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EDF 411 Comparative Education Notes-1-1
Education (EDB)
Moi University
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EDF 410: Comparative Education
By KOSGEI P, Lecturer,
0724 852 398
0733 549 295
Dept of Educational Foundations,
Moi University
(Teachers open the doors, but you must enter by yourself)
1 Course description, aims and objectives
The course in Comparative Education prepares learners to assume leadership roles in a wide range of social and educational settings, thus its interdisciplinary approach. It emphasises the acquisition of a broad understanding of educational institutions, systems, their programmes and curricula while at the same time stressing the understanding of historical and contemporary issues, the cultural, socio-economic, technological and political aspects of educational development and change. These are to be applied within national, regional and international contexts and in governmental and private organizations, non-governmental organizations, and international education/development agencies. Since Comparative Education is such a broad field, learners will be exposed to broad knowledge ranging from developments of the field, theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches, curriculum traditions, dimensions of the field (international education, internationalization of education, development education, education
abroad & multicultural education). The course includes a comparative analysis of the education systems of selected countries and is contextualised within the wider global context and contemporary educational trends, with more reflections on education in developing countries. The aim of this course is therefore to provide an introduction to the field of Comparative Education based on the following objectives:
- To create awareness on the global educational trends and on how different countries manage their education systems.
- To understand and appreciate the challenges facing education in different contexts.
- To enable us compare our education system with other world systems for differences and similarities which can be useful in policy formulation and reforms.
- To appreciate how different factors such as history, culture, politics and globalization affect education.
TOPICS
1. Definition and purpose of comparative
education.
2. Historical development of comparative
education.
3. Methodology of comparative education.
4. Political socialization and education, U.S or
U.S.S.
It applies descriptions; analyses and insights learnt in one or more nations to the problems of developing educational systems and institutions in other countries can take two or more regions as the basis of comparison and provide explanations for identified similarities or differences. It is a field also concerned with the practical implications of borrowing of innovations among education systems. The word comparative involves comparison of one thing or system with another. Many important educational questions can best be examined from an international-comparative perspective. Comparative education provides teachers with an international and comparative understanding of education including the global description and classification of systems of education, underlying national educational philosophies, classic and emerging trends in education and interactions between different aspects or systems of education and how they relate to society. It fosters international understanding, peace and cooperation among nations of the world. The processes of internationalization and globalization are having lots of implications to the education sector requiring that national systems, teachers and even learners have a good grasp of them. Teacher training and pedagogics today can
therefore not be transmitted without the international context in which the youth of today live. No country is an island and as such no educational system anywhere in the world is worth anything unless it is comparable to some other systems in the world. Comparative education is essential in providing insights into the conditions under which changes occur or are prevented within the education system. It is thus crucial in reforming or improving the education system as it provides useful reference points. It also enables us to question nationationalistic attitudes on the superiority of individual education systems by giving foreign examples that can trigger alternative action and innovative strategy. It contributes to the satisfaction of intellectual curiosity i. the desire to know more about the education systems of other nations as it meets the learners’ or teachers’ need for information, inspiration and intellectual communication. It therefore contributes to the teacher’s professional critical awareness and prepares him for responsible decision making. Comparative education is thus part of the wider attempt to explain phenomena within educational systems and institutions and linking it with its social environment. Comparative studies always require identification of links,
several international bodies, resulting on massive collection of data on education which have been useful in shaping and influencing policy across many systems. At this time, there was little interest in Comparative Education. Some attempts were made decades later by Mathew Arnold who gave a series of reports on the education systems of some countries in Europe. He wanted England to look at what France and other countries were doing and gather adequate data to support reforms. By the beginning of the 20th Century, there was renewed interest in this field. In addition to the works of Michael Sadler in 1907, there were more developments in the field. Sadler was against the use of simple descriptions of education cross-nationally as a way of making education reforms. He advocated for the use of tangible and successful aspects. Both Sadler and Jullien believed that comparativists needed to take into account factors beyond the school or system in order to understand education. Their approaches were however different. Julliens approach was basically nomothetic i. isolating a few social factors and underlying trends and patterns which could then be applied to education. Saddlers’ method was ideographic i. analysing the social, cultural and
contextual circumstances that differentiated schooling in one society from the other. The development of comparative education has been marked by five different stages, each characterized by a different motive stages intersect in time.
