Revisiting scale, comparative research and education in small states

Abstract

Comparative research on education in small states has attracted international attention since the mid-1980s when the Commonwealth sponsored a number of seminal meetings and publications, and became a key advocate for the advancement of such work. This article considers the place of different dimensions of scale in comparative research; re-examines the potential of small states as a framework for comparative analysis; and explores the ways in which insights from the small states literature may contribute to new directions for innovative research on education policy transfer in this arena. In doing so, conclusions point to ways of extending the traditional boundaries that have come to demarcate this distinctive arena for research and scholarship in comparative education.