Teaching Comparative Education

With chapter contributions from seminal scholars in the field of comparative and international education (CIE), this book examines the ways in which comparative education is being taught, or advocated for, in teacher education within higher education institutions worldwide. A particular concern raised by the authors - in locations as diverse as Germany, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States - is the utilitarian approach in teacher education, where that which is valued is that which is measurable. The implications for what and how CIE should be taught is examined in light of the ideological, sociocultural, political, and economic trends influencing education worldwide. The main questions posed in the book include: What are the challenges and opportunities for CIE, and its practice, now and in the future?

This comprehensive new text explores major issues in education today through international and intercultural research. The contributors draw on comparative research from North America, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East, and touch on themes including history and philosophy of comparative education, the right to education, teacher formation, alternative pedagogies, testing, multiculturalism, gender, conflict resolution, and global citizenship. Offering a vivid portrayal of global educational practices, contributions from preeminent scholars, and invaluable teaching resources, this text is vital reading for teachers, teachers-in-training, and comparative education scholars.

In our increasingly globalized world, it is vital to explore major issues in education today through an international and intercultural lens. Thoroughly updated and expanded, this comprehensive new edition introduces students to research in comparative and international education while providing an overview of educational practices in diverse settings. Contributors draw on comparative research from the Americas, Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and engage with such themes as the history and philosophy of comparative education, the right to education, alternative pedagogies, gender, Indigenous knowledge, peacebuilding, international assessments, and global citizenship. The updates to this edition include new chapters on human rights education and the internationalization of schooling, and a greater focus on issues of diversity and social justice education. Designed as a resource for teacher education programs, each chapter highlights the significance and the implications of the particular topic for teachers. Comparative and International Education features a vivid portrayal of global educational practices, contributions from preeminent scholars from around the world, and invaluable teaching tools, including discussion questions, video suggestions, and further readings. This essential collection will be an indispensable resource for teachers, teachers-in-training, and students of comparative and international education.

Introducing Comparative Education aims to familiarize newcomers with comparative education as a field of study and to provide a continuing reference as people become more actively involved with comparative studies and the problems associated with developing them in rigorous and productive ways. The purposes and methods of comparative education are also discussed. Comprised of eight chapters, this book begins by presenting a neat, simple, and generally accepted definition of comparative education. The reader is then introduced to the history and development of comparative education; the purposes of comparative education; some of the pitfalls in trying to compare education or educational systems across cultural and national boundaries; and some of the alternative methods open to those who would like to develop studies in comparative education. The approaches associated with Isaac Kandel, Nicholas Hans, and G. Z. F. Bereday, Brian Holmes, Edmund King, Harold Noah, and Max Eckstein are considered. The book concludes with a listing of resources for teaching and learning. This monograph is intended for students and educators.

Editors Robert F. Arnove and Carlos Alberto Torres, along with new coeditor Stephen Franz, have assembled the key scholars in comparative education, bringing a new edition of their groundbreaking book. To be used in graduate courses in comparative education, the new edition re...

This volume compiles a unique yet complementary collection of chapters that take a strategic comparative perspective on education systems, regions of the world, and/or ethnolinguistic communities with a focus on non-dominant languages and cultures in education. Comparison and contrast within each article and across articles illustrates the potential for using home languages – which in many cases are in non-dominant positions relative to other languages in society – in inclusive multilingual and multicultural forms of education. The 22 authors demonstrate how bringing non-dominant languages and cultures into schooling has liberatory, transformative potential for learners from ethnolinguistic communities that have previously been excluded from access to quality basic education. The authors deal not only with educational development in specific low-income and emerging countries in Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Philippines Thailand and Vietnam), Latin America (Guatemala and Mexico) and Africa (Mozambique, Senegal and Tanzania), but also with efforts to reach marginalized ethnolinguistic communities in high-income North American countries (Canada and the USA). In the introductory chapter the editors highlight common and cross-cutting themes and propose appropriate, sometimes new terminology for the discussion of linguistic and cultural issues in education, particularly in low-income multilingual countries. Likewise, using examples from additional countries and contexts, the three final chapters address cross-cutting issues related to language and culture in educational research and development. The authors and editors of this volume share a common commitment to comparativism in their methods and analysis, and aim to contribute to more inclusive and relevant education for all. “A richly textured collection which offers a powerful vision of the possible, now and in the future.” Alamin Mazrui, Rutgers State University of New Jersey, USA “This book takes the local perspective of non-dominant language communities in arguing for a multilingual habitus in educational development. Benson and Kosonen masterfully extend theories and clarify terminology that is inclusive of the non-dominant contexts described here.” Ofelia García, City University of New York, USA

In the newly emerging global economic order governments and policy makers are keen to seek ideas from other countries and recognise the importance of looking comparatively. This expansion of interest in comparative education brings new challenges for the discipline: research may be undertaken by non-specialists (by consultants and politicians or educationists from quite different backgrounds); the short lifespan of democratically elected governments may lend attraction to ‘quick-fix’ solutions; statistics and data may be decontextualised. Added to these challenges there is the worldwide proliferation of education providers outside state control and the transformation of teaching and learning brought about by the new information technology. This book rethinks the role of comparative education in the light of these changing circumstances and looks at the new opportunities they bring.