i) Travellers Tales: This was the earliest stage which was prompted by simple curiosity and was mainly based on tales brought home by travelers to foreign parts. They gave descriptions of educational systems and practices abroad which were then used to review the education systems of their homelands. Since they were not professionals in education, their attention to education was fragmented, generally unsystematic and subjective. Major contributors at this stage included Herodotous( the Greek historian), Xenophon (on Persian education), Cicero, (Greek education) and Erasmus. Though their works were very subjective and had no empirical basis, they made significant contributions to the education of these countries. ii) Educational borrowing: During this period,the desire to learn useful lessons from foreign practices was the major motivation. It begun at the beginning of the 19th C after the the industrial revolution, the
understanding and sharing of knowledge. The main concern was how different contexts shaped education systems. Scholars were concerned with being able to predict the likely sucess of educational borowings in implementing reforms. Michael Sadler and Isac Kandel were major contributors at this time.. iv) The Rise of the Social Sciences: This period begun at the onset of the 20thC and laid the foundation for the search for explanations for the wide variety social phenomena. The social sciences such as economics, philosophy, psychology, and sociology took a centre stage. The main concern was to provide scientific explanations for relationships between education and society, as the two influenced each other. The interaction between education and society was to be analysed by looking at how historical, economic, social and contemporary factors shaped education. Interest was not only in the nature of the relationships, but the possibility of using the conclusions for educational reform for better societies. Studies were also made on how education determines national character. This period marked the beginning of empirical studies of comprative education.
v) Comparative Education as a Discipline: This stage has been marked with the fruitful growth of comparative education as a scientific discipline in education. It was fuelled by the aftermaths of WW2. The devastations of WW2 was followed by unprecedented international cooperation which enhanced more international intteractions through education. Education was one of the main ways of promoting international interractions and peace after the war. The end of the war resulted into the establishment of new and influential international agencies such as the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank which have been crucial in the growth of the discipline. Through UNESCO,UNICEF and UNDP comparative education has flourished. Comparative education now became characterised with social science explanations and use of empirical methods to clarify the relationships between education and society. The methods of explanation have become more scientific and robust has strengthened the explanatory power and relevance of Comparative Education as a social science field. Many governments are concerned with improving their education systmems. Institutions also want to inculcate best practices. Professional associations and research centres on comparative
Legitimacy: Scholars in other fields of education have been of the view that Comparative Education is not a legitimate field of study due to several reasons. Instead, they see it as a cooperative activity of the other social sciences. Lack of a strong foundation as a discipline: Comparative education as a field of study has a weak foundation as a discipline as it does not have any major classic literature, massive accumulation of research work or founding fathers of stature as in other social sciences. Comparative education is largely seen as a method, an approach or a way of carrying out investigations in different systems and not a discipline. Elder comparativists such as Hilker (1962) took the view that comparison as a method justified the existence of Comparative Education Theory: It lacks its own theoretical underpinning and mainly explains its subject by use of theories from other social sciences. Methodology: Methodology defines how new knowledge maybe acquired, or be rejected as not having the status of knowledge. Methodologies of data collection, analysis and arriving at conclusions in Comparative Education
have been largely debated by critics as wanting. There are also recent debates concerning the dimensions of comparison (Herbison & Meyers, 1964). Content and Boundary: The academic boundaries and contents of this field are also not clear. More publications in this field are now moving more towards developing countries making it closer to development education. The different social contexts lead to different areas of focus in different countries (See Halls, 1990).
