Re-inventing the Historical in Comparative Education: Reflections on a protean episteme by a contemporary player

Abstract

It has been said, not in jest, that while the future may be predictable, the past is unpredictable. This essay rst constructs yet another, but hopefully different, historical overview of the episteme of comparative education in the USA, the American comparative proteus (after the Greek mythical sea-god who, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, would assume different shapes and appearances 'to avoid answering questions'). The focus of the second section is a comparative view of the British comparative proteus. In both cases, the analysis is focused on the epistemological-cum-methodological orientations of the two 'comparative educations'. It is argued that in the period after the 1960s the two proteuses were metamorphosed from essentially being historical to social scienti c. In the third section it is argued that this metamorphosis has impoverished the eld, and a call is made for the re-invention of the historical dimension in comparative education. It is further argued that the reclamation of the historical legacy, among other things, would help to humanise comparative education in a cosmos of economic globalisation and instrumental rationality.

Comparative Research in Education: a mode of governance or a historical journey?

“…This connection is visible in recent developments, as much as it was in historical processes of change -see, for example, the overview provided by Kazamias (2001) of the episteme of Comparative Education in the USA and England, providing yet another point of view of the history of the field.…”

Academisation of nursing education in the Nordic Countries

“…The comparative framework lays on qualitative research tradition with theoretical insight and in which a history-based perception is an important element (Kazamias 2001).…”

Dialogue, multidisciplinarity and comparative and international research

“…Echoing Nóvoa and Yariv-Mashal's (2003) vision of innovative, historically oriented research, he goes on to make an informed and impassioned case for the 'importance of comparing times'. Building upon Kazamias' (2001) work, Sweeting reviews key theoretical positions that have influenced comparative research in education, along with selected characteristics of modern historical analysis. In the light of this, the paper then explores potential problems associated with the historical dimension, focusing upon those related to sources, interpretation and periodization.…”