The Evolution of Comparative Education

The Evolution of Comparative Education: The Challenges of Conducting Rigorous Comparative and Intercultural Research

By
Gerald W. Fry
Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
University of Minnesota, The United State of America

(Paper submitted to the Third Conference on Comparative Education in Vietnam, held by CIECER, October 16, 2009)

Ideally, therefore a study should use several alternative sets of value premises. This last requirement can for practical reasons be met only very partially. We should not forget that the value premises determine the whole approach to a problem and have relevance for the definition of concepts, the formulation of theory, and the methods of observations and of presenting results.

Gunnar Myrdal (1969)
Swedish Nobel laureate

Historical Background

Comparative education emerged as a field of academic study over a century ago with the valuable work of the famous Victorian poet and British scholar, Matthew Arnold (1861, 1882, 1888, 1892). He published research on education in France, Switzerland, Holland, and Germany. Earlier in 1854, Carl johan Fogh, wrote a work on Danish folk schools involving a US comparative perspective and Sir William Denison (1862) published a work titled, Systems of Education.

Over the past century, there have been three major phases in the evolution of this new field of scholarly inquiry. Table 1 shows the number of volumes published on comparative education by decade. The data indicate that this field took off in the 1960s and there has been a steady flow of publications ever since with over a 1,000 books published in the first decade of the new century. Also as indicated in the Table, a significant amount of comparative education research is appearing in languages other than English. In the current decade almost 1,000 books on comparative education have been published in languages other than English. Consistently slightly less than half of the world’s books on comparative education are not in English. This finding reflects the importance of knowing other languages as an important inquiry skill.

First Phase: Descriptive Comparison of Educational Systems

The field emerged with largely descriptive research comparing educational systems. While such studies provided valuable information and knowledge, their theoretical and conceptual significance was limited. Also this kind of research tended to be rather dull and dry.

Second Phase: The Emergence of International Development Education

In the next phase emerging primarily in the 1960s, scholars of comparative education moved beyond the descriptive to look analytically at the relationship between education and economic, political, and sociocultural development. This resulted in social scientists such as economists of education moving into this field. Prominent examples are the economists Martin Carnoy and Hank Levin, actively involved in the development of the interdisciplinary Stanford International Development Education Center (SIDEC). During this phase, the primary focus was the nation state and related development challenges. In this phase, there was emphasis on both analytical and theoretical work to understand more deeply the role of education in influencing development paths. Considerable interest also developed in how education affects inequality and may serve to reproduce systems of social stratification. An excellent example of such work is that by Professor Donald Holsinger (former Fulbright scholar in Vietnam) and his work on educational inequality in both Vietnam and Cambodia, based on difficult to attain disaggregated data. A major feature of research work during this phase was its interdisciplinary nature (see Kline, 1995; Klein, 1990; Klein & Doty, 1994). This period also was characterized by scholars in the field becoming involved in consulting work in the development field (see Moussavi, 1982; Fry & Thurber, 1989).

Third and Current Phase: Globalization and Moving Beyond the Nation State

The highly contentious phenomenon of globalization has become prominent in the last two decades. Much of the debate centers around the powerful forces of convergence and divergence of basic values and related development paths. Integral to this phase is greater interest in both transnational/regional forces and the dramatic growth of subnationalism. A concrete example of the latter is the emergence of many new polities in the past two decades. Many transnational corporations are now larger than individual economies have increasing global influence and power (Korten, 1995). Subnational regions such as California are also much larger than many national economies. Ohmae (1995) has written about the growing importance of region states. Some scholars even talk about “the end of the nation state”. Related to creative thinking about the state of nationalism, Ben Anderson (1991) at Cornell has introduced the powerful construct of “imagined communities” and James Scott (1998) at Yale talks about “seeing like a state.”

Need for Meta Research on the Evolution of the Field

Currently several of my graduate students (Moosung Lee, Korea; Tryggvi Thayer, Iceland; and Elizabeth Stallman (US) and I are looking empirically at how the field of comparative education has evolved since its inception. We are looking at both how the construct of comparative education has evolved, but also at how the content of studies in this field have changed over time. This is a work in progress. At a subsequent conference we look forward to presenting the results of this research.

In the next section there is a summary of the various genres of comparative and intercultural research.

Genres of Comparative and Intercultural Research

Intercultural, cross-cultural research done within one’s own national boundaries

With respect to terminology, intercultural and cross-cultural research will be used interchangeably in this paper. They are both defined as the process of doing studies of individuals whose culture(s) are different than those of the researcher. The famous Polish anthropologist Malinowski doing research on the peoples of Papua New Guinea is a classic example of such research.

The first genre is when the research takes places within the boundaries of the nation-state of which the researcher is a citizen. For example, a Thai might do research on Hmong people living in the northern mountainous Phetchabun region of Thailand. Kasian (1994) has compiled a valuable anthology of Thai studies of what it means to be Chinese in Thailand. Suchit (1987) wrote a caustic book on Thailand’s Chinese and Lao communities and how they mix to affect contemporary Thai culture. The Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi recently did a study of the Hmong in Vietnam using the innovative method of photo voice. They also did an excellent overview of the diverse 54 ethnic nationalities of Vietnam (Ðo Phu’o’ng, 1997; see also Nha Xuat Ban Thang Tan, 2008).

Stanley Tambiah at Harvard has emphasized the importance of the dramatic growth of diverse cultural diaspora around the world as a critically important area of study. An example of this genre is the new book, When Ways of Life Collide: Multiculturalism and Its Discontents in the Netherlands by Sniderman and Hagendoorn (2007), on the complex issue of the rapidly growing Muslim diaspora in the Netherlands. Two other examples of this genre are an excellent study of Thai women who have migrated to Germany (Supang, et al. 2001) and a current study of Thai women in the Netherlands (Panitee, 2008).

Within this first genre, a former Somali professor at Minnesota (former prime minister of that country) and Gerald Fry are planning to do an edited volume which would include a chapter on each of the major less studied disapora in the United States such as the Vietnamese, Lebanese, Kurdish, Hmong, and Somali communities. The chapters would be written by a knowledgeable person from each of the ethnic communities being studied.

Intercultural research done in another country

In this second genre, researchers journey to another country to do their research. A concrete example would be the prominent Japanese educational researcher, Hidenori Fujita, who spent a year studying U.S. high schools in the Philadelphia area (Katz, Fujita, et al. 1989). This is one of the most common types of intercultural and comparative research. William Cummings (1980) and Rohlen’s (1983) excellent research on Japanese education are also excellent examples of this type of research.

Actually “becoming the other”

To study the “other” some researchers actually try to “become the other” in an attempt to gain in-depth insights on the culture being studied. The cultural anthropologist Robert B. Textor became a Buddhist monk as a way to study in-depth local Thai Buddhism and the spirit culture of Thailand (Textor, 1973). Earlier his study of Japanese educational reform after World War II was based on his actual involvement in that process while working and living in Japan after the war (Textor, 1951).

The Thai researcher, Suleeman Naruemol Wongsuphab from Thammasat University, actually became a Thai masseuse in order to study the world of the erotic massage parlor in Thailand. That was for her 1987 MA thesis in sociology at Thammasat University. Later it was published (1994) as a book in the Thai language. By actually becoming an erotic Thai masseuse she developed an in-depth understanding of the lives of these women. Her research received an award from the National Research Council for its excellence in social science. In her study of Patpong sex life, Cleo Odzer (1994) clearly participated actively in that type of activity. Her study was not approved by the National Research Council of Thailand but she went ahead and did the study ‘illegally’ which raises serious ethical concerns. Lisa Louis wrote a book on the Japanese mizu shobai (water trade) based on her experiences as a Japanese bar hostess. Despite her direct participation in the mizu shobai the book is actually not very emic and highly ethnocentric. Liza Dalby (1983) became a Japanese geisha as a way to study the life of the geisha. Her book on the geisha is the second most popular of this genre in the world.



“Armchair research” on another country and culture

The classic example of this type of research are Ruth Benedict’s studies of Japanese culture (1946) and Thai culture (1952) which she did while in the United States. Because the United States was at war with the Axis countries, Japan and Thailand, it was impossible for her to travel to these countries to do her intercultural research. Ironically her armchair research on Japan and Thailand was of higher quality than her lover, Margaret Mead’s actual field research on Samoa (see Louis, 2003).

Comparative research done in multiple countries

Even though there are many comparative journals in numerous fields, genuinely comparative research is surprisingly rare as pointed out by Harry Judge at Oxford. Most scholars specialize in a single country such as China, India, or Japan, and they do research in that single country. Most studies in the “comparative” journals are of this type. Among well-known genuinely comparative studies are two classical studies, one done on civic culture in five countries (England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and the United States) by Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba (1965). Another is the study of individual modernity by Alex Inkeles and David Smith (1974) involving six countries (Argentina, Chile, East Pakistan, India, Nigeria, and Israel). Professors Somwung Pitayanuwat of Thailand and John Cogan at Minnesota have done significant cross-national research on civic education in numerous nations (Cogan & Derricott 1998; Cogan, et al. 2002).

Comparative subnational research

This is a combination of the first and third genres. The focus is on comparing indigenous, subnational communities in two or more countries. An example is the study by Fry and Kempner (1996) of northeast Brazil and northeast Thailand. This type of study is exceedingly rare.

Cross-national, global research

In this genre, data are used from a large number of countries around the world. A classic example is Ted Gurr’s study of Why Men Rebel (1970). Other important examples are the cross-national studies, comparing educational achievement across nations sponsored by the International Education Association (IEA) (TIMMS Studies). A more recent challenging area of study are cross-national studies of human happiness, partially inspired by the Kingdom of Bhutan’s stress on gross national happiness as an alternative to the economic emphasis on GNP or GDP. Professor Ruut Veenhoven at Erasmus University in Rotterdam has developed a World Database on Happiness. Thailand is now on a monthly basis reporting statistics on the happiness of the Thais. Also using global cross-national data Lynn and Vanhanen (2002) in a highly controversial study examine the relationship between IQ and the wealth of nations.

