Comparative Education Research Articles

An invitation to an interdependent mode of academic engagement in comparative and global education studies: a response to Edward Vickers’ criticism

ABSTRACT Since its publication in 2017, the ‘blue cover’ special issue in Comparative Education Review, which I co-edited, has been subjected to criticisms, most notably by Edward Vickers. This paper attempts to treat his criticisms as an opportunity to explore a more conciliatory, interdependent way of mutual engagement in scholarship. It first reviews the notions of ‘being taught by’, ‘interruption’, and ‘let others encounter us’ in Gert Biesta’s writings. It shows how these concepts help us conceptualise a mode of scholarly engagement that takes us beyond adversarial refutation, where its self-reflective and relational aspects are centred. In the rest of the paper, I attempt to put in practice this alternative mode of academic engagement in responding to Edward Vickers’ criticisms. The paper, thus, serves as an invitation to embark upon the lifelong process of disinvesting from usual academic practices that privileges reason, separation, and dominance over self-reflection, emotions, and interdependency.

Trashing tradition: decoloniality and the rise of ideological dogmatism in comparative education

ABSTRACT The early twenty-first century has seen the emergence of a dogmatic strand of decolonial scholarship, often relying on racialised identity discourse and ad hominem critique, that rejects the ‘Western’ foundations of comparative education as irredeemably colonial. The rise of dogmatic decolonialism constitutes the latest and most far-reaching of several inflection points within the history of the field. This article begins by reviewing the development of comparative education as a scholarly tradition, considering its foundational epistemological orientations and challenges to them. This allows us to analyse the challenge posed by decolonialism from a historical perspective. We show that, far from injecting fresh historical nuance and complexity into comparative scholarship, dogmatic decolonialism is entrenching itself as an intolerant new orthodoxy. The threat this poses to rigorous, open and balanced scholarly debate underlines the need for an urgent renewal of comparative education as a robust and relevant field of scholarly enquiry.

Educational anthropology and the comparative challenge

ABSTRACT As a field of research, educational anthropology is involved in cross-cultural debates on formative processes known as education, schooling, learning and socialisation, and many anthropological studies have compared educational processes within and across communities and nation-states. The comparative perspective is pervasive, both as an implicit perspective and as an explicit analytical strategy in anthropological studies on education. Inspired by various engagements with the comparative challenge in anthropology, the aim of this article is to discuss what an anthropologically informed approach to comparison might help us to ‘see’ – and not ‘see’ – in fields of education, and how this may enrich the overlapping fields of educational anthropology and comparative education.

Questioning educational contexts, promoting equitable actions: reflections on some paths of practice and research with complex instruction in Italy

ABSTRACT Within the framework of comparative education studies, this article discusses the process of borrowing and implementing Complex Instruction (CI) in Europe, focusing on three different multicultural and heterogeneous educational contexts in Italy: five primary schools, a Master academic teaching course, and a first literacy course for migrant adults. The paper explores the potential of CI for intercultural education and active citizenship. It aims to highlight how this cooperative approach can be an opportunity to question the usual school norms and habits and challenge what is taken for granted in the relationship with diversity, by transforming teaching into a creative and emancipatory experience in dialogue with diverse students.

Initiatives on Education Diplomacy/Linkages: The Chequered Experience in Nigeria

Purpose of the study: The study provided clear indications from the studies of comparative education that Nigeria’s educational system is not highly rated when compared to many other educational systems around the globe. Research evidences are also rife on the use of education diplomacy and international linkages for bridging the gaps of educational inequalities between developed and developing nations. Methodology: As a qualitative study, the paper adopted historical research design, relying on documentary analysis to establish the tenets of education diplomacy/ linkages are not only capable of improving Nigeria’s educational system, but can equally be used to elevate it to a point of global relevance and reference. Main Findings: Revealed in the study are the four major purposive initiatives that are corollaries of education diplomacy/ linkages are depicted in the praxes associated with Foreign Aid packages, Technical Aids Corps, Foreign Studentship schemes and Internalization programme in higher education. The treatise critical appraises the exploration and use of these initiatives for educational image-making and cautious integration of the country’s educational system with global best practices. Despite the chequered experiences identifiable with the initiatives, the inherent derivatives of these initiatives are extremely gainful to the overall development of education in Nigeria. Novelty/Originality of this study: Finally, the paper strongly advocated that Nigeria needs to carefully re-engage and follow through the gains in these initiatives, so as to unlock and tap from the intrinsic benefits and humongous opportunities derivable from the thrusts of education diplomacy linkages.