4 Dimensions/ Typologies of comparative education Comparative education has been seen within a number of interrelated sub disciplines.
4 International Education
Comparative education is closely allied to and may overlap with international education. International education is a comprehensive approach to education that prepares learners to be active and engaged participants in an interconnected world. Understanding of a broad array of phenomena is enhanced and deepened through examination of the cultures, languages, contexts, governments, religions and history of the world. International education includes knowledge of other parts of the world, familiarity with international/global issues and
programmes and qualifications of the mother institution. It is mostly common in higher education where several universities open satellite campuses in other countries to offer academic programmes, joint or dual programs and virtual institutions..
4 Development Education
This dimension looks mainly at the role of education in societal development, social transformation, change processes, democratisation, promotion of human rights and sustainable development especially in developing countries. Key in this respect is the Education for All (EFA) movement and the overall role of education in attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for sustainable development. It also looks into the role of development partners and international agencies, both positive and negative in education in developing societies.
4 Multicultural Education
Multicultural education is a field of study whose major aim is to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, social class and cultural groups. Its main goal is to enable all students acquire the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic democratic society and to interact, negotiate and communicate with peoples from diverse groups in order to create a civic and
moral community. It promotes intercultural understanding and dialogue. It draws its content, concepts, paradigms and theories from specialised interdisciplinary fields especially in the social sciences. 5 Theoretical Approaches in Comparative Education Comparative education draws its theoretical approaches from an array of other disciplines, research traditions and educational practices. These are mainly used to juxtapose and interrelate knowledge and practices. Theoretical approaches in comparative education have been changing with changes in the representation of knowledge. The following are some of the theoretical approaches in comparative education;
i) Functionalist Theory
The Functionalist theory is derived from the wider Consensus theory that postulates that societies are composed of interdependent parts which have to work together for harmony. It is also referred to as Structural Functionalism and calls for maintenance of social order, harmony and consensus in society. The functionalist approach argues that all these interdependent parts have a role to play to keep the whole society in equilibrium. Education is seen as an important component of society which has a role to play to keep society stable. It has to socialise individuals to conform to societal
and political contexts taken into consideration. This view argues that what happens outside the school system is important in influencing that very system. It sees the national system of education as a living thing. Emphasis has to be put on the educational context before borrowings or transplants are made.
iv) The Marxist Approach
This approach is drawn mainly from the wider Conflict theory. It proposes that society is always at conflict due to the demands of the different interest groups. It looks mainly at the social stratification of society mainly in terms of ownership of capital and the means of production. This theory proposes that most societies are divided into a dominant group and a subordinate one. The dominant one i. bourgeoisie exploit the poor ones i. proletariat and this leads to conflict as the masses aspire to dislodge the dominant ones. This theory is used in Comparative Education to explain how education helps in transforming societies. It is also important in analysing how class factors determine citizens’ access to education. Realists and liberals disagree with the Marxists theory as being outdated especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war. The Marxist theory has been developed into the World Systems theory which
applies Marxism to contemporary international relations between the developed and developing countries manly using the principles of the centre and the periphery.
v) Human Capital Theory
Education in this approach is seen as an integral resource and fabric for the society. Societies are therefore are expected to invest in the education of their populations because this is the most valuable resource they could have. The human capital theory dominated education discourse of most newly independent countries as there was need to invest more in the education of these new societies. In order to develop, they had to invest significantly in their education systems. Educated populations are considered to be more productive to societies than illiterate ones. Comparative education looks also at how education has been used to add value to societies.
vi) Modernization Theory
This looks at how education has been used to modernise societies. Most societies invest in education with the hope that it will enable them modernise and develop. The main difficulty with modernization theory was its focus on changes within societies or nations and comparisons between them with Western societies as their main reference points - to the neglect of the interconnectedness among them, and, indeed,
EDF 411 Comparative Education Notes-1-1
Course: Education (EDB)
University: Moi University
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