Major Current Problems in the Field

It is natural for emerging interdisciplinary and problem-oriented fields to experience “growing pains”. Current problems can be summarized as follows:

The field not really being comparative

As mentioned above, Harry Judge at Oxford did meta research on the content of the major comparative journals in diverse fields such as education, political science, and sociology. He found that most research focused on specific nations. Genuinely comparative studies were rare. Subnational comparisons are particularly rare.

Inadequate grounding in rigorous social science research

Studies of the complex relationship between education and development require rigorous grounding in social science methodologies such as econometrics, psychometrics, causal modeling, and ethnography. Mixed methods can be particularly powerful in enhancing rigor in the field (Creswell, 2009; Thomas, 2003).

Lack of “two skills in one skull” capability

Robert Ward (1987), a political scientist at Stanford who specializes on Japan has the rare distinction of having been both the president of the American Political Science Association and of the Association of Asian Studies. Ward argues that it is critically important to have both area studies and disciplinary skills. Area studies specialists sometimes lack disciplinary skills and those strong in the academic disciplines may lack knowledge of local languages and cultures. Future researchers in the comparative field need both sets of skills.

Inadequate time in the field

Unfortunately there is too much “hit and run research”. It is important to spend as much time in the field as possible to facilitate the development of an in-depth knowledge of the target society or culture.






Limited intercultural scholarly collaboration

Too much comparative work is of the “lone ranger” type. For a variety of reasons collaboration of scholars across cultures is rare. Clio Press in Oxford, England is to be commended for its requirement that in its World Bibliographic Series, at least one author be from the country being studied. Also the reference works published by Berkshire are noted for the involvement of diverse scholars from across the globe (see Levison & Christensen, 2002; 2007).

Inadequate attention to local knowledge and wisdom

As indicated in Table 1 above, much work on comparative education is being done in languages other than English. It is important to diversify the sources of citations and to be inclusive of the important work of scholars from diverse nations writing in many languages (see Hayhoe, 2006).

Too few longitudinal or tracer studies; overemphasis on weaker cross-sectional analyses

Primarily because of financial and time constraints, many studies are at a single point in time, cross-sectional studies. This is a relatively weak methodology compared to longitudinal or diachronic studies. With respect to the analysis of educational or training programs, it is important to carry out rigorous tracer studies to examine how individuals have been influenced by such programs (see Tomita, Fry, & Seksin, 2000; Paige, et al, 2009).

Fragmentation of the field; few comprehensive centers or institutes of comparative education

Despite the rapid growth of the field of comparative education, there are relatively few academic centers or institutes devoted to this field of study. For those that do exist, few cover the field broadly and comprehensively.




Strategies and Best Practices for Conducting Rigorous Comparative and Intercultural Research

Confronting the crisis of representation

A major issue in the field of comparative education relates to what has been termed “the crisis of representation”. This refers to research that distorts or misrepresents “the other”. Basically the researcher “gets it wrong”. The scholars Edward Said (1978, 1993) and Linda Tuhiwai Smith (1999) have been highly critical of Western scholars who have misrepresented non-Western and indigenous peoples. In the comparative literature there are many examples of this type of distortion and misrepresentation. Comparative researchers must endeavor to minimize this kind of distortion and misrepresentation.


Using accurate and culturally sensitive terminology

Unfortunately in comparative research and social science research in general there are problems with the use of inaccurate and/or ethnocentric terminology. In a valuable reference work on ethnic bias in word choice, Herbst (1997) provides detailed information about a wide range of terminology related to writing about diverse ethnic groups in a culturally sensitive way. One basic strategy is to ask people directly about how they would like to be called and described. Some terms are problematic in that they are inadequately inclusive. The term, “The Pacific Rim”, for example, excludes many significant Pacific island entities. The term “Indochina” is a colonial term no longer relevant to any contemporary political entity. The commonly used term, “The Far East”, is both inaccurate and Eurocentric. Many maps used also are ethnocentric and/or inaccurate. Many world maps, for example, commonly grossly underestimate the size of the Pacific Ocean. With respect to terminology and discourse, it is also important to write clearly and concisely in an understandable way with an appropriate level of fog index (see Sokal & Bricmont, 1998).


Making value premises explicit and transparent

A common misleading assumption in contemporary social “science” research is that such research is “objective”. As the late Nobel laureate, Gunnar Myrdal (1969) articulates, the social sciences are not value free and it is imperative that scholars make explicit their basic value premises that may influence their research and writing.

Developing “two skills in one skull”

Robert Ward, a Japan specialist at Stanford who holds the distinction of having been the President of the both the American Political Science Association and the Association of Asian Studies made the plea for “two skills in one skull”. By that he meant the researcher should have solid skills in terms of research methods such as econometrics, pyschometrics, or policy analysis, but also need appropriate intercultural skills. Thus, it is important for comparative researchers to develop their cultural sensitivity, competence, and intelligence to complement their important technical research skills.

Identifying multiple perspectives, interpretations, and explanations

It is important to be open to multiple interpretations and multiple data sources. Multiple observers may look at the same phenomenon but see different things. This is called the Rashomon effect, based on the well-known Japanese film Rashomon directed by Akira Kurosawa inspired by the fiction of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

A case from Thailand relates to monks who in the early morning bintabat (go out walking and receive food in their bowls from lay persons). Many westerners interpret this phenomenon and describe it as begging. The monks do not beg. Thais see this as the monks providing an opportunity for individuals to make Buddhist merit. A feminist scholar might observe this phenomenon and stress that all the monks are men and that this represents discrimination against women. Finally, a Nike person might observe that the monks in doing this get considerable exercise every day, but go bare-footed without ‘proper’ foot ware.

Being open to multiple data sources is often called triangulation. Actually this does not necessarily mean three data sources, but multiple data sources. A common rule (similar to that existing in the field of journalism), however, is that an individual needs three independent sources to substantiate a contentious or controversial knowledge claim. One example of an important special data source in Thailand are the thousands of cremation volumes printed for distribution at the funerals of prominent Thais. Such volumes are potentially an excellent source of additional independent data to enhance triangulation.

Drawing on local intellectual resources

As part of the phenomenon which Philip Altbach has described as academic imperialism, there is a tendency to ignore the important work of scholars from developing countries. There is a tendency to privilege the work of scholars published in North America or Europe. This is one major reason for the importance of developing reading skills in multiple languages as an important part of inquiry competence.

Establishing reliability, validity, and credibility in cross-cultural contexts

Great care must be used in employing mechanically instruments developed in the West. Such instruments must be adapted to the cultural context in which they are being used. Techniques such as “back translation” need to be used to ensure comparability of international surveys in the local language (Brislin, et al. 1973). Member checking also enhances credibility. Legacé (1970) developed criteria to facilitate maximal transparency related to data quality control.

Eliminating language disabilities (the plight of the “Bangkok Post intellectual”)

As noted in his important book, The Tongue-Tied American, the late Senator Paul Simon (1980) of Illinois is highly critical of the failure of the vast majority of Americans to develop competencies in other languages. Having a solid language knowledge of the target culture being studied is extremely important in conducting cross-cultural or comparative research. In Thailand, Westerners who can not read the local language are sometimes negatively referred to as “Bangkok Post intellectuals”. Such individuals, unable to read major primary sources in the vernacular, rely on journalists with the Post to digest and synthesize longer research reports or documents in the vernacular. This language deficiency further contributes to the problem of the paucity of genuinely comparative studies.

Committing to spending extensive time in the field

The “gold standard” is normally about a year in the field. For a variety of reasons, researchers increasingly have a problem in meeting this high standard. This was a major issue in Margaret Mead’s controversial research and subsequent book on the culture of Samoa (see Freeman, 1983).




Communicating with diverse and relevant stakeholders

Robert Chambers (1994, see also Holland & Blackburn, 1998) at Sussex University in the U.K. has emphasized rapid rural appraisal and various participatory research approaches. Central to his important approach to field research is the need to listen to unheard voices and to become exposed to diverse perspectives on development issues.


Blending creatively emic and etic approaches to research

In thinking about strategies to enhance the rigor and quality of intercultural research, it is critically important to discuss the etic-emic distinction. This conceptualization derives from the field of linguistics and the scholar Kenneth Pike (Headland, Pike, & Harris 1990). Pike’s work in this area contributed importantly to the development of the social science field. Etic derives from the term phonetics and emic derives from the term phonemes. Linguists have developed special symbols to represent universal sounds present in nearly all human languages. However, a beginning ‘ng’ in words as found in Thai or Vietnamese, for example, is not present in most Western languages. An example is the Thai word ‘ngan’ which actually means both work and a party (social). Thus, etic represents universals, while emic represents concepts or constructs unique to a culture or group of cultures, but which are not universal. Sometimes this is translated as an insider (emic) versus outsider (etic) perspective.

Western researchers, often prone to binary thinking, may think of these as competing constructs or paradigms. Actually both the etic and emic are important and in this paper the emphasis is on how the two perspectives enrich and complement each other. In fact, the etic perspective is at the heart of modern science and actually provides a powerful rationale for the need for actually more intercultural and international research. The goal of science is to discover and confirm nomothetic principles that are valid independent of time and space. As an example, suppose researchers have developed a theory to explain child abuse. Using data from various parts of the United States, they have confirmed the validity of their model. However, to enhance the support for their theory as being nomothetic, it would be important and essential to test their model in other, non-U.S. cultural contexts.

