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Comparative Education Society of Nepal
Sharing series – 2
Comparative Education Research: A Perspective
Mahesh Nath ParajuliMay 2015
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 2
This presentation
Introduction on comparative perspective
and comparative education research
Arguments:
need for bringing localized perspective in
comparative education/development
studies for theorizing based on local
processes
need for contributing towards fulfilling
cultural gap in education
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 3
Comparative perspective
Comparison for understanding and sharing
Understanding strengths and weaknesses
societies, nations, cultures, processes
comparison across time and space Realize the variations across and within
cultures and nations Comparative perspective – expressed or
implicit
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 4
Comparative perspective
Long tradition of comparative perspective our parables and fables (Panchatantra)
use comparative perspective through
metaphors Metaphor – the story of snake and rope nachna najanne aangan tedho song – ‘himal, pahad, taraiko desh hamro
sansarmai ramro’
Vedic text - the concept of prakriti and
purusha illustrate comparative perspective
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 5
Comparative research
Comparative research is for
finding pattern, trends, categorization
identifying problems, problem areas
finding solutions of those problems
seeing effects of programs
contextualization – increasingly in
practice
unique perspective – being called for
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 6
Comparative research – who compares?
Parents and students – for a better place Community people – for better education Teachers – for improving quality Educational managers – for efficiency,
quality System people – for economic, social,
political enhancement Academics – for knowledge building International – for efficiency, enhancement Implicit purpose of these actors?
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 7
Comparative concerns
Are societies comparable? Are data comparable? Can there be common understandings on
constructs, variables/themes? Individual or team of researchers?
The solution: standardization of variables/
themes and data Still problem, because of contextual
variations
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 8
Comparative education – a field of study
French educator – first comparativist, 1817 Different understanding
by different people in different areas
Differences are mainly on area/levels of comparison units of comparison methods of comparison
A debate of little value?
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 9
Comparative education – three periods
Early phase – 19th century
description and comparison
Second phase – first half of 20th century
looking for social causes trying to explain
educational processes and phenomenon
Third phase – second half of 20th century
theory building, analytical,
methodological strengthening (Bereday, 1964, as cited in Bray, Adamson, & Mason, 2014)
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 10
Comparative education – five periods
Travellers’ tale – 19th century
Description phase – early 19th century
Encyclopaedic phase – later 19th century
Beginning of identifying factors contributing
national education system – 20th century
Explaining the relationship between
education and society – 20th century (Noah & Eckstein, 1969, as cited in Bray, Adamson, & Mason,
2014)
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 11
Comparative education – periodization?
Questions on periodization – how
meaningful?
Characterization is fine but some concerns
demarcation of periods is not clear
blurring of periods
replication of one period by the new one
is not clear
all those periods could still be there
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 12
Comparative methods
No different methods for comparative
studies International comparative studies - large
scale, cross-national surveys are common National or international
well-structured, standardized secondary, primary data descriptive, correlational, explanatory multi-stage: first case, then survey; first
survey, then case; some other
combination
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 13
Comparative methods
Contextualized approaches are also
powerful and considered important as independent study as part of big cross-national study
Emphasis on uniqueness or specificity and
on exploring the reasons, meanings,
implications searching for multiple explanations
Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 14
Comparative research
Comparative research for bringing
comparative perspective
Used in
political studies
social and cultural studies
developmental studies
educational studies
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 15
Comparative education – a field of study
Comparative education
comparison of national systems of
education
International education
describing and analysing situations in one
or more countries and making proposals
for one or more countries
International development / development
studies
changing socio-economic and political
context in developing countries
Comparative education
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 16
Increasing international understanding through diversity of cross-national and cross-cultural studies/activities
Emphasis on examining and explaining educational systems and cultural practices
Emphasis on contextualized understandings of change with development aims of (eg) poverty reduction
Extended dialogue between ideas and evidence (Ragin)
International education
Comparative education
Development studies
Source: Evans & Robinson-Pant, 2010
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 17
Comparative educational research
“Comparative education is usually regarded
as predominantly theoretical and research-
based whereas international education
makes practical use of comparative data”
(Leach & Preston, 1999).
