Divergent Ontologies with Converging Conclusions: A case study comparison of comparative methodologies

Abstract

Informed by different ontologies, rival research traditions in comparative education forward divergent epistemological platforms, types of analyses and conclusions for the comparative education community. This article examines two studies of educational designs in socialist states-- Joseph Farrell's study of Allende's Chile and Jonathon Jansen's study of Mugabe's Zimbabwe--both of which share remarkably similar conclusions, despite their disparate geo-cultural contexts, as well as divergent research methodologies. Through a comparative analysis of the religio-political conflicts highlighted in each study's conclusion, as well as the research methodologies utilised by each comparativist, this article suggests that rival research traditions can not only arrive at similar conclusions, but offer one another complementary, though divergent, ontologies, which together offer a more complete and fuller picture of the reality or realities being studied.