Another example comes from the research of Mark Blaug, a prominent British economist of education. Blaug (1971) was commissioned by the Ford Foundation to lead a major study of returns to various kinds of education in Thailand. Important to his study was the public versus private school distinction. While this appears to be an etic construct, in fact, this distinction varies significantly among the United States, England, and Thailand. Again the “universal etic” conceals important local variations. Private versus public schooling was an important variable in Blaug’s study, though in Thailand there is huge variation in the quality of both private and public schools. Thus, this distinction in Thailand was not particularly fruitful. Much more relevant was a local emic construct, rongrian mii chuu (school with a name) as discovered in my study of education and opportunity in Thailand (Fry, 1980).

Emic researchers must have a genuine and deep commitment to understand the perspectives of the other. For example, if we are studying the Vietnamese culture, we must try to see the world the way a Vietnamese sees the world. Essential to being an emic researcher is humility and being a genuinely good listener. Also central to the emic approach is appreciating difference and its importance. The emic approach by definition involves high levels of cultural empathy. To use a crude expression, being emic is being able to crawl into the brains of those being studied and to try to understand their ways of thinking and viewing the world from their perspective.

One major activity of the emic researcher is a journey of discovery to compile a listing of key emic constructs related to the area of research. Another arena in which the emic and etic are similar, is that both in science and in emic analysis, the development of typologies is extremely important. What is the process for discovering and finding key emic categories? There are two major approaches. One mechanism is to engage local nationals in extensive discussions, often of an informal nature, and through that process discover key emic terms. A second approach is to analyze related documents (nonfiction and fiction) in the vernacular language).


The Challenges of Being an Emic Researcher

Etic research per se does not require a knowledge of other languages. However, emic research is greatly enhanced by a commitment to learn the language(s) of those being studied. Major emic constructs are those that often can not be easily translated into English. Thus, it is imperative that an emic researcher learn as much as possible of the language of the target culture being studied. This may partially explain why there is so little genuinely comparative research. Learning multiple languages represents a tremendous commitment of time and effort. Also the emic researcher must be willing to spend an extended period of time in the field. Being emic is impossible in “hit and run” research when the researcher spends only minimal time living in the other culture.

How emic research can enhance the etic

Let us assume researchers would like to test their etic model in another culture and society and they have a basic questionnaire developed in their own culture. If they do prior in-depth emic analysis related to their study, they can adapt and enhance their etic questionnaire. As a concrete example, I tested the Blau-Duncan model of occupational attainment using Thai data (Fry, 1980). Prior to finalizing my survey instrument, I spent about three months doing emic analysis to refine and enhance his instrument. An example of an emic concept discovered in this process and later used was ‘chup dua’, a Thai language phrase meaning to acquire sociocultural prestige by going overseas for study or training. Thus, this is an example of how emic research can enhance the etic.

There is an interesting Thai emic construct for the non-emic researcher. They are called nakrop nai hongair, which literally means ‘fighters in an air conditioned office’ meaning that these researchers do not dirty their hands by talking with ordinary people in the field. Instead they like to talk to elites in comfortable settings, which obviously can lead to serious distortions, misrepresentations, and misunderstandings. Interestingly this ‘emic’ Thai construct may derive from the Western etic ‘armchair researcher’.

There are numerous examples of such non-emic researchers. Naisbett’s (1996) popular book, Megatrends Asia, is based primarily on clippings from newspapers of the regions and his interviews with elites in Asian capitals.

Collaborating interculturally with local researchers, authors, and intellectuals

Cross-cultural collaborative research is a way to both enhance both the quality and rigor of research. During the course of my own career, I have been extremely fortunate to have published with diverse scholars from the Asia-Pacific region such as Tereshi Tomita, Pham Lan Huong, Supang Chantavanich, Rufino Mauricio, Misao Makino, and many more.

Actively participating in communities or systems being studied

Participant-observation is a powerful means by which to study other cultures and societies. Clifford Geertz in his work in Indonesia found that active involvement in a cockfight tradition helped to break down barriers in becoming accepted in the local community. In a major project involving assessment of the quality of primary education in Thailand (Amrung, Supang, & Fry, 1990), we had ethnographers actually become teachers in primary schools for an extended period. The result was that ironically they came to actually know too much. In the fascinating novel about ethnographic fieldwork (Berlinski, 2007), the researcher becomes extremely involved in various aspects of the local community.


Listening genuinely with the heart to the voices of “the other”

In doing research about other cultures and societies, there is perhaps no skill more important that listening with the heart and being an excellent listener. It is important to be able to develop the kind of rapport and respect for those being studied, that makes individuals feel comfortable in sharing their candid stories, thoughts, and perspectives with the researcher. An excellent example is the work of Robert Coles (1997).

Avoiding the temptation to romanticize

It is tempting and easy at times for the outsider to romanticize “the other” or to ignore uncomfortable realities. This has been an issue in terms of Western research on non-Western communities. There is a tendency to be overly positive or alternatively overly negative. Neither of these extreme perspectives captures the complex realities. The scholar, David Adams, has criticized my own research on the Lao People’s Democratic Republic for romanticizing and being overly positive about the Lao PDR.


Being attentive to ethical considerations

Ethics is an important but neglected topic in cross-cultural and comparative research. In this regard, Robin’s (2004) volume on ethical case studies is a valuable contribution(see also Wiener, 2005). Patrick Tierney’s (2000) controversial volume, Darkness in El Dorado, about Western researchers in the Amazon also brought attention to the important issue of ethics in comparative, cross-cultural research. Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha raised many important ethical concerns. His key informant, Iwasaki (2002), was extremely upset with the book and its representation of geisha.

Lack of Texts in the Area of Comparative and Cross-Cultural Research Methodology

In an era of globalization and dramatically increasing intercultural contact, the need for rigorous comparative and cross-cultural research is growing. Surprisingly the existing literature on cross-cultural research methodology is rather limited. There was a valuable volume produced in the 1970s by Brislin, Lonner, and Thorndike (1973), but that was more than 30 years ago. Most of the volumes in this area focus on a specific field or discipline such as management (Graves, 1973; Punnett and Schenker 2004), or communications (Gudykunst & Kim 1984). Other books focus on a specific aspect of cross-cultural research such as field methods (Lonner and Berry 1986) or surveys (Harkness, van de Vijver, & Mohler 2003). There is virtually no comprehensive recent work on comparative and cross-cultural, intercultural research methods, though Ember & Ember (2001) have produced a valuable anthology of writings on issues in cross-cultural research. Using WorldCat to check world-wide holdings of books on comparative research methods, only eight titles were identified and the major one was published nearly 40 years by Warwick & Osherson (1973).

Future of the Field of Comparative Education

It is impossible to see in the dark. Nevertheless, it is important to reflect on possible future paths for the field of comparative education. Paul Morris, the former President of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, stresses the need for more comparative studies of educational policy making and how it is influenced by external forces. The related politics of educational borrowing is extremely timely (Steiner-Khamsi, 2004; Phillips & Ochs, 2004; Phillips, 2008). As part of Thailand’s educational reform movement, the Thais looked carefully at the relevant experience of other nations such as New Zealand, China, Vietnam, and France, for example. They published a series of volumes on education and educational reform in other nations and posted such material on the Web. A key question is whether the forces of globalization will lead to a convergence of educational policy practices, or will a divergence of policy practices be more prevalent.

With new leadership in the U.S., the potential for a peace dividend now exists. There is bipartisan Congressional support for the Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act, legislation to diversify and democratize study abroad. Obama has talked about doubling the size of the Peace Corps. Attendance at recent CIES conferences has increased significantly. With increased cross-border migration, countries around the world are becoming more culturally diverse. This augurs well for the field of comparative education and the need for greater numbers of educators and scholars to utilize comparative and intercultural perspectives in their research and applied praxis.

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XIV WORLD CONGRESS WORLD COUNCIL OF COMPARATIVE EDUCATION SOCIETIES (WCCES)

XIV World Congress World Council of Comparative Education Societies
Người gửi: Phạm Thị Ly
31/01/2010
CALL FOR PAPERS



“BORDERING, RE-BORDERING AND NEW POSSIBILITIES IN EDUCATION AND SOCIETY”
İSTANBUL 2010 14-18 JUNE


‘Border’ is a key concept for analyzing the relationship between education and society at all levels. Borders can be national, regional, social or psychic; they can be fixed or shifting. Borders and ‘lines’ can be material (walls), psychological (in peoples’ minds) or metaphorical (the ‘glass ceiling’ for women’s careers). Discussions of borders are part of discussions of space, and of space-time.
‘Space’ can be absolute/concrete/fixed/measurable (rooms, properties, cities, territories) but also relative (flows and exchanges of energy, peoples, money and information in space and time); and relational (linked to how people operate together in or across these spaces). Space is something produced by human activity and in turn conditions it.
Educational space is where ‘difference’ is conceived, reproduced or contested. Our interests would be the linkages between material space (institutional buildings, camps), representations of space (maps and organizational charts as well as metaphors) and spaces of representation, (the lived or experienced space, our feelings and emotions, our senses of security or insecurity). Spaces are made in the living of our lives, and since they are always being made, the possibility remains for them to be made differently. ‘Border-crossers’, physically and psychologically, can defy or challenge structures, and can reclaim power or identity.
The production and control of space and borders is always tied up with questions of power and politics; and also with the production of inequality. Spaces and their uses can be classed, gendered, racialised, and sexualized. The production of space is also therefore linked to the production of identities, to spaces for assembly, or to keeping ‘others’ in their place, materially or symbolically – whether ‘members of the nation-state’, ‘believers’ or ‘the disabled’. Our educational concerns therefore link to inclusion and exclusion.
Rebordering is an aspect of globalization, and it is thought that all themes would have globalization as a backdrop if not a direct concern, and as an opportunity as well as a threat. There would be concerns about responsibility across and within borders (for climate change, arms trade, movements of peoples). But also the concerns are about borders in terms of social divisions, the invisible and visible lines between groups, and how education can challenge those borders which deny freedoms, rights and capabilities. Then, what are the educational spaces for contestation of inequality, for interruption?
THEMATIC GROUPS

