The use of empirical methods in comparative education: A pilot study to extend the scope

Abstract

The development of a discipline of comparative education awaits agreement on both the nature of the domain and on the logic (or logics) that seem fruitful. Numerous articles in the pages of the journals *) make it evident that no such agreements have been reached, and that it is there? fore difficult for knowledge in the field to be cumulative. The mode of inquiry most frequently used in comparative education is cultural ana? lysis. The method of cultural analysis is relevant to one of the central questions in the field: in what sense is the formal system of education an expression of the culture from which it arises? The investigations this question entails are indeed fruitful. However, one must admit the limitations of both the question and the method. The question emphasizes the centrality of the cultural tradition at the expense of other possible emphases. The method, while it yields intriguing findings, is so implicit in the question that it has had the effect of limiting, rather than expanding, the field.