-8093-87-8
- Gottlieb, Esther E. http://books.google.com/books?id=vhzseYcEx50C&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=Are+We+Postmodern+Yet%3F+Historical+and+Theoretical+Explorations+in+Comparative+Education.&source=bl&ots=Lhja17poXw&sig=L8_VJbCh4iSkP2UagFAWpnsfFt4&hl=en&ei=BAJsTL7MNYrmnAek4eWtAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Are We Postmodern Yet? Historical and Theoretical Explorations in Comparative Education]. In Moon, B. Ben-Peretz, M & Brown S., (eds.) International Companion to Education, pp. 153-175 London & NY: Routledge, 2000.
- Mazawi, A.E. & Sultana, R.G. (eds)(2010). Education and the Arab 'World'. Political Project, Struggles, and Geometries of Power. (New York: Routledge). ISBN 978-0-415-80034-1
- Reagan, Timothy G. Non-Western Educational Traditions : Alternative Approaches to Educational Thought and Practice. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1996.
- Vulliamy, G., Lewin, K. and Stephens, D. (1990) Doing Educational Research in Developing Countries: Qualitative Strategies. Lewes: Falmer Press.
- Higher Education in an International Perspective : Critical Issues. Edited by Zaghloul Morsy and Philip G. Altbach. New York: Garland Pub., 1996.