The Scope of Education in the BRICS Countries as Theme for Comparative and International Education Scholarship

Charl Wolhuter,Oxsana Chigisheva

doi:10.20896/saci.v7i5.681

Charl Wolhuter, Oxsana Chigisheva

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.20896/saci.v7i5.681

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Abstract

The key purpose of this study is to survey the BRICS education project, that is, education in the BRICS countries. The final objective is, fitting in the framework of this special issue, to identify the value of the epistemology that has been developed and tested by BRICS education scholars, as well as their thematic focus for the broader, global social science community. The unfolding 21st Century world and its imperatives for education are outlined. How this education-societal context is studied by the scholarly field of Comparative and International Education is then explained. The BRICS education project is then surveyed and analysed by a model which distinguishes between three dimensions of a national education project, namely the quantitative, the qualitative, and the equality dimension. It is concluded that the BRICS education project has a lot to offer in a global social science scholarship enterprise. However, to bring this promise to fruition, two recommendations are made. These are prioritisation of research on the societal outcomes of education in the BRICS countries, and that scholars in the BRICS countries should assume ownership for a scholarship of education in the BRICS countries.

Highlights

This article links to the lead article in this issue, which concludes that the BRICS countries offer rich soil for social sciences research with the potential to enrich the stock of social science scholarship epistemologically and thematically
This study aims to survey BRICS education to identify the value of BRICS education scholarship epistemology and thematic focus for the broader, global social science community
To interpret and to summarise, on the quality dimension the BRICS countries displays an exciting variety, with respect to their counts on the international spectrum of indicators and when focusing on each single BRICS country, the quality of education differs with respect to different indicators of quality

Summary

Introduction

This article links to the lead article in this issue, which concludes that the BRICS countries offer rich soil for social sciences research with the potential to enrich the stock of social science scholarship epistemologically (that is, the research methods used) and thematically (that is, the content or focus of research). In the BRICS societies, as elsewhere in the world, education is widely looked up to as the remedy to the entire set of societal problems besetting the world. In a Special Issue on the BRICS nations, it, seems obvious to turn the spotlight to the education sector. This study aims to survey BRICS education to identify the value of BRICS education scholarship epistemology and thematic focus for the broader, global social science community. The theoretical framework for analysing and evaluating the BRICS education project will be explained. That will be followed by an unpacking of BRICS education, employing the theoretical framework. The value of BRICS education scholarship for the thematic and epistemological scope in global social science research will be assessed

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