comparative as theoretical
international as more practical
A distinction not necessary to make and
even blurred
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 18
Comparative educational research
Research with the purpose of, if patterns
and trends are there in educational
processes, and phenomenon; and
explaining them
theory building is often the focus
building theory on the basis of what is
happening
borrowing from theory to explain what is
happening
Comparative cubes
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 19
Time
Tim
e
Source: Bray & Thomas, 1995, as cited in Bray, Adamson, & Mason, 2014
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 20
Comparative education – is it a clear field? A question often asked
comparative education a clear field of
study?
what contribution?
bringing some pieces together and by
seeing their similarities and differences?
same thing on international education
High popularity of comparative /
international education journals and many
publications reject this blame
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 21
Comparative education in Nepal
Comparative perspective has been there
not in an explicit manner
Practice of carrying out education and other
research/survey across different
geographic and socioeconomic groups and
presenting data/analysis on these bases
International education and other studies
with Nepal as one of the study country
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 22
Comparative education in Nepal
Hugh B Wood, 1965, with ‘Comparative’ in
title, probably the first such work
An article with comparative perspective,
2010, in Compare (40th year issue), by M
Parajuli, MWagley - in an international
journal
Comparative works (by Nepali and non-
Nepali writers) in national/international
comparative conferences, journals, books
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 23
Comparative Education Society of Nepal
Comparative Education Society of Nepal
(CESON) in 2013 – the first in Nepal
a professional organization
Understanding how education, a key social
process, interacts with other social processes
like development, politics, culture, economy,
etc.
Develop comparative perspectives in
education aiming to contribute to social
transformation through knowledge building
and sharing
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 24
Comparative Education Society of Nepal
Website – CESON Forum
CESON sharing sessions
Some research works
One international symposium in 2014
Planning for one national conference in 2016
Aiming to organize CESA conference in 2018
discourse and debate
knowledge building
policy contribution
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 25
Challenges and opportunities
Globalization
growing marketization
blurring of national boundaries
internationalization
Internet and computing revolution
Access to data and information
Growing comparative research and
publication
Increasing multi-disciplinarity
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 26
Challenges and opportunities
World is facing several challenges
poor life quality
inequity, discrimination, and exclusion
war and conflict
deteriorating physical environment
How comparative education research
address these concerns?
Research and theorizing – localized and
grand
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 27
Localizing the comparative perspective
The need for localizing the research
local everyday perspective and cultural
values
Theorizing on the basis of local research
Contributing towards social justice and
transformation
The need for looking into historical, local
treasure of knowledge and wisdom
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 28
Localizing the comparative perspective
Fulfilling the gap – the cultural gap
in education
in development
Highly diverse people and their context
Unbelievably isomorphic schooling and
development policy and practice
Culturally incompatible schooling/education
and development
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 29
Localizing the comparative perspective
Building synergy with international
perspective
Agency and actor oriented perspective
willingness to act upon and contest
capability to build
etworking
Developing local comparativists for
developing localized frame and perspective
Mahesh Parajuli 2015 30
References
Bray, M., Adamson, B., & Mason, M. (2014). Comparative
education research: Approaches and methods. Hong Kong:
Comparative Education Research Center and Springer.
Evans, K. & Robinson-Pant, A. (2010). Compare: Exploring a 40-
year journey through comparative education and
international development. Compare: A Journal of
Comparative and International Education. 40(6), 693-710.
Parajuli, M.N. & Wagley, M. P. (2010). Comparative education
and development: Reflections from Nepal. Compare: A
Journal of Comparative and International Education. 40(6),
835-840.
Wood, H.B. (1965). The development of education in Nepal -
Studies in comparative education. Bulletin 1965, No 5, Office
of Education, Washington, D.C. ERIC document no ED
164375.