Understanding International and Comparative Education Research

Mapping the Purposes of Comparative and International Education Research: A Comparative Study of Four Leading Journals

“…Though there are many debates within the field regarding whether or not there is any true comparative methodology, the salient parts of defining CIE by its method point to the importance of emphasis on comparison as a differentiating factor between general education studies and CIE (Cowen, 1982, as cited in Manzon, 2011). Where education studies examine educational realities in their abstract, entire form, CIE allows for scholars to understand the impact of time, space, and context on education through the use of comparison (Bray, 2014;Manzon, 2011). Therefore, CIE can be considered distinct both in terms of purpose and in terms of its particular object.…”

“…Though some scholars view comparative education and international education as separate or "twin" fields (e.g. Bray, 2014;Wilson, 1994), I feel that international education is inherently the starting point for comparative education, especially when viewed for its melioristic or applied purpose, which is also inextricably intertwined with the history of comparative education. I echo Epstein's (1994) view that the two separate fields of international and comparative education exist in a symbiotic relationship (see also Bray, 2014;Crossley, 1999;Crossley and Watson, 2003).…”

“…A huge number of CIE histories, both on its intellectual and institutional development, have already been written, which provide an excellent background from which to draw (e.g. Arnove, 2007;Bray, 2014;Crossley and Watson, 2003;Epstein, 1983, Halls, 1990Kubow and Fossum, 2007;Manzon, 2011). Though this study neither seeks to replicate nor to reiterate these histories, it is important to briefly review how the field's intellectual mass relates to its empirical substance through a description of its current structure in order to understand the intersection between the two.…”

“…Based on these three epistemological strands, comparative education as a field mushroomed in the mid-twentieth century, both intellectually and institutionally. It continued to have practical and ideological concerns aimed towards serving national interests and improving one's own education system through the understanding of 'the other' (Bray, 2014;Cowen, 2000;Kubow and Fossum, 2007). Positivism and the related structural-functionalism were, therefore, particularly dominant in the early years of comparative education, as they were reflective in the Foucauldian sense of the pragmatic use of the field during this time.…”

“…The instrumental focus of the field was dominant and firmly established by the late 1960s. It provided aid agencies, amongst others, with the expertise needed to promote education for development in the 'Third World' (Altbach, 1991;Bray, 2014). Comparativists were crucial partners in the implementation of these programs, which also contributed to the institutional development of the field.…”