The conference includes the following 14 groups which will address the issues of bordering in an international perspective from their specific thematic vantage point.
The Thematic Groups of the Conference are:
Educational Governance, Policy Within and Across Borders
Comparative Education: Rethinking Theory and Method
Education, Conflict and Transitions Within and Between Societies
Demystifying Quality in Education
Re-imagining Curriculum
Critical Perspectives in Teacher Education and Development
Identity, Space and Diversity in Education
Education, Human and Social Development, and Capabilities
New Technologies and Accessibility to Learning
Education and Children's Rights in a "Globalized" World
Education, Politics of Dominance, the Suppressed and Disappearing Languages
Privatization and Marketization in Education
Education, Migration, Citizenship and the State
Cross-Thematic Groups (Special Interest Groups / Special Workshops / Symposia / Round table)
We welcome theoretical and/or empirical papers that address the issues from different thematic group perspectives. We encourage papers based on national and/or comparative research and which draw on a range of viewpoints. In particular we look forward to papers from different groups and individuals, NGOs, regional or national institutions, bilateral or multilateral organizations, and financing agencies.
Please click here to see the detailed outline of the thematic groups.
Abstracts of proposed papers, roundtables and symposia should be sent preferably latest by February 28, 2010. Authors will be notified about acceptance latest by March 20, 2010.
ORGANIZERS

Turkish Comparative Education Society - TUKED
World Council of Comparative Education Societies - WCCES
Boğaziçi University, Department of Educational Sciences - B.U.
(www.lypham.net)

Ten questions on inclusive education

Inclusive education is based on the right of all learners to a quality education that meets basic learning needs and enriches lives. Focusing particularly on vulnerable and marginalized groups, it seeks to develop the full potential of every individual.

The ultimate goal of inclusive quality education is to end all forms of discrimination and foster social cohesion.

Ten questions on inclusive education

1. Beyond the figures, what do we know about the excluded?

Exclusion has many faces. Despite real progress since 2000 towards universal primary education, 72 million children are still not enrolled at all in school. More than half are girls. Seven out of ten live in sub-Saharan Africa or South and West Asia. Poverty and marginalization are major causes of exclusion. Households in rural or remote communities and children in urban slums have less access to education. Disabled children suffer from blatant educational exclusion – they account for one third of all out-of-school children. Working children, those belonging to indigenous groups and linguistic minorities, nomadic children and those affected by HIV/AIDS are among the vulnerable groups. Some 37 per cent of out-of-school children live in 35 states defined as fragile by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, but these do not include all places facing conflict and post-conflict situations. In every case children are at enormous risk of missing out on an education.

2. Research on out-of-school children suggests that many countries are now promoting access to school but not ensuring decent education quality. Why?

Once you identify who the excluded are and why they are not in school, strategies can be developed to get them into school and keep them there. The challenge is to implement policies and practices to overcome the sources of exclusion. It is necessary to look at what happens in and out of school – from children’s daily reality in their homes and communities to what happens when they go to school: what they are actually learning and in what conditions.

3. How does inclusive education promote successful learning?

Efforts to expand enrolment must be accompanied by policies to enhance educational quality at all levels, in formal and in non-formal settings. We have to work on an 'access to success' continuum by promoting policies to ensure that excluded children get into school coupled with programmes and practices that ensure they succeed there. It is a process that involves addressing and responding to the diverse needs of learners. This has implications for teaching, the curriculum, ways of interacting and relations between the schools and the community.

4. What are the principles of inclusion?

Inclusion is rooted in the right to education as enshrined in Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A number of treaties and normative instruments have since reaffirmed this right. Three deserve specific mention. UNESCO’s 1960 Convention against Discrimination in Education stipulates that States have the obligation to expand educational opportunities for all who remain deprived of primary education. The 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reaffirms the right to education for all and highlights the principle of free compulsory education. Finally, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified human rights treaty, spells out the right of children not to be discriminated against. It also expresses commitments about the aims of education, recognizing that the learner is at the centre of the learning experience. This affects content and pedagogy, and - more broadly - how schools are managed.

5.The notion of inclusion is still often associated with children who have special needs. Why?

Too often programmes targeting various marginalized and excluded groups have functioned outside the mainstream – special programmes, specialized institutions and specialist educators. Too often the result has been exclusion – second-rate educational opportunities that do not guarantee the possibility to continue studying. In developed countries, the move towards more inclusive approaches is often complicated by the legacy of segregated or exclusive education for groups identified as “difficult” or “different”. But there is increasing recognition that it is better for children with special needs to attend regular schools, albeit with various forms of special support. Studies in both OECD and non-OECD countries indicate that students with disabilities achieve better school results in inclusive settings.

6. How does education need to change to accommodate everyone?

The overall goal is to ensure that school is a place where all children participate and are treated equally. This involves a change in how we think about education. Inclusive education is an approach that looks into how to transform education systems in order to respond to the diversity of learners. It means enhancing the quality of education by improving the effectiveness of teachers, promoting learning-centred methodologies, developing appropriate textbooks and learning materials and ensuring that schools are safe and healthy for all children. Strengthening links with the community is also vital: relationship between teachers, students, parents and society at large are crucial for developing inclusive learning environments.

7. How do curricula need to change to improve learning and encourage the inclusion of all pupils?

An inclusive curriculum addresses the child’s cognitive, emotional and creative development. It is based on the four pillars of education for the 21st century - learning to know, to do, to be and to live together. This starts in the classroom. The curriculum has an instrumental role to play in fostering tolerance and promoting human rights and is a powerful tool for transcending cultural, religious and other differences. An inclusive curriculum takes gender, cultural identity and language background into consideration. It involves breaking gender stereotypes not only in textbooks but in teachers’ attitudes and expectations. Multilingual approaches in education, in which language is recognized as an integral part of a student’s cultural identity, can act as a source of inclusion. Furthermore, mother tongue instruction in the initial years of school has a positive impact on learning outcomes. In Zambia, for example, mother tongues are used as a medium of instruction for the first three years of schooling with positive effect.

8. Teachers have a foremost influence on learning. Yet their status and working conditions in many countries make it difficult to promote inclusion. What can be done to improve their lot?

The way teachers teach is of critical importance in any reform designed to improve quality. A child-centred curriculum is characterized by a move away from rote learning and towards greater emphasis on hands-on, experience-based, active and cooperative learning. Introducing inclusion as a guiding principle has implications for teachers’ practices and attitudes – be it towards girls, slow learners, children with special needs or those from different backgrounds.
Adequate pre-service and in-service teacher training is essential to improve learning. Moreover, policies must address their status, welfare and professional development. But there exists not only a severe teacher shortage, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia, but a lack of adequately trained teachers. This shortage has unfortunate consequences for the quality of learning. A new curriculum cannot be introduced without familiarizing teachers with its aims and contents. Assessment can help teachers to measure student performance and to diagnose difficulties. But teachers need to understand the value of good assessment practices and learn skills to develop their own tests.

9. Is inclusive quality education affordable?

It is inefficient to have school systems where children are not learning because of poor quality. Schools with high repetition rates often fail to work in preventive ways. The expenditure incurred by schools when students repeat a grade would be better used to provide additional support to those who encounter difficulties. Several cost-effective measures to promote inclusive quality education have been developed in countries with scarce resources. These include training-of-trainer models for professional development, linking students in pre-service teacher training with schools and converting special needs schools into resource centres that provide expertise and support to clusters of regular schools.

10. Does inclusive quality education lead to more inclusive societies?

Exclusion starts very early in life. A holistic vision of education is imperative. Comprehensive early childhood care and education programmes improve children’s well being, prepare them for primary school and give them a better chance of succeeding once they are in school. All evidence shows that the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children benefit most from such programmes. Ensuring that adults, particularly mothers, are literate has an impact on whether their children, and especially their daughters attend school. Linking inclusion to broader development goals will contribute to the reform of education systems, to poverty alleviation and to the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals. An inclusive system benefits all learners without any discrimination towards any individual or group. It is founded on values of democracy, tolerance and respect for difference.

(www.unesco.org)

Education for All Goals

Six internationally agreed education goals aim to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015.


Goal 1
Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children

Goal 2
Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality.

Goal 3
Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes

Goal 4
Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.

Goal 5
Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.

Goal 6
Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.
www.unesco.org

Hiện đại hóa giáo dục để đi vào kính tế tri thức(*)

Vietsciences-Gs. Hoàng Tụy 28/02/2005


Năm học mới đã bắt đầu, năm học đầu tiên của thế kỷ 21. Giữa lúc suy thoái kinh tế và thất nghiệp đang đe doạ lan tràn khắp nơi, hầu hết các nhà trường trên thế giới văn minh vẫn tích cực bứơc vào hiện đại hoá giáo dục. Còn chúng ta thì sao ? có cần hiện đại hoá không và hiện đại hoá như thế nào, tương lai đất nước phụ thuộc một phần khá lớn vào lời giải đáp cho câu hỏi này.

1. Vì sao cần hiện đại hoá giáo dục?

Ai cũng biết dân ta tha thiết với việc học như thế nào. Vậy mà từ nhiều năm nay giáo dục của ta vẫn ì ạch, chưa thoát khỏi tình trạng lạc hậu, với những khó khăn bế tắc tự gây ra và nhiều chứng bệnh tiêu cực kéo dài quá lâu, không biết đến bao giờ mới chấm dứt được. Tâm trạng của người dân, như đã được phản ảnh qua các báo chí (Tuổi trẻ, Lao dộng, v.v.) nhân ngày khai giảng năm học mới, nói chung vẫn lo lắng nhiều hơn phấn khởi.

Mà không lo lắng sao được: trong một thế giới toàn cầu hoá, cạnh tranh gay gắt hơn bao giờ hết, nước nào cũng xem giáo dục là vũ khí chiến đấu chính. Có chăng chỉ chúng ta còn mơ hồ về sức mạnh của vũ khí này, mặc dù Hiến pháp đã ghi rõ giáo dục là quốc sách hàng đầu.

