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Comparative Education Society of Nepal
Sharing series – 2
Comparative Education Research:
Direction for Change
Mahesh Nath Parajuli
August 2015
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
2
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
3
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
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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12
Comparative methods

Contextualized approaches are also important

Emphasis on uniqueness or specificity and on
exploring the reasons, meanings, implications


searching for multiple explanations
Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary

political studies

social and cultural studies

developmental studies

educational studies
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Comparative theories

Similar trend as in other field of studies

1950s-70s – Functionalists and positivist;


modernization of education system

cultural/historical perspectives (weak form)
1970s onwards – critical approaches – Marxism,
Neo Marxism – interpretive and humanist

1990s onwards – post-foundational – postmodern, post-structural, post-colonialism

Mahesh Parajuli 2015
(Ninnes & Mehta, 2004)
14
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
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15
Comparative education
Increasing international
understanding through
diversity of cross-national
and cross-cultural
studies/activities
Comparative
education
Development
studies
International
education
Extended dialogue between
ideas and evidence (Ragin)
Mahesh Parajuli 2015
Emphasis on examining
and explaining
educational systems and
cultural practices
Source: Evans & Robinson-Pant, 2010
Emphasis on contextualized
understandings of change
with development aims of
(eg) poverty reduction
16
Comparative educational research

Research with the purpose of seeing in
educational processes and phenomena

patterns and trends; and uniqueness

building theory on the basis of what is
happening

borrowing from theory to explain what is
happening

explaining and addressing the concerns
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Time
Comparative cubes
Time
Source: Bray & Thomas, 1995, as cited in Bray, Adamson, & Mason, 2014
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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, books, research works, etc.
reject this blame
Mahesh Parajuli 2015
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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
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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
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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
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Comparative Education Society of Nepal

Website (ceson.org.np) – CESON Forum
([email protected] [email protected])

CESON Sharing Sessions

One international symposium in 2014

Planning for the First CESON conference in 2016

Aiming to organize CESA conference in 2018

discourse and debate

knowledge building

policy contribution
Mahesh Parajuli 2015
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Mahesh Parajuli 2015
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Challenges and opportunities

Globalization

growing marketization

blurring of national boundaries

homogenizing cultures

Internet and computing revolution

Access to data and information

Growing comparative research and publication

Increasing multi-disciplinarity
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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
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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
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Localizing the comparative perspective


Fulfilling the gap – the cultural gap

in education

in development
Highly diverse people and their context


different learning styles and strategies
Unbelievably isomorphic schooling and
development policy and practice

Culturally incompatible schooling/education and
development
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Localizing the comparative perspective

Building synergy with international perspective

Agency and actor oriented perspective


willingness to act upon and contest

capability to build

networking

resilience and contestations
Developing local comparativists for developing
localized frame and perspective
Mahesh Parajuli 2015
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References
Bray, M., Adamson, B., & Mason, M. (2014). Comparative education research:
Approaches and methods. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre 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.
Ninnes, P. & Mehta, S. (2004). A meander through the maze: Comparative education
and post-foundational studies. In P.Ninnes & S. Mehta (Eds.). Re-imagining
comparative education: Postfoundational ideas and applications for critical times
(pp. 1-18). New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
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.
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