Bob Adamson 0311

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

1/41

Comparative Education

Research: Who, what and why?

Prof Bob Adamson

Dep't of International Education & Lifelong LearningHong Kong Institute of Education

[email protected]

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

2/41

Comparative Education

A field constructed by:

Intellectual traditions (courses, books, journals)

Institutional traditions (departments, societies)

Shaped by geopolitics, historical shifts, power plays

(Manzon, 2011)

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

3/41

A brief history

Travellers tales (early 19th Century)

Borrowing good practices (mid 19th Century onwards)

Encyclopaedic studies (late 19th Century)

Understanding forces and factors (early 20th Century)

Social sciences quantitative analysis (mid 20th Century)

Intranational comparisons (1990s-)

Multilevel & multidisciplinary analyses (21st

Century)

Bereday(1964), Noah & Eckstein (1969), Crossley & Jarvis (2000), Bray (2007)

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

4/41

Focus

Traditionally, states as the unit of comparison

Borrowing good practices

Competitiveness

Recently, more units of analysis have broadened

(diluted?) the field

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

5/41

Units of analysis (1)

Content analysis of

Alexander, R., Broadfoot, P. & Phillips, D. (Eds.) (1999). Learning from comparing: new

directions in comparative educational research. Oxford, UK: Symposium Books.

Bignold, W. & Gayton, E. (Eds.) (2009). Global issues and comparative education. Exeter,

UK: Learning Matters.

Bray, M., Adamson, B. & Mason, M. (Eds.) (2007). Comparative education research

approaches and methods. Hong Kong & Dordrecht, Netherlands: Comparative Education

Research Centre & Springer.

Kubow, P.L. & Fossum, P.R. (2002). Comparative education: Exploring issues in

international context. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Mundy, K., Bickmore, K., Hayhoe, R., Madden, M., & Madjidi, K. (Eds.) (2008).Comparative and international education : issues for teachers. Toronto, Ont.: Canadian

Scholars' Press.

Thomas, R.M. (Ed.) 1990. International comparative education. Oxford, UK: Pergamon

Press.

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

6/41

Units of analysis (2)

locations

systems policies

times

cultures

values, conflict resolution & citizenship

educational achievements, international indicators & student performance curricula

educational organisations, governance & accountability

ways of knowing & learning

ways of teaching

economics of education

assessment

teacher education & professionalism

ideologies, goals & purposes of education

social equity and access to education

language in education

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

7/41

Bray & Thomas (1995) Cube

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

8/41

Who compares? And why?

Students to select electives

Parentsto find institutions that will meet their childrensneeds most effectively

Principals and teachers to improve the operation of theirinstitution

Policy makers to find ways to achieve social, political andother objectives in their own settings

International agencies to improve the advice they give to

national governments

Academics to improve understandings of educationalprocesses and impacts of processes on socialdevelopment

(Bray, 2007; Adamson & Morris, 2007)

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

9/41

Research approaches

There is no one method of study in the field:

rather, the field increasingly is characterized

by a number of different researchorientations. No longer are there attempts to

define a single methodology of comparative

education

(Altbach & Kelly, 1986, p.1)

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

10/41

Major characteristic of research

Explicit comparison through different forms of

juxtaposition

Implicit comparisondescribing the characteristics

of a single phenomenon implies the existence of an

otherness

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

11/41

How can we compare?

Perspective

Unit of Analysis Manifestation

Methods

Analytical frameworks

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

12/41

How can we compare?

Research perspective:

Investigative

Evaluative

Interpretative

Critical

Developmental / action-based

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

13/41

How can we compare?

Research methods:

Qualitative

Quantitative

Mixed methods

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

14/41

Manifestations

Area Typical manifestations Typical research methods

Ideology books

academic papers

policy documents

speeches & statements

discourse analysis

interviews

Planned/ intended policy policy documents

minutes of meetings

notices

syllabuses

prospectuses

learning materials

schemes of work/ lesson plans

assessment materials

discourse analysis

interviews

Enacted practices participant interaction (e.g. use of time and

resources)

roles of participantsparticipant perceptions, interest and

engagement

interaction patterns

outputs

observations

participants log

interviewsethnography

activity records

Experience change in participants attitude and/or

behaviour

cognitive, interpersonal and affectiveprocesses

questionnaires

interviews

reflectionspsychometric tests

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

15/41

Beredays Model

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

16/41

Examples of comparative education research

OECD Programme for International

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

17/41

OECD Programme for International

Student Assessment (PISA)

Investigative perspective

surveys of 15-year-olds in the principal industrialised

countries every three years assesses how far students near the end of compulsory

education have acquired some of the knowledge and

skills essential for full participation in society

Scientific literacy, reading literacy, mathematics literacy

Influences policy and curricular decisions

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

18/41

PISA 2009

Mathematics Reading literacy Science

1. Shanghai 600 1.Hong Kong 533 1.Shanghai 575

2. Singapore 562 2.Singapore 526 2. Finland 554

3. Hong Kong 555 3.Canada 524 3.Hong Kong 549

4. Korea 546 4.New Zealand 521 4. Singapore 542

5. Finland 541 5.Japan 520 5. Japan 539

6.Switzerland 534 6. Australia 515 6. Korea 538

Culture & Pedagogy

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

19/41

Culture & Pedagogy

(Alexander, 2000)

Interpretive perspective

Compares primary schools in France, Russia, India, USA

and England

Semi-systematic classroom observations, plus interviews,documentary analysis, photos and journal entries

State provision of education, logistics, school-community

relations, pedagogy

Shows how schooling reflects cultures Derives implications for policy makers

Curriculum world systems theory

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

20/41

Curriculum world systems theory

Meyer, Kamens & Benavot (1992)