Theo dự báo của một số học giả (tạp chí The Economist, 1993), nếu cứ như xu thế hiện nay thì đến khoảng 2020, sẽ có 9 trong 15 nước giàu có nhất hiện nay tụt xuống hàng những nước mà bây giờ ta gọi là đang phát triển. Ngược lại, một số quốc gia hiện chưa giàu có gì đặc biệt có thể vượt lên hàng những nước phát triển nhất. Trong cả hai trường hợp, yếu tố quyết định hàng đầu là giáo dục.

Có người nghĩ đơn giản rằng người VN chúng ta thông minh, hiếu học, cần cù thì chẳng có gì đáng lo khi thế giới chuyển sang lấy tri thức làm nguồn lực phát triển chủ yếu. Nhưng kinh nghiệm hai mươi năm qua là một bài học đắt giá: chúng ta càng tự nhận thông minh không kém bất kỳ ai thì càng tụt hậu dài dài trong nhiều lĩnh vực khoa học, giáo dục, ngay cả so với những nước chẳng phải xuất sắc gì trên thế giới. Nói ra đáng tủi hổ nhưng là sự thật, chỉ có các học vị, học hàm rởm, những TS,VS giấy, những chức vị hư danh thì không nước nào trên thế giới sản xuất nhanh, nhiều, rẻ bằng ta. Mà khi những thứ này tràn ngập xã hội thì còn chỗ đâu cho trí tuệ chân chính phát triển.

Với một nền giáo dục yếu kém, chắc chắn kinh tế sẽ mất sức cạnh tranh. Các nước ASEAN vừa qua đã nhận định đúng đắn rằng vấn đề trung tâm hiện nay là nâng cao chất lượng và trình độ nhân lực. Dĩ nhiên muốn thực hiện điều này không có cách nào khác là nâng cấp, hiện đại hoá giáo dục, để đáp ứng yêu cầu phát triển trong giai đoạn kinh tế tri thức.

2. Giáo dục trong thế kỷ 21

Như vậy, hiện đại hoá giáo dục là nhiệm vụ cấp bách nếu chúng ta không muốn bị thua thiệt khi hội nhập và cạnh tranh quốc tế. Vấn đề là hiện đại hoá như thế nào và bằng cách nào ?

Để trả lời câu hỏi này trước hết cần hình dung những nét chính, những yêu cầu của đời sống trong xã hội văn minh ở kế kỷ 21.

Như đã rõ, xu hướng chung của thế giới ngày nay là tiến tới toàn cầu hoá và kinh tế tri thức, dựa trên nền tảng sáng tạo khoa học và công nghệ. Đó là một thế giới đang trong quá trình thay đổi cực nhanh, cả về cuộc sống vật chất và văn hoá, theo từng đợt sóng cách mạng công nghệ liên tiếp, dồn dập như trước đây chưa hề thấy, dễ dàng bỏ lại hay nhận chìm các quốc gia không vượt qua được, không thích ứng nổi, hoặc thích ứng chậm với những đợt sóng ấy. Về phương diện liên quan trực tiếp đến giáo dục, đợt sóng mới về công nghệ thông tin, đặc biệt là số hoá và đa truyền thông không dây, sẽ có ảnh hưởng lớn lao đến quá trình phổ biến, tiếp thu, xử lý, vận dụng và sáng tạo tri thức. Cho nên nói đến giáo dục thế kỷ 21 là nói đến một nền giáo dục đặt trên cơ sở thích ứng với những điều kiện, khả năng và nhu cầu phát triển đó của xã hội mới.

Đối với dân tộc ta, muốn thực hiện các mục tiêu cơ bản: dân giàu, nước mạnh, xã hội công bằng, dân chủ, văn minh, cũng không thể tách rời các xu thế chung của thời đại.

Trong bối cảnh đó, nhiều người khi nói tới hiện đại hoá giáo dục thường chỉ nghĩ đến việc vận dụng các phương tiện kỹ thuật, công nghệ hiện đại, đặc biệt là công nghệ thông tin, trong giảng dạy và học tập. Điều này đương nhiên quan trọng, song cái chính chưa phải ở đó. Cái chính là thay đổi tư duy giáo dục, xác định lại quan niệm về mục tiêu, yêu cầu đào tạo của nhà trường, từ đó thay đổi cung cách dạy, học, và phưong pháp, nội dung, tổ chức và quản lý giáo dục, nhằm xây dựng một nền giáo dục phù hợp hơn với yêu cầu của xã hội và cuộc sống trong kỷ nguyên kinh tế tri thức.

Trong thời đại mà cơ may tồn tại và phát triển của các quốc gia dựa trên sự thông minh, tài trí của cộng đồng nhiều hơn là của cải, tài nguyên sẵn có, phương châm giáo dục không còn là cung cấp bửu bối, nhồi nhét càng nhiều kiến thức càng tốt, mà là rèn luyện khả năng tư duy, khả năng thích ứng mau lẹ, rèn luyện đầu óc và nhân cách, để có những con người ném vào hoàn cảnh nào cũng xoay xở và vươn lên được, tự khẳng định mình đồng thời thúc đẩy cộng đồng tiến lên. Trước đây, nhà trường thường chăm chú đào tạo những lớp người theo những khuôn mẫu nhất định, ngoan ngoản và cần mẫn làm việc theo những ước lệ và định chế sẵn có, quen được dẫn giắt, bao cấp, làm theo, hơn là độc lập suy nghĩ và tự chịu trách nhiệm. Những mẫu người như thế không thể là mục tiêu đào tạo của nhà trường khi bước sang thế kỷ 21. Đương nhiên, thời nào, xã hội nào cũng cần những con người có nhân cách: trung thực, thẳng thắn, nhân ái, v.v... , nên nhà trường không thể vin vào cớ thời đại khoa học công nghệ mà lơ là việc rèn luyện các phẩm chất đạo đức cơ bản đó. Song điều đáng nói ở đây là ngoài các phẩm chất đó, xã hội hiện đại còn cần những con người có cá tính (thời nay không cá tính thường đồng nghĩa với vô tích sự), biết giao tiếp và hợp tác (thời nay cá nhân đơn độc khó làm việc gì thật có ý nghĩa), có tư duy cởi mở với cái mới, thích dấn thân, sẵn sàng chấp nhận mạo hiểm, không ngại trả giá để có những thành công lớn, và nhất là phải có đầu óc sáng tạo, yếu tố then chốt thúc đẩy xã hội tiến lên trong kỷ nguyên mới.

Trên quan điểm tổng quát đó, giáo dục ở thế kỷ 21 sẽ phải đặc biệt chú ý những vấn đề chính sâu đây.

1) Trong thời kinh tế tri thức, đương nhiên tri thức là quan trọng, nhưng như trên đã nói, yếu tố quyết định sức sống và vươn lên của một cộng đồng là khả năng sáng tạo, mà muốn sáng tạo thì chỉ có tri thức thôi chưa đủ, còn phải có đầu óc tưởng tượng. Tri thức mà thiếu trí tưởng tượng thì không thể sử dụng linh hoạt và dễ biến thành tri thức chết, tri thức không phát triển được. Có tri thức mà thiếu đầu óc tưởng tượng thì chỉ có thể làm theo, bắt chước, không nghĩ ra được ý tưởng mới, mà trong xã hội ngày nay, dù là lĩnh vực kinh doanh, khoa học, công nghệ hay văn hoá, nghệ thuật, không có ý tưởng mới có nghĩa là vô vị, nhàm chán, không có sức thu hút, không đủ sức cạnh tranh. Thật không có gì tai hại hơn cho xã hội bằng chứng bệnh xơ cứng tư duy. Do đó giáo dục ở thế kỷ 21 không thể chỉ coi trọng tri thức mà còn phải chú ý rèn luyện trí tưởng tượng, làm cơ sở cho tư duy sáng tạo. Ngay từ tuổi nhỏ học sinh phải làm quen độc lập suy nghĩ, tập nghiên cứu, sáng tạo, tập phát hiện và giải quyết vấn đề, hơn là học thuộc lòng và nhồi nhét kiến thức (vì thế phải bớt giờ nghe giảng thụ động, tăng các hình thức dự án, khoá luận, tham luận, v.v.). Đặc biệt đại học càng phải coi trọng đầu óc, phong cách và kỹ năng nghiên cứu khoa học hơn bao giờ hết.

Đối với nứơc ta, phương châm này còn đáng chú ý thêm một bậc nữa vì dân ta vốn quen sao chép quá nhiều, trong hàng nghìn năm lối học tầm chương trích cú đã hạn chế ngặt nghèo trí tưởng tượng của ông cha ta. Chỉ trừ trong đấu tranh chống ngoại xâm, còn trên mọi lĩnh vực khác, về triết học, tư tưởng, văn học, nghệ thuật, kiến trúc, kinh tế, phải nhận rằng trí tưởng tượng VN không thuộc loại xuất sắc trên thế giới. Đó là điểm yếu, rất yếu của chúng ta, nếu giáo dục (và không phải chỉ giáo dục) không chú ý sớm khắc phục thì xã hội khó mà tiến nhanh được. (Ai không tin chỉ việc quan sát hàng đồ chơi đang bày bán khắp nơi cho trẻ em nhân dịp trung thu này: toàn là đồ chơi Trung Quốc, đâu phải cao siêu gì, nhưng phong phú về chủng loại, cách trình bày,v.v. còn đồ chơi VN thì nghèo nàn, ít hấp dẫn, năm này qua năm khác chỉ quanh quẩn mấy thứ trẻ em ta đã nhàm).