Comparative Education in the Health Professions

As the academe in health professions institutions pursue educational reforms that anchors on the systems approach to healthcare, collaborative efforts are essential to establish more responsive and dynamic professional education systems. This paper highlights comparative education as a tool to strengthen health professions education around the world by reviewing previous and the most recent studies done, and showcase how this can improve the current pedagogical landscape. Through comparative education, a holistic approach to health professions education ensures that the learner’s training is not only comprehensive but also responsive to the dynamic needs of the country, the region, and the rest of the world by the sharing of best practices, challenges, and opportunities for collaboration. The opportunities that international comparative education provide to the health professions education include the sharing of best practices and difficulties encountered, and the enhanced viewpoint from considering different perspectives. On the other hand, the main challenges include ethnocentrism and the limited resources that majority of institutions face globally especially those from the low- and middle-income countries. Truly, once the lessons learned from comparative educational engagements are integrated into the philosophical and educational foundations in our medical schools, then we are one step closer to becoming responsive to the call for a more holistic and systems – centered health professions education.

Comparative study of social studies curriculum in scandinavian countries in developing students' social skills

Social skills play a central role in shaping individuals who are able to adapt and contribute to society. This article analyzes the comparative social studies curriculum in Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), focusing on how students’ social skills are developed through their approach to learning. The research method used is a qualitative approach with an emphasis on document analysis and uses a horizontal descriptive approach in the context of comparative education. The results of the comparison found that Denmark emphasizes the integration of social skills in practical learning and research projects, Norway through an integrated approach with its contemporary issues while Sweden applies innovation through technology and community involvement. The comparison between the three countries revealed similarities, differences, as well as challenges and successes in the development of students’ social skills. The conclusions of this analysis provide a foundation for recommending best practices and improvements in social studies curriculum, which can be applied globally to enhance students’ social skills development in this modern era.

Analysis of the Main Contradictions and Solutions in Achieving Educational Equity under China's "Double Reduction" Policy

This article aims to analyze the obstacles encountered by Chinese society in implementing the "double reduction" policy and the main contradictions in achieving educational equity, explore the new contradictions and problems brought by the "double reduction" policy to the education sector, and provide corresponding countermeasures for Chinese society, communities, families, and schools. It is hoped that this can improve the "double reduction" policy while eradicating the remaining irrationality in the Chinese education sector, enhance the level and quality of Chinese education, and develop an educational powerhouse. A comprehensive review was conducted through literature review, combined with knowledge in the fields of educational equity, educational policies, and comparative education. This article explores the four major contradictions behind the "double reduction policy" and proposes four guiding suggestions: balancing educational resources, optimizing the rationality of education and training, clarifying the responsibilities of families and schools, establishing a communication mechanism between families and schools, implementing a comprehensive evaluation system, strengthening the enrollment form of higher education, enhancing community resources, and improving community after-school services.

Scientification or political legitimation? Tracing the concepts of evidence and context in Nordic school reforms

ABSTRACT Presenting education reforms as evidence-based has become a global trend. This article investigates how evidence is selected and utilised, focusing on the role of academic research in recent school reforms in Denmark, Finland, and Norway. By analysing a dataset of fifteen interviews of policymakers and applying Sobe, Noah. W., and Jamie A. Kowalzcyk's (2012. “The Problem of Context in Comparative Education Research.” ECPS Journal 6:55–74), concept of Context, the findings reveal that experts and committee members selected different types of evidence for various reform topics based on their professional backgrounds, roles, positions, and the specific issues at hand. The decision-making processes were complex negotiations involving people from diverse networks and professions who interpret global ideas within local contexts. Consequently, the choice of evidence was shaped by and shaped further the unique Context of each reform, despite the shared commonalities among the three countries.

How the “West as method” fails: A study of entrepreneurship education from the perspective of China

China's entrepreneurship education has developed a unique model that positions entrepreneurship education as a critical means of talent cultivation, resulting in the “learning through competition” model. Entrepreneurship education in China, imported primarily from the United States, exhibits significant differences. Existing research has highlighted these disparities; however, there is a notable lack of in-depth, detailed descriptions and comprehensive analyses of their underlying causes. Employing qualitative research methods, this study examines how these differences are shaped from a Chinese perspective. It reveals how Chinese higher education perpetuates an Americentric canon within the social sciences, but fails to implement “the West as method” in entrepreneurship education. However, while China has adopted the external aspects of American entrepreneurship education—such as curricula, competitions, and mentorship—the internal logic of the Chinese system differs significantly, resulting in two distinct educational landscapes. Key factor contributing to the China-US differences include market maturity, deficiencies in Chinese comparative education, China's principles of equality rooted in its socialist ideology, the politicized nature of its education system, and a pervasive hustle culture. These elements have shaped China's entrepreneurship education goals, teacher cohorts, landscape and business plan competitions in ways that are distinct from those in the United States. By adopting an ‘Eastern as method’ perspective, this research enriches the discourse on entrepreneurship education and encourages deeper reflection on current practices.

