Comparative education
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Comparative education seeks to throw light on education in one country (or group of countries) by using data and insights drawn from the practises and situation in another country, or countries.
According to Harold J Noah (1985), comparative education has four purposes:
- To describe educational systems, processes, or outcomes.
- To assist in the development of educational institutions and practices.
- To highlight the relationships between education and society.
- To establish generalized statements about education that are valid in more than one country.
Comparative education is often incorrectly assumed to encompass necessarily studies that compare two or more different countries. In its early years (an often still today) the field in fact eschewed such research, preferring rather to focus on comparisons within a single country over time.
For example, in the United States there is no nationwide certificate of completion of secondary education. This raises the question of what the advantages and disadvantages are of leaving such certification to each of the 50 states. Comparative education draws on the experience of countries such as Japan and France to show how a centralized system works, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of centralized certification.
Comparative education is closely allied to, and may overlap with, international education and international educational development.