2) Công bằng, dân chủ là xu hướng của xã hội tiến bộ hiện đại, dù cho cách hiểu và cách thực thi còn nhiều điểm khác nhau tuỳ mỗi nước. Trong giáo dục công bằng, dân chủ có nghĩa là bảo đảm cho mọi công dân quyền bình đẳng về cơ hội học tập và cơ hội thành đạt trong học vấn. Bước vào kinh tế tri thức, đó không chỉ là một nguyên tắc đạo đức, đó còn là điều kiện tối cần thiết để bảo đảm sự phát triển của xã hội. Vì chỉ khi có công bằng, dân chủ trong giáo dục, chỉ khi mọi người, dù giàu nghèo, sang hèn, đều có cơ hội học tập và thành đạt ngang nhau, khi đó tiềm năng trí tuệ của xã hội mới được khai thác hết. Trên thực tế điều đó có nghĩa là không để cho bất cứ ai chỉ vì nghèo khó mà không được học đến nơi đến chốn theo sở nguyện. Phải nói rằng từ mấy chục năm trước, dù còn khó khăn gian khổ nhưng nền giáo dục VN vốn rất tiên tiến về mặt này. Thật trớ trêu là hơn chục năm nay, từ khi nêu cao định hướng xã hội chủ nghiã thì giáo dục của chúng ta ngày càng xa rời công bằng và dân chủ, đi ngược lại xu thế của thời đại, đi ngược lại lý tưởng cao qúy của xã hội mà chúng ta đang hướng tới. Một thực tế rõ ràng là con em các tỉnh miền núi, các vùng nông thôn, hay con em nhà nghèo ở thành thị, đi học đã khó mà học lên cao càng khó hơn. Với chế độ học tập buộc phải học thêm ngoài giờ rất nhiều, phải đóng góp vô vàn khoản tốn kém ngoài học phí, hàng năm phải mua sắm sách giáo khoa mới, với chế độ đánh giá và thi cử tốn kém kỳ quặc bậc nhất trên thế giới như hiện nay, nhà trường của ta đã vô tình gạt ra ngoài cả một lớp trẻ thiếu may mắn vì trót sinh ra trong những gia đình nghèo hoặc không ở thành phố. Báo chí đã phản ảnh quá đủ tình cảnh đáng thương của những trẻ em ham học mà chỉ vì thiếu tiền nên không thực hiện nổi mơ ước, dù chỉ là mơ ước rất khiêm tốn. Thế mà có người còn nói rõ: muốn học tốt phải mất tiền, sao lại đòi Nhà Nước lo !

3) Tùy theo cá tính, mỗi con người có những sở thích, sở trường, sở đoản riêng, sự đa dạng ấy làm nên cuộc sống phong phú và là mảnh đất để nảy nở tài năng sáng tạo. Cho nên giáo dục phải phóng khoáng, không hạn chế, hay kìm hãm mà trái lại phải tôn trọng, phát triển cá tính, và muốn thế không thể gò bó mọi người trong một kiểu đào tạo như nhau, một hướng học vấn như nhau, mà phải mở ra nhiều con đường, nhiều hướng, tạo nhiều cơ hội lựa chọn cho thế hệ trẻ phát triển tài năng, đồng thời cho phép họ dễ dàng chuyển sang con đường khác khi thấy sự lựa chọn của mình chưa phù hợp. Chẳng hạn, vấn đề phân ban ở trung học phổ thông mà trước đây ba năm đã thành đề tài rất sôi nổi. Vừa qua có nhiều phản ứng gay gắt với cách phân ban của Bộ GDĐT chủ yếu vì cách làm không tính đến điều kiện cụ thể trong nước và quan niệm về phân ban còn theo lối cũ, sinh ra mâu thuẫn với yêu cầu giáo dục phổ thông. Chứ thật ra, ở vài năm cuối trung học, nhu cầu cá biệt hoá việc học để tạo nhiều cơ hội lựa chọn cho lớp trẻ cần phải được chú ý giải quyết thoả đáng. Vấn đề là tổ chức quá trình giảng dạy như thế nào để làm tốt việc đó, để không hại đến yêu cầu học vấn phổ thông, đồng thời không cứng nhắc đến mức đã lỡ chọn ban nào rồi thì cứ thế phải theo ban đó cho đến hết, không thể thay đổi nửa chừng nếu thấy chưa thích hợp.

4) Cho đến giữa thế kỷ 20, các nước công nghiệp đều thực thi giáo dục tiểu học bắt buộc; từ giữa thế kỷ 20 họ chuyển sang trung học bắt buộc. Còn đại học thì cho đến những năm 70 thế kỷ trước, vẫn còn dành riêng cho một thiểu số có tài năng để đào tạo thành tầng lớp chuyên gia cao cấp: kỹ sư, bác sĩ, giáo sư. Sau đó dần dần đại học mở rộng cửa, đón đông đảo thanh niên, và từ vài chục năm nay đã chuyển sang đại học cho số đông, cho đại chúng, rồi gần đây đã trở thành phổ cập ở nhiều nước phát triển. Ngay những nước công nghiệp mới cũng đã thực hiện đại học cho số đông và đang tiến tới phổ cập. Sở dĩ như vậy là do khoa học công nghệ tiến nhanh, một mặt các ngành hoạt động kinh tế ngày càng yêu cầu lực lượng lao động phải có trình độ cao mới đảm bảo hiệu quả và năng suất, mặt khác trình độ văn minh hiện đại cũng đòi hỏi mọi thành viên trong cộng đồng phải có học thức cao mới hưởng thụ được đầy đủ cuộc sống của bản thân đồng thời đóng góp vào sự phát triển của cộng đồng. Rất rõ ràng xã hội văn minh ngày nay đang tiến đến chỗ trình độ học thức hai năm đầu của đại học trở thành cần thiết cho mọi người, giống như trình độ học thức tiểu học cách đây một thế kỷ. Vì vậy, phải tiến tới mở cửa đại học cho số đông, rồi cho tất cả mọi người trong độ tuổi, đó là xu thế của giáo dục ở thế kỷ 21. Xu thế này tất yếu sẽ đưa đến những thay đổi lớn về quan niệm cũng như tổ chức, quản lý giáo dục đại học mà đặc điểm chủ yếu là sẽ rất uyển chuyển và đa dạng.

Hiện nay giáo dục của ta còn nhiều khó khăn, chủ yếu vì sử dụng quá lãng phí các nguồn lực cho nên ngay đến phổ cập THPT xem ra cũng còn là mục tiêu xa vời. Thế mà đã có tiếng kêu thừa thầy thiếu thợ, hàm ý quá nhiều nguời tốt nghiệp đại học mà không có mấy công nhân kỹ thuật. Thật ra, cả thợ và thầy đều thiếu. Ngay cả nếu thầy thợ của ta đào tạo thật đúng chất lượng thì cũng vẫn thiếu, cái sự thừa ấy chẳng qua là do quan niệm còn quá cũ về thầy, thợ. Dù thế nào, muốn hội nhập quốc tế mà không thua thịệt, phải mau chóng tăng số năm học trung bình của lực lượng lao động, dần dần đuổi kịp các nước trong khu vực (Thái lan có lực lượng lao động với học thức trung bình hơn ta, thế mà mấy năm gần đây vẫn mất nhiều cơ hội thu hút đầu tư của nưóc ngoài, thì ta càng phải lo lắng hơn).

5) Trong khi nâng cao dân trí, mở rộng cửa nhà trường, kể cả đại học, cho đông đảo người dân, thì giáo dục không thể coi nhẹ nhiệm vụ đào tạo, bồi dưỡng nhân tài. Trái lại, phải rất chú trọng tài năng, khắc phục bình quân và trung bình chủ nghĩa vốn là nhược điểm thường thấy ở các nước nghèo. Xưa nay sự hưng thịnh của các quôc gia một phần rất quan trọng, nếu không nói là quyết định, là do bởi có nhiều tài năng xuất chúng được nâng niu, nuôi dưỡng và được tạo điều kiện phát triển đến tột độ. Tài năng quan trọng cho xã hội hiện đại đến mức số lượng và chất lượng người tài được đào tạo là tiêu chuẩn hàng đầu để đánh giá hiệu quả giáo dục. Cho nên, hệ thống giáo dục, đặc biệt là đại học, phải có biện pháp hữu hiệu để đào tạo nhiều người tài, hơn nữa xã hội phải được tổ chức như thế nào để tài năng không tàn lụi sớm mà được khuyến khích phát triển ngày càng cao. Thật ra đó là truyền thống đã có từ xưa ở nhiều nước, chẳng qua trong thời đại kinh tế tri thức, nhu cầu về tài năng sáng tạo càng bức bách hơn bao giờ hết cho nên truyền thống đó được tiếp tục nâng lên và phát triển. Muốn giành ưu thế trong cạnh tranh, mỗi nước đều có biện pháp và chính sách đặc biệt xây dựng đội ngũ lao động sáng tạo tài năng trong các lĩnh vực khoa học, công nghệ, văn hoá, nghệ thuật, kinh doanh, quản lý. Thậm chí còn tìm mọi cách thu hút người tài từ các quôc gia khác. Kinh nghiệm các nước phát triển cho thấy giáo dục càng công bằng, dân chủ, số người được học càng đông, thì trong số đông đó càng dễ chọn được nhiều người tài xuất sắc. Cho nên công bằng dân chủ trong giáo dục không những không mâu thuẫn với việc chú trọng tài năng, mà còn là cơ sở để đào tạo được nhiều nhân tài cho đất nước. Cả ba mục tiêu về dân trí, nhân lực và nhân tài của giáo dục là thống nhất, không thể tách rời và càng không thể đối lập cái nọ với cái kia.

