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The Meanings of the Term Comparative in Comparative Education

I.Introduction

The term comparative has been generally defined as comparison of the ways as being alike or different. It most fields this is used and given the same interpretation in terms of analysing many comparative fields like life science, social science or education. In terms of comparative education, it refers to inspecting two or more educational entities or events in order to discover how and why they are alike and different. It has been related to different comparative fields like life science and social science. There are similarities and differences that were being pointed out.

II. Synopsis/ Summary of the Text/ Literature

The essay titled, The Meanings of the Term Comparative in Comparative Education by Val D. Rust focused on giving a more specific meaning of some comparative fields like life science, social science and comparative education. It started by tracing how comparative studies originated which began from the development of life science. Life sciences established the main form that comparative studies would take by emphasizing hierarchical classification that is to classify is to arrange items or data into groups. In social science, the comparative studies have a basic assumption that a hierarchy of social forms exists and the task of the comparativist is to classify the various societies and place them in their appropriate hierarchical station. A substantial amount of research in comparative education has been based on a similar assumption that there is a developmental hierarchy of social and educational structures.

Moreover, the author pointed out other comparative studies had influenced the development of comparative education. In terms of ahistorical typology, comparative educators have relied on typologies drawn from other fields, but have done little to extend and enhance the form of educational typologies. In history, history of education is usually outlined in order to provide a sense of context and the social setting in which a particular educational problem is situated.

The conclusion of the essay, the author expresses his idea that science is not the only source of knowledge for the development of comparative education. He said that religion and philosophy needs to be regarded as parallel with science, and it would be inappropriate to put them in hierarchy because each has its unique contribution.

III. Insights/ Reflections

After reading this article, I was able to shed light on how Comparative Education is related to other comparative fields. I regard it as a diverse field which other disciplines which have contributed to its development. According to Hans (1992) Comparative Education is an interdisciplinary subject since it relies on other subjects to be able to accomplish its objectives. As an interdisciplinary subject, its scope covers the historical development of education right from the Roman as well as the Greek civilization subjects from where Comparative Education draws its contents include the following:(a) History of Education (b) Philosophy of Education (c) Sociology of Education (d) Anthropology (e) Economics (f) Geography (g) Psychology (h) Statistics (i) Literature (j) Political geography (k) Political science and (l) The International relations.

I agree that Comparative Education is interdisciplinary. It is not independent of other subjects. It is a discipline that relates to other subjects for the accomplishment of its aims and objectives. That is why this field is dynamic and wide in scope.

I have read from the article different definitions of comparative education, but this should not be merely defined as to comparison of philosophies or ideas. To Kandel (1957), Comparative Education is the comparison of various philosophies of education based not only on theories but the actual practices which prevail from this above definition, Kandel is of the opinion that comparative education goes beyond the comparison of education philosophies but also includes the comparison of the real education practices. Perhaps, from the definition, comparative education can be regarded as being pragmatic.

It is interesting to know that science is not the only source of knowledge for the development of comparative education. Though the author recognizes the importance of science, yet he also pointed out that there are other sources. I also agree with the authors idea that science contributed a lot in this field, but there are various sources of knowledge since comparative education is dynamic as a field. According to Paulston (1994), comparative education has diverse perspectives. He introduced a particular way of looking theory and research, one which was inclusive rather than exclusive of various knowledge communities. Representation of knowledge continues to grow in comparative education.

Since comparative education is a very diverse field, the sources of knowledge are also multiple. There are also many factors that have contributed in its development. Friedrich Schneider (1947) stated in his publication the factors that can influence the educational theory and practice of any country: (a) National character, (b) Geographical space, (c) Culture, (d) Science, (e) Philosophy, (f) Economic life and politics, (g) Religion, (h) History, (i) Foreign influences and (j) The development of pedagogies.

In connection, it is inappropriate to recognize only one factor and disregard others. None of these factors is superior in terms of its influence to the development of comparative education. That is why these factors need to be considered in studying the educational system of countries.

Moreover, I want to specifically mention religion as a great source of knowledge in education. Many educational systems in the world have been influenced with religion as missionaries served as teachers in the earlier times. According to Gayuttar (200), the importance of religion in the development of a country's educational system or policies cannot be overemphasized. For instance, the earliest schools in Nigeria were founded, administered and financed by the Christian missions. Later, Moslems established schools for their children and the children of the converts. Such schools include: Baptist Schools, Islamic Schools, Hammadiya School, C.A.C. Schools, Methodist Schools, Catholic Schools among others.

In the Philippines, the colonization of the Spaniards bringing Christianity for spiritual transformation of the natives was the root of religious education. And currently, there are many private schools managed by different religious congregation, though this is optional to public schools. They have emphasized teaching of spiritual formation in the curriculum. Thus, religious factor shouldnt be disregarded as a source of knowledge in comparative education for it helps in building national identity.

IV. Conclusion

Comparative education is a diverse field which it is closely related to other disciplines. It may be reasonably concluded that the interdisciplinary nature of the subject has contributed to the wideness of the discipline. Moreover, the idea of relying on science as a main source of knowledge of comparative education and disregarding other sources will result to the narrowness of its scope. This is in contrary to the diversity of its nature. Thus, there are other factors that needed to be considered to fathom the nature of this field. Others might see this field as fragmented because of the diversity, but I see this as a strength since it only means it is unique and dynamic.

V. REFERENCES

Babatunde, D. ( Methodologies in comparative education: In search of an appropriate

model for developing countries. Retrieved from August 15, 2014

http://www.unilorin.edu.ng/journals/education/ije/june1984/METHODOLOGIES%20IN%20COMPARATIVE%20EDUCATION%20%20IN%20SEARCH%20OF%20AN%20APPROPRIATE%20MODEL%20FOR%20DEVELOPING%20COUNTRIES.pdf

Blake, D. (1982). The purposes and nature of comparative education: the contribution of

I.L. Kandel. Retrieved from August 13, 2014 from

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3098496?uid=3738824&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104563882813

Cowen, R., et.al.( 2000) International handbook of comparative education. Retrieved

from August 15, 2014 from

http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=xCJFq4D4r8C&pg=PA1191&lpg=PA1191&dq=nonscientific+ways+of+knowing+in+comparative+education&source=bl&ots=kKmcoZOl4u&sig=z3QAamqNGt3Mm2M5_C692j9mKts&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qKvoU

University of Hongkong. Comparative education. Retrieved August 15, 2014 from

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13oN3U2xPxL1ytPmpzCq68vCJdDyNx7WGx8G_y6aDaLE/edit

Student:

SHILA MARIE PELEGRINO

Professor:

DR. NENITA LAPINGCAO

Subject:

COMPARATIVE EDUCATION