Organizational Strategies for Providing Foreign Language Education Services to Adults Over 45: International Practices and Approaches

Organizing educational services for people over the age of 45 is essential for their personal development, economic participation, social inclusion, and mental well-being. International and local legislation supports these initiatives, aiming to provide equitable and inclusive educational opportunities for all ages and to use the benefits of these people being fruitfully involved in the economic and social life of a country. The article aims to examine the strategies for providing educational services to adult learners (citizens over the age of 45) in different countries (European countries, the USA, Australia, China, Ukraine, Brazil, and Japan), with a focus on whether this process is integrated into social services and formal and informal education systems within the framework of the concept of lifelong learning. The methods included literature review on databases such as Google Scholar, JSTOR, and ERIC; comparative analysis of educational policy documents; case studies and reports from different nations; meta-analysis; field observations; and others typical to the field of comparative education and general education. They were utilized to provide a comprehensive and well-rounded analysis of how different countries organize and implement foreign language education services for adults over the age of 45. The findings reveal that the approaches to providing foreign language education for adults over 45 varies widely across different countries, reflecting each nation's unique historical traditions, cultural values, and current societal needs. This diversity in practice can be categorized into four main groups: services provided by social services; formal education systems; informal education systems; and self-organized services to present the prevailing approach to providing foreign language education for individuals over 45 in each country. The study concludes that the provision of foreign language learning services for individuals over 45 varies significantly across countries, reflecting diverse historical traditions, cultural attitudes, and current needs. Whether through social services, formal education systems, informal educational channels, or self-organization, each country’s approach highlights the importance of adapting educational services to meet the needs of an adult population seeking continued personal and professional growth.

Развитие системы педагогического образования в Республике Гана

Relevance. Integration of African students into the Russian cultural and educational space is one of the most effective means of fostering friendly bilateral relations in order to implement Russia’s humanitarian policy on the African continent. Pedagogical education can become an important form of cooperation; it may include enrolling foreign students in higher education programs and expanding our work in educational centers abroad. Such a center promoting Russian culture among students was opened in the Republic of Ghana in 2003. However, our understanding of the organization of pedagogical education – primarily the system of teacher training – will contribute to deeper integration into the Ghanaian educational system in order to achieve the above-mentioned objective. We should aim to comprehend the internal structure, objectives, content, management, and evolving directions of the Ghanaian educational system, grounded in its history. The aim of the research is to analyze the contemporary system of teacher training education in the Republic of Ghana. The methodology uses a cultural approach, blending comparative and historical pedagogical methods with analysis of scientific literature, state educational documents, reports of the Ministry of Education and international organizations, enhanced by field observations and interviews with representatives of Ghana’s higher education. The findings reveal a dynamic evolution in Ghana’s higher education system, highlighting its contemporary structure, governance, and educational policies concerning teacher training. Conclusion: the study identifies the principles underpinning the organization of Ghana’s national pedagogical education and notes the active renewal phase of the teacher training system, which aligns with national interests yet relies on international support (methodological and financial). Therefore, at the moment, Ghana is as open as possible for cooperation in teacher training education. Practical application: the research results are valuable for the development of the Center for Open Education in Ghana and for creating joint training programs under the Russian Federation’s Humanitarian Policy abroad. Additionally, the results can contribute to comparative pedagogy courses at university level.

Le Ton beau de Xuanzang: Translation as Epistemological Journey

ABSTRACTThis essay shows how one professor teaching “Introduction to Buddhism” sought to counteract his students' view that Chinese and Tibetan forms of Buddhism represented a deviation from a “pure” Indian Buddhism rather than worthwhile forms of creativity and religiosity in themselves. A simple comparative assignment that asked a group of primarily monolingual students from Minnesota to translate a 500‐year‐old French ditty into English helped illustrate the inextricability of form and content, that all translation is interpretation, that translations target specific audiences, and that religious systems that might be intuitively conceptualized as perversions of a pure original can be more charitably understood as valuable systems of thought and practice in their own right. The assignment shows that linguistic translation can be a valuable form of comparative pedagogy in the undergraduate classroom beyond language classes, especially as a proxy for simulating the challenges and possibilities of intercultural translation.