6) Trong thời đại khoa học, công nghệ tiến nhanh như ngày nay, không ai có thể thoả mãn với vốn kiến thức đã có của mình. Mọi người đều cần học tập, học thường xuyên, học suốt đời, cho nên giáo dục thường xuyên (ngoài học đường) phải không ngừng mở rộng cả về phạm vi, quy mô, hình thức, đối tượng, và sử dụng những phương tiện kỹ thuật tiên tiến nhất: máy tính, Internet, đa truyền thông không dây, để cho ai, ở đâu và bất cứ lúc nào cũng có thể học được dễ dàng và có hiệu quả. Đáng chú ý là ở nhiều nước chi phí của xã hội cho giáo dục thường xuyên đã ngang bằng, thậm chí vượt cả chi phí cho giáo dục theo trường lớp truyền thống.

Để thực hiện xã hội học tập, thì ngay từ nhà trường phổ thông, phải giáo dục lòng ham mê tri thức và rèn luyện thói quen tự học, tự đọc, tự tham khảo sách báo, tư liệu,v.v.. Phải bớt đi những giờ giảng trên lớp, tăng giờ tự học ở lớp dưới sự giám sát và giúp đỡ của thầy giáo (chứ không phải tăng bài làm, bài học ở nhà, vì như thế con em các gia đình có văn hoá cao và có hoàn cảnh lao động phù hợp sẽ được bố mẹ hướng dẫn, thậm chí làm hộ, còn con em các gia đình mà bố mẹ phải đi làm đêm hoặc văn hoá thấp sẽ gặp khó khăn, tạo ra bất công). Đồng thời tăng bài làm độc lập ở nhà dưới hình thức tự đọc, làm dự án, khoá luận, v.v.. là những việc mà người lớn không thể hay khó làm hộ.

7) Đặc điểm dễ thấy nhất của giáo dục thế kỷ 21 là sử dụng rộng rãi Internet, công nghệ thông tin trong mọi khâu giáo dục, từ nội dung cho đến phương pháp, tổ chức. Lý do dễ hiểu là vì một mặt công nghệ thông tin đã len lỏi vào mọi hoạt động kinh tế và đời sống trong xã hội hiện đại, khiến cho hiểu biết tối thiểu về tin học trở nên cần thiết cho mọi người, và mặt khác, máy tính, Internet, viễn thông, truyền thông không dây, đã trở thành những công cụ có thể hỗ trợ đắc lực việc giảng dạy và học tập theo các yêu cầu nêu trên. Hiện nay không phải ai cũng nhận thức được tầm quan trọng của các phương tiện kỹ thuật này đối với giáo dục, cho nên đầu tư cho lĩnh vực này thường chưa đủ mức tới hạn cần thiết và không đồng bộ để có thể phát huy đầy đủ tác dụng. Hơn nữa lĩnh vực này lại tiến quá nhanh, nếu không nhìn xa trông rộng thì có nguy cơ tốn kém nhiều mà vẫn luôn luôn bị lạc hậu.

8) Cuối cùng, muốn đem lại những thay đổi lớn trong giáo dục thì trước hết phải thay đổi cách quản lý giáo dục. Trong kinh tế tri thức, phát huy sáng kiến chủ động của mọi người là điều kiện cần thiết để tăng hiệu quả của mọi tổ chức. Điều đó càng đặc biêt đúng với các tổ chức giáo dục mà nhiệm vụ trực tiếp liên quan việc đào tạo con người. Vì vậy, bản thân hệ thống tổ chức, quản lý giáo dục cần phải được phi tập trung hoá, các cơ sở giáo dục, nhất là các đại học, phải được trao quyền tự chủ rộng rãi, về nội dung chương trình, về tổ chức, kế hoạch giảng dạy, nghiên cứu khoa học và các hoạt động khác. Hệ thống đó cần được cải tổ thành mạng lưới, vận hành theo cơ chế mạng, tận dụng các tri thức khoa học và phương tiện kỹ thuât về quản lý mạng, để tăng hiệu quả quản lý, phù hợp với xu hướng và yêu cầu phát triển của xã hội hiện đại. Quản lý giáo dục cũng tức là quản lý các hoạt động làm nền tảng phát triển trí tuệ, phát triển năng lực sáng tạo của xã hội, cho nên càng cần thiết phải hiểu biết những đặc điểm của loại hoạt động này để quản lý một cách thật sự thông minh, phát huy được trí tuệ của cả cộng đồng.

3. Chúng ta cần làm gì trong thập kỷ tới ?

Trên đây tôi đã phác hoạ, theo hiểu biết của tôi, một số yêu cầu chính của giáo dục trong thế kỷ 21. Vì phải tập trung thảo luận về quan niệm và xu thế, tôi chưa thể bàn kỹ về cách thực hiện các quan niệm, tư tưởng đó trong chương trình, nội dung và phương pháp giảng dạy. Còn rất nhiều vấn đề cần bàn, nhưng tựu trung cũng chỉ xoay quanh trục chính là làm sao bảo đảm xây dựng một xã hội năng động, đầy sức sống, có sức cạnh tranh cao, dựa trên tài năng sáng tạo khoa học và công nghệ, và hướng tới, chứ không đi ngược lại, văn hoá.

Soi lại tình hình VN, chúng ta có thể và cần làm gì để hội nhập nhanh nhất và thuận lợi nhất vào trào lưu chung đó ? Rõ ràng không thể yên trí với con đường mòn ta đã đi từ hàng chục năm nay, mà phải thay đổi hẳn tư duy, chuyển sang con đường mới bằng những bước đi thích hợp. Trước hết trong vài ba năm tới cần gấp rút chấn hưng giáo dục, kiên quyết loại trừ những xu hướng tiêu cực, lạc hậu, bệnh hoạn đang làm biến chất giáo dục. Phải giải quyết bằng được ba vấn đề nhức nhối kinh niên, mà cũng là biểu hiện rõ nét nhất tính chất lạc hậu của giáo dục: 1) thi cử và đánh giá; 2) dạy thêm, học thêm tràn lan, luyện thi vô tội vạ; 3) biên soạn, xuất bản và sử dụng sách giáo khoa. Mục tiêu chấn hưng là nhằm đưa giáo dục trở lại quỹ đạo lành mạnh đúng đắn, tăng hiệu quả giáo dục, nói đúng hơn là khắc phục lãng phí để sử dụng tốt hơn các nguồn lực phát triển giáo dục, hướng nhà trường nhích dần đến yêu cầu hội nhập quốc tế và xu thế kinh tế tri thức, chuẩn bị điều kiện tiến lên cải cách toàn diện, mạnh mẽ ở giai đoạn sau. Cải cách là việc lớn, cần phải có kế hoạch nghiên cứu chu đáo, chuẩn bị tỉ mỉ và phải được thực hiện mạnh mẽ, kiên quyết nhưng không vội vã. Đặc biệt quan trọng là sự lãnh đạo, chỉ đạo của Nhà Nước và sự hưởng ứng, tham gia của toàn xã hội.

Xưa nay trí tuệ VN đã qua nhiều thử thách lớn trong công cuộc chiến đấu chống ngoại xâm, và đã chiến thắng vẻ vang nhiều kẻ địch hùng mạnh. Tuy nhiên tiềm năng trí tuệ ấy chưa được đánh thức trong xây dựng hoà bình. Hãy thông qua cải cách giáo dục đánh thức cái tiềm năng ấy, đó là trách nhiêm lịch sử nặng nề của thế hệ chúng ta khi bước vào thế kỷ 21.

Tài liệu tham khảo

Xu thế cải cách giáo dục trong thế kỷ 21

(trích tài liệu: Education in Japan 2000, của Bộ Giáo dục, khoa học, thể thao và văn hoá Nhật bản)

... Trong thế kỷ 21 sắp tới, để phát triển Nhật bản thành một nước có sức sống mạnh mẽ và xây dựng một quốc gia dựa trên nền tảng sức sáng tạo khoa học và công nghệ và một xã hội định hướng văn hoá, vai trò của giáo dục cực kỳ quan trọng, đó là nền tảng của mọi hệ thống xã hội. Trách nhiêm chúng ta là phải thường xuyên đưa ra các biện pháp cải cách hệ thống giáo dục.

Tháng giêng năm 1997, Bộ Giáo Giáo dục, khoa học, thể thao và văn hoá (GDKHTTVH) đã dự thảo " Chương trình Cải cách Giáo dục" nêu ra những điểm chính và kế hoạch cải cách giáo dục. Sau đó, tuy vẫn tôn trọng các bước thực hiện đang tiến hành, dự thảo đã được tu chỉnh hai lần, vào tháng 8 năm 1997 và tháng 4 năm 1998. Bộ GDKHTTVH đã tiến hành cải cách giáo dục với 4 điểm chính sau đây trong chương trình ấy:

(1) Tăng cường giáo dục xúc cảm (emotional education), rèn luyện nhân cách, nuôi dưỡng ý thức chân, thiện, mỹ, tinh thần nhân ái, lòng yêu đời và mong muốn cống hiến, bảo đảm mở rộng các con đường cho lớp trẻ trưởng thành.

(2) Thực hiện một hệ thống giáo dục học đường giúp trẻ phát triển cá tính, mở cho thanh thiếu niên nhiều khả năng chọn lựa khác nhau, thanh toán chủ nghĩa bình quân đã tăng lên quá mức từ sau chiến tranh.

(3) Cải tiến tổ chức trường học theo hướng tôn trọng quyền tự chủ của nhà trường, mở rộng phi tập trung hoá quản lý giáo dục, thực hiện nhà trường tự quản.

(4) Đẩy mạnh cải cách đại học và các hoạt động nghiên cứu khoa học, theo hướng nâng cao uy tín quốc tế, giữ vững khả năng cạnh tranh quốc tế và xây dựng một xã hội thật sự năng động, đầy sinh lực.

Đồng thời, đi đôi với hệ thống giáo dục học đường, phát triển giáo dục ngoài học đường (giáo dục xã hội, hay giáo dục thường xuyên), tạo cơ hội cho mọi người học tập suốt đời.