Interpretative perspective

Nation-states tend to conform to global notions of a

nation-state

Education systems tend to conform to global notions of

an education system

Consistent patterns in curriculum content (subject level)

emerge across nation-states

Common elementary curriculum

Task based learning

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

21/41

Task-based learning

Tong, Adamson & Che (2000)

Interpretative perspective

Document analysis and interviews

Comparison of interpretations of TBL in Chinese and

English at primary school level in Hong Kong

Comparison at four levels: policy intention, policy action,resourced curriculum & implemented curriculum

Found large degree of slippage between levels and

differences across the two subjects

Textbook analysis

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

22/41

Textbook analysis

Sleeter & Grant (1991)

Critical perspective

USA: portrayals of race, class, gender & disability

47 textbooks (social studies, reading & languagearts, science, mathematics

analysis of pictures, anthology, people to study,

language, storyline and miscellaneous

bias towards Whites & males; against colour,

female, poor, disabled

Schooling of Indigenous Children in USA & Australia

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

23/41

Schooling of Indigenous Children in USA & Australia

Hickling-Hudson & Ahlquist (2003)

Critical perspective

Field visits, interviews, analysis of wall displays &

curricular artefacts

Some schools heavily dominated by White culture

(lacking community support)

Other schools celebrated indigenous cultural practices

(with strong community support)

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

24/41

What are the pitfalls?

Terminology

Defining the unit of analysis

Ignoring the cultural contexts

Cherry-picking

Comparing for no obvious reason

Comparing for the wrong reasons

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

25/41

Terminology

For example:

Middle School in the PRC = secondary school

Middle School in England = school bridging primary

and junior secondary school

D fi i th it f l i

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

26/41

Defining the unit of analysis

Comparing the UK and the USA would need torecognize that both places have several education

systems.

USA has a state system with some federalinfluences.

UK comprises four countries, with Scotland having

a distinct education policy, and Wales & N. Ireland

in the process of delinking from England.Therefore we should define the place carefully to

ensure a clear unit of analysis.

I i th lt l t t

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

27/41

Ignoring the cultural context

The contents and pedagogy of History curricula

would be very different in different systems

because of cultural factors: Hong Kong, for

example, has two curricula, World History andChinese History

A comparison of maths scores would need toconsider the number of hours allocated per grade;

the scope of the syllabus; the nature of

assessment; etc.

Ch i ki

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

28/41

Cherry-picking

Care is needed in transferring ideas from overseas.

Michael Sadler (1900)

We cannot wander at pleasure among the

educational systems of the world, like a childstrolling through a garden, and pick off a flower

from one bush and some leaves from another, and

then expect that if we stick what we have gatheredinto the soil at home, we shall have a living plant.

Self-strengthening Movement in China

zhong xue wei ti, xi xue wei yong

C i f b i

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

29/41

Comparing for no obvious reason

Comparison is pointless, unless:

the act of comparing can add extra dimensions to thestudy

units of comparison have sufficient in common to makecomparison meaningful

on the basis of similarities that are identified, a general

explanation can be formulated

there is a purpose that goes beyond comparing for its ownsake

C i f th

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

30/41

Comparing for the wrong reasons

Some government agencies use unprocessed

comparisons to support or justify dubious policies

International study results are turned intocompetitive league tables, rather than being used

as indicators of educational development

Potential for comparative

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

31/41

p

education

globalisation leads to greater interconnectivity &

principled sharing/appropriation

hi-tech can lead to low cost comparative research

Areas for comparative education

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

32/41

Areas for comparative education

Current tensions in the appropriation of comparative

education to support utilitarianism in neo-liberal

discourses in education (social & economic efficiency)

Globalisation and utilitarianism also create ethical and

social equity issues

Need to focus on more humanistic approaches (learner-

centred, whole-person development, inter/culturalsensitivity, global futures orientation, etc.)?

Where can we start?

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

33/41

Where can we start?

International consensus

Millennium Development Goals

Education for All


7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

34/41


Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Education for All (EFA)

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

35/41

Education for All (EFA)

World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal (2000)

Expand early childhood care and education.

Free and compulsory education of good quality by 2015.

Promote the acquisition of life-skills by adolescents and

youth.

Expand adult literacy by 50 per cent by 2015.

Eliminate gender disparities by 2005 and achieve genderequality in education by 2015.

Enhance educational quality.

Spheres of action to support

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

36/41

MDG & EFA

Cycles of appropriating, evaluating & disseminating

1. locally

2. regionally

3. internationally

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

37/41

Towards a new model

of appropriation / dissemination

What tends to happen

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

38/41

What tends to happen

Process:

1. Reform in context A

2. Generalisation & internationalisation

3. Appropriation in context B1 (policy level)

4. Appropriation in context B2 (resourced level)

5. Appropriation in context B3 (adopted level)

6. Appropriation in context B4 (implemented level)

Synthesis

and

adaptation

A pragmatic model

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

39/41

A pragmatic model

Assess features of the policy / practice in context A

Align compatible features of the policy / practice in context Awithsalient features of:

appropriation sub-context B4 (implemented level) (priority)

appropriation sub-context B3 (adopted level)

appropriation sub-context B2 (resourced level)

appropriation sub-context B1 (policy level)

Concluding comments

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

40/41

Concluding comments

Comparative education embraces the spectrum of

research purposes, approaches and methods

We are all comparativists, explicitly or implicitly

Globalisation opens up new opportunities and challenges

Comparative education research can contribute

deepened understandings, policy options, more effective

modes of implementation and enhanced experiences forthe betterment of society if used appropriately, and with

sensitivity to context.

7/28/2019 Bob Adamson 0311

41/41

Diolch yn fawr!

Thank you!

!

Documents

Bob Adamson 0311