Bridging Cultures of China and the West: Ruth Hayhoe’s Journey in Comparative Education

Bridging Cultures of China and the West: Ruth Hayhoe’s Journey in Comparative Education

Producing accountability with autonomy in Denmark and England: the analytical potential of assemblage theory with critical realism in comparative education

ABSTRACT School autonomy with accountability (SAWA) reforms have developed in diverse forms in Northern Europe. Following processes of decentralization to the municipal and school levels, quality assurance and inspection became key to the test-based accountability agendas of Denmark and England respectively. With an abductive approach, we explore the epistemological potential of a hybrid theoretical framework, which combines assemblage theory with critical realism, to analyze the production stories of these two policy instruments. Drawing on data from an international comparative research project, and more recent policy document analyses, we examine the arrangement of social entities – discourses, instruments, technologies, artefacts, and actors – that led to particular accountability outcomes within these specific educational assemblages. We argue that, despite distinctions in their social entities, the dominant state assemblages of accountability in Denmark and England have been captured by the global SAWA and capitalist assemblages at distinct times. Although school actors are incorporated into, and antagonistic towards, the state assemblages, change is limited due to the resilience of the underlying logic of epistemic governance and the desire to improve educational standards for a global knowledge economy. We conclude briefly with an assessment of the utility of the hybrid framework to the comparison of SAWA.

The same and the change: a topology of a Sino–French joint programme

ABSTRACT This study aims to elucidate how joint programmes can be used in the transfer and translation of Western policy to the local level in the context of China’s efforts to build first-class higher education as a rising power. Although the Sino–French joint programme being studied was intended to be a wholesale adaptation of French engineering education, its development over the decade was around the theme of change rather than the monotony of replication, as envisioned in the beginning. This can be explained by what we call topology work, the process by which an organisation’s boundary is constantly reshaped and recreated while maintaining certain traits. Awareness of the richer scope of change, supported by the concept of topological work, may suggest how comparative education can grow for global development.

World Society, Women Authors, and the Expansion of Feminist, Gender, Sex, and Sexuality (FGSS) Research in Comparative Education, 1957–2010

World Society, Women Authors, and the Expansion of Feminist, Gender, Sex, and Sexuality (FGSS) Research in Comparative Education, 1957–2010

:Language Issues in Comparative Education II: Policy and Practice in Multilingual Education Based on Non-dominant Languages

:<i>Language Issues in Comparative Education II: Policy and Practice in Multilingual Education Based on Non-dominant Languages</i>

A critical evaluation of the validity of socioeconomic measures used in PISA

PurposeGiven the scientific and practical difficulties inherent in measuring and comparing socioeconomic deprivation (SED), and the further complexity added in cross national measurements, the main aim of this paper was to check the validity of SED measures used in PISA 2018 dataset. The SED measure used in PISA 2018 was the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status abbreviated as the ESCS index. This assessment was important as PISA analysis is based on variables derived from this instrument and the ESCS index and these reports influence and reflect international and comparative education policies and practice.Design/methodology/approachThis study critically evaluates the socioeconomic status measures in the PISA 2018 dataset, focusing on their convergent validity and cross-national comparability. Using responses from over 600,000 students in 73 countries, it examines the validity of SES indicators and their comparability across countries. The study employs principal component analysis to construct local SES measures and compares them with the existing Economic, Social, and Cultural Status (ESCS) index. It explores the relationship between these SES measures and academic achievement in reading, science, and mathematics, aiming to understand their predictive validity in diverse educational settings. Statistical analyses were conducted using the IEA’s IDB Analyser and SPSS, ensuring robustness and generalisability across the diverse participant countries.FindingsOur research findings challenge the assumed superiority of local measures over broader constructs like the Economic, Social, and Cultural Status (ESCS). It suggests that standardised measures like ESCS may provide more reliable predictions of academic achievement across various educational contexts, underscoring the complex relationship between SES measures and academic performance.Originality/valueOur novel analysis shows that local and cross-national SED measures are poorly correlated. Our findings raise questions about the measures' validity while acknowledging the methodological challenges. We provide empirical evidence to support ongoing debates on the topic.

КИТАЙСКОЕ СКРИПИЧНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ В МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЙ ПЕРСПЕКТИВЕ: СРАВНИТЕЛЬНОЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ

Since the introduction of violin art in China over a century ago, it has become an important component of Chinese musical education. Adopting advanced international experiences, Chinese violin education has developed a unique pedagogical system and talent training model, producing many outstanding performers and educators, and demonstrating competitiveness on the global stage. This article systematically analyzes the development trajectory and main characteristics of Chinese violin pedagogy at different stages from the perspective of comparative pedagogy. A comparative study is conducted with leading global powers in this field—Russia, the USA, and Germany—with the aim of summarizing their successful experiences. The achievements and problem areas of Chinese violin education are identified. Based on this analysis, recommendations are provided for its further reform and enhancement of international influence while preserving national identity.