(*) Bài đăng ở báo Văn Nghệ số 41 (13/10/2001)



http://www.ncst.ac.vn/HVGD/
© http://vietsciences.free.fr Hoàng Tụy

Comparative and International Education and Peace Education

Comparative and International Education and Peace Education

Robin J. Burns
Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health
La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia

INTRODUCTION

Comparative and international education constitutes two linked fields of educational research and theorizing. While the distinction is not a rigid one, comparative education includes the more “academic, analytic, and scientific aspects of the field”, while international education “is related to cooperation, understanding, and exchange elements” (Rust, 2002, p. iii).

Comparative education

The field has not been rigidly defined. However, implicit in the notion of “comparative” is the study of more than one unit, and since comparative education arose at a time when national systems of education were being formed, the nation-state has been the primary unit of study. An early comparative education scholar, I.L. Kandel, suggested that “The problems and purposes of education have in general become somewhat similar in most countries; the solutions are influenced by differences of tradition, and culture peculiar to each” so that the task of a comparative scholar is to “discuss the meaning of general education, elementary and secondary, in the light of the forces – political, social, and cultural – which determine the character of national systems of education” (1933, p. xi). The field now includes all levels of education, formal and non-formal. Kandel did not specify the role of actual comparison of systems, the nature and purpose of which has not only proved controversial methodologically (Rust, 2001), but has in recent decades also been criticized on the grounds of resulting in inappropriate educational transfers especially from ‘center’ to ‘periphery’ nations (Ball, 1998; Crossley & Jarvis, 2001; Jones, 1998; Tikly, 2001; Zachariah, 1979). Multi-system studies constitute less than 33% of the reported research within comparative education journals (Rust et al, 1999). Though still controversial, intra-system comparisons are also undertaken (Crossley & Jarvis, 2000; Kelly & Altbach, 1986; Ross, 2002; Welch, 1991; Welch & Masemann, 1997).

International education

Internationalism is an underlying motif in the formation and development of comparative studies in education. Altbach and Kelly (1986) note that:

The improvement of international understanding in general and education in particular is a long-standing tradition in the field. There has always been and, we hope, will continue to be a humanitarian and ameliorative element that has impelled many comparative educators to become involved in international programs to improve aspects of education and to encourage increased international understanding, particularly in the schools, as a contribution to world peace and development. (p. 4)

The “ameliorative” element, which forms the basis on which peace education comes within the domain of comparative education, is found mostly in the alliance between academic educational researchers and educational policy-makers and planners. This aspect has been present in the field since the 1820s when the founding father, Jullien de Paris, was concerned with the induction of principles of policy from the collection, classification and analysis of foreign data (Holmes, 1985). Comparative educators have been involved subsequently in two international data collection agencies since their inception: the International Bureau of Education (IBE) and UNESCO. With the inclusion of education in the economic development formulae of modernization theories in the 1960s and 1970s, the comparative tools for comparing educational outcomes cross-nationally were sought by agencies seeking ‘human capital’ development outcomes.

Whether or not such ‘applied’ research is ‘international’ rather than ‘comparative’ has been controversial (Wilson, 1994). ‘International’ includes the study of international educational institutions and incorporates concerns by educators with “the development of multicultural and global efficacy” for a just society (Arnove, 2001, p. 501). Certainly comparativists operate trans-nationally as researchers and in their professional associations, especially the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) and regional comparative education associations.

Debates continue on the extent of the field, appropriate subject-matter, and methodology. They are highlighted in presidential addresses to national societies and in the editorials of the major journals. Altbach’s depiction of a “multidisciplinary field that looks at education…in a cross-cultural context” (1991, p. 491) broadly summarizes the situation.

A CHANGING FIELD

The debate about comparative and international education indicates the development of the field of study and the changes over time that have facilitated or inhibited the inclusion of peace education as a legitimate topic for study. Three major periods in the recent development of comparative and international education can be distinguished. The first, from the early post-World War II years to the 1970s, was characterized by concern with methodology and with applying an analytical, inductive scientific approach to the study of educational systems. In the second, from the late 1970s onwards critiques of positivism and structural-functional theorizing began to affect the social sciences and humanities, the base disciplines for many comparativists. Alternative methodologies such as hermeneutics and critical theory came to the fore in comparative education, and with them, a critique of the state as the principal unit of analysis (e.g. Altbach, 1991; Kelly & Altbach, 1986; Crossley & Broadfoot, 1992; Open File, 1989; Welch, 1985; Welch, 1992; Welch & Burns, 1992). This debate continues today (Cook et al, 2004; Cowen, 1996; Dale & Robertson, 2005; Marginson & Mollis, 2001; Rust, et al, 1999; Schriewer, 2006; Tikly & Crossley, 2001; Torres, 2001).

Exploration of the educational implications of globalization serves as an umbrella for comparative and international education in its third and current phase (in addition to works in the previous paragraph, see Arnove, 2001; Carnoy & Rhoten, 2002a & b; Crossley & Jarvis, 2000; Crossley & Jarvis, 2001; Crossley, M. & Watson, 2003; Dale & Robertson, 2005; Mehta & Ninnes, 2003). This phase is characterized by increasing diversification of theories, subjects, methodologies, and methods as comparativists address the question: “what is the comparative advantage of comparative education in understanding the changing social context of education and some of the secular dilemmas of equity, equality, and quality of education throughout the world?” (Torres, 2001, p. viii). Studies of educational planning, development and reform, ethnicity, race and class, and gender and sexual orientation showed the greatest increase in published comparative and international educational research between 1997-2004 (Raby, 2005).

Today, comparative and international education is a complex field characterized by multiple methodological approaches and topics of study. The ameliorative element has been applied to the ‘improvement’ of educational planning and systems. More recently, critique of the focus on the nation-state, and of the ways in which educational knowledge reinforces existing power and status structures within and between societies, and the acknowledgment of the impact of globalization on equity and justice, has opened new topics for research and teaching. International understanding, cooperation, human rights, peace, and related issues such as the environment are considered, if at all, as issues for teaching within comparative education.

PEACE EDUCATION WITHIN COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

Reflections on the origins of comparative and international education, especially in the post-World War II period, suggest that one thread is the response by educators to the realities and consequences of war. Peace education does not have a strong position in academic educational institutions and there has been only one chair of peace education, held by Lennart Vriens at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. It is barely visible in comparative and international education, at least in the international journals in the field, Comparative Education, Compare, Comparative Education Review, Canadian and International Education, and the International Review of Education (IRE). The first two are edited in the UK, the third in the US, the fourth in Canada and the last by the UNESCO Institute at Hamburg.

Given the work undertaken by UNESCO within the framework of its Recommendation Concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education Relating to Human Rights and Fundamental freedoms, adopted by the General Conference in 1974, it is not surprising that most of the articles on peace or related education published in comparative and international journals are found in the IRE, including a special edition in 1983 edited by Norwegians Magnus Haavelsrud and Johan Galtung, neither a comparative educator. All the contributors were members of the Peace Education Commission (PEC) of the International Peace Research Association and one means for a comparative perspective on peace education is the existence of PEC and its Journal of Peace Education, launched in 2004.

Writers frequently link “international understanding” with “peace,” as in the 1979 special, 25th anniversary edition of the IRE: “It is increasingly important to take international action for the avoidance of war and for the safeguarding of the human environment” (Elvin, 1979, p. 461; see also Brock-Utne, 1988; Vriens, 1990). The issues of global security (Williams, 2000), culture and diversity (Simkin, 1998), and class (Welch, 1993) have been taken up by some comparative and international educators and are relevant to the debate about the formation and transmission of a “culture of peace”, which is essentially internationalist (see e.g. Adams, 2000; Page, 2004; Vriens, 1993; for a relational approach which can have an international dimension, Ross, 2002). Bjerstedt (1993), Brock-Utne (1995, 2000), Burns and Aspeslagh (1996a and b), Halperin (1997), Heater (1984), Iram (2003), Ray (1988) and Reardon (1987, 1988) are among the peace educators who point out the complex relationships between peace education, education for international understanding, and related fields such as human rights education. Harber (1997) and Davies (2005), both writing in Compare, and Zajda et al (2006) turn the issues on their head by problematizing education itself as a potential source of conflict as well as for social justice.

However, articles on peace education, education for human rights and civic education appear only rarely even in the IRE. Nothing has appeared on peace education in Comparative Education or the Comparative Education Review, though there have been articles on civic education, internationalized education, moral education, political education, political socialization, education for democracy, and human rights education. Compare has had several relevant articles in the past 25 years, most recently the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) 2004 presidential address (Davies, 2005). Since 1996, within the comparative education societies, “peace and justice” is one stream in the WCCES congresses, and the CIES now has a peace education special interest group, some of whose members have published monographs on the subject, but have not yet published in the comparative education journals.

Burns and Aspeslagh (1996b) consider that comparative education provides “a way to understand the development of educational ideas and their practice, in concrete settings” (p. 9), arguing that this is an appropriate way to study peace education. However, peace educators are still largely concerned with issues such as children’s attitudes, descriptions of particular peace education initiatives, and polemics related to the introduction of peace education in formal education systems. While the latter is clearly suitable for comparative research, the ongoing preoccupation of comparative education with systems of education and the fact that peace education rarely becomes incorporated as such within a system is another factor keeping the fields apart.

CONCLUSION

New developments in comparative and international education, especially critiques of globalization and its impact on education, employment, human relations and culture, presage new possibilities to bring the fields closer. A clear challenge is found in Davies (2005) contention that “the relationship between education and conflict includes the more obvious effect of war and violence on education itself…but there is the perhaps less obvious reverse impact of education on conflict…through the reproduction or amplification of inequality, exclusion and social polarization; through the hardening of ethnic or religious identifications and divisions; and through its acceptance of dominant macho, aggressive, militaristic, and homophobic masculinities” (p. 359).


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