Research in comparative education

I bet for the last nine months you have been associating the term “research in education” with your thesis only. But did you know that research in education varies significantly depending on the area of education? One of them which stands apart from others is research in comparative education (RCE). In this post I would like to acquaint you with its main types.

To begin with, it is worth mentioning that due to its nature, RCE is considered as one of the most complicated areas. Farrell (1979) even wrote that “there is no such thing as comparative methodology”, but there is “comparative data” that can be used for analysis (p. 4). Despite such types as descriptive, analytical, exploratory, and predictive (Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2008, p. 84), RCE also varies significantly depending on the “starting points” which scholars use to start their study (Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2008, p. 103). Phillips and Schweisfurth (2008) define eight “points”, or perspectives, in the study of education in “less developed parts of the world”: economic rationalism, Marxist and neo-Marxist, anthropological, post-colonialism, gender, human rights, global security, research questions (p.103).

Economic rationalism is about connections between economic and educational factors. For instance, “contribution of education to economic growth” (Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2008, p. 105) which is higher for secondary education and lower for the higher education is taken into consideration when government allocates money for yearly budget spending.

The Marxist and neo-Marxist perspectives focus on inequalities, usually economic or social, and reveal how education affects these inequalities (Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2008, p. 107). Anthropological perspective is used for “deep understanding of the cultural context” (Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2008, p. 107). It attempts to reveal connections between education and people’s world view and ideology.

The next perspective, post-colonialism, is concentrated on “the legacy of colonial inequalities, and their philosophical, political, economic, social and cultural consequences” (Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2008, p. 108). This perspective provides understanding of the impact of colonialism on the former colonized countries. Gender, as one of the most significant factors in various studies is also considered as one of the perspectives in comparative education study. It covers such topics as gender inequality, feminism, female emancipation and others (Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2008, p. 109).

Human rights perspective is focused on the observance of human rights. There are three approaches that are used within this perspective: “rights in education; rights to education; rights through education” (Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2008, p. 109).  The ways education can influence on the global security and how military activities affect education are studied through the global security perspective (Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2008, p. 111). Such studies cover conflict zones, wars, and various threads including environment.

As it can be seen from the abovementioned information, RCE is a comprehensive and diverse field of study. These perspectives could be used for the analysis of the existing issues in education, so do consider them as a lens for your research if you want it to be more thorough. Hope, this information was helpful for you.

References

Farrell, J. P. (1979). The necessity of comparisons in the study of education: The salience of science and the problem of comparability. Comparative Education Review, 23(1), 3-16.

Phillips, D., & Schweisfurth, M. (2008). Comparative and international education: An introduction to theory, method, and practice. London, UK: Continuum international publishing group