Reflections on Theory, Method, and Practice in Comparative and International Education

Abstract

I have been very fortunate in my professional life in many ways. One way is that I get paid, in part, to reflect on some of the significant issues of our day. Over the years, my views have evolved, shaped by what I have seen, discussed, experienced, read, and studied. I wish to take the opportunity afforded by this presidential address to reflect on what I believe and how I came to believe it. I hold strong views about our field of comparative and international education, views that often clash with the dominant modes of theory, method, and practice. In this address, I wish to explain what I see as fundamental flaws in some of these dominant modes of thinking and explore what some of the alternatives to those views are. I will begin by saying a few words about how I see the field of comparative and international education and then discuss theory, method, and practice in turn.