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.

References

Almond, G & Verba, S. 1965, The civic culture: political attitudes and democracy in five nations, Boston, Little, Brown.

Amrung C., Supang, C., & Fry, G. 1990, Evaluating primary education: Qualitative and quantitative policy studies in Thailand, Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.

Anderson, B 1991, Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism, London; New York, Verso.
Arnold, M 1861, The popular education of France, with notices of that of Holland and Switzerland, London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts.

Arnold, M 1882, Higher schools & universities in Germany. London: Macmillan.

Arnold, M 1892, A French Eton: Or middle class education and the state. London: Macmillan and Co.

Arnold, M 1888, Special report on certain points connected with elementary education in Germany, Switzerland, and France. London:
Reprinted by the Education Reform League.

Benedict, R 1946, The chrysanthemum and the sword: patterns of Japanese culture, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company.
Benedict, R 1952, Thai culture and behavior: an unpublished war-time study dated September, 1943, Ithaca, N.Y., Southeast Asia Program, Department of Far Eastern Studies, Cornell University,
Berlinski, M. 2007. Fieldwork. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Blaug, M 1971, The rate of return to investment in education in Thailand, Bangkok, National Education Council.
Brislin, R, Lonner, W & Thorndike, R 1973. Cross-cultural research methods. New York: J. Wiley.

Chambers, R 1994, Paradigm shifts and the practice of participatory research and development, Brighton, U.K.: Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University.

Cogan, J & Derricott, R 1998, Citizenship education: Citizenship for the 21st century: An international perspective on education, London, Kogan Page.

Cogan, J, Morris, P, & Print M, 2002, Civic education in the Asia-Pacific region: Case studies across six societies. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.

Coles, R 1997, The moral intelligence of children. New York: Random House.

Creswell, J 2009, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: SAGE publications.

Cummings, W K 1980, Education and equality in Japan. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Dalby, L 1983, Geisha, Berkeley, University of California Press.
Ember, C & M 2001, Cross-cultural research methods, Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.

Denison, W 1862, Systems of education, Madras: Military Male Orphan Asylum, William Thomas.

Ðo Phu’o’ng 1997, Viet Nam hình anh cong dong 54 dân toc [Vietnam image of the community of 54 ethnic groups], Ha Noi: Van hóa dân toc.
Fogh, C J 1854, Et par ard om friskoleni Amerik og en dansker folkeskole. Kjøbenhavn: P. G. Philipsen.
Freeman, D 1983, Margaret Mead and Samoa: The making and unmaking of an anthropological myth. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Golden, A. 1997, Memoirs of a geisha: a novel, New York, Alfred A. Knopf.
Gudykunst, W & Kim, Y 1984, Methods for intercultural communication research, Beverly Hills; London, Sage in cooperation with Speech Communication Association's Commission on International and Intercultural Communication.

Fry, G 1980, ‘Education and success: a case study of the Thai public service’, Comparative Education Review, vol. 24,no. 1, pp. 21-34.

Fry, G & Kempner, K 1996, ‘A subnational paradigm for comparative research: education and development in Northeast Brazil and Northeast Thailand’. Comparative Education, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 333- 360.

Harkness, J, Vijver, Fons J & Mohler, P 2003, Cross-cultural survey methods, Hoboken, N.J., J. Wiley.

Golden, A 1997, Memoirs of a geisha: a novel, New York, Alfred A. Knopf.

Graves, D 1973, Management research: A cross-cultural perspective, Amsterdam; New York, Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co.
Gurr, T 1970, Why men rebel, Princeton, N.J., The Center of International Studies, Princeton University Press.
Hayhoe, R 2006, Portraits of influential Chinese educators, Hong Kong, China: Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong.
Headland, T, Pike, K, & Harris, M 1990, Emics and etics: The insider/outsider debate, Newbury Park, Calif., Sage Publications.
Herbst, P 1997, The color of words: An encylopaedic dictionary of ethnic bias in the United States, Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press.
Holland, J. & Blackburn, J. 1998, Whose voice? Participatory research and policy change. London: Intermediate Technology.
Iwasaki, M with Brown, R 2002. Geisha: A life, New York, Atria Books.
Kasian T(ed.) 1994 Læ lot lai mangkon: ruam khokhian waduai khwampen Chin nai Sayam [Looking through the dragon design: selected writings on Chineseness in Siam], Bangkok, Khomfai.
Katz, M, Fujita, H, Sogawa, M, & Ito, A 1989, Kaikyu kanryosei to gakko: Amerika kyoiku shakaishi nyumon [Bureaucratic social stratification and schools: Introduction to the sociology of American education], Tokyo, Yushindo Kobunsha.
Levinson, D & Christenson,K 2002, Encyclopedia of modern Asia, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 6 volumes.
Levinson,D & Christenson, K 2007, Global perspectives on the United States: A nation by nation study, Great Barrington, Mass: Berkshire Publishing Group.
Klein, J T 1990, Interdisciplinarity: History, theory, and practice. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Klein, J T & Doty, W G 1994, Interdisciplinary studies today. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kline, S J 1995, Conceptual foundations for multidisciplinary thinking. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Korten, D C 1995, When corporations rule the world. West Hartford, Conn: Kumarian Press.
Legacé, R 1970, ‘The HRAF data quality control schedule’, Behavior Science Notes, vol. 5, pp. 125-132.
Levinson, D & Christensen, K 2007, Global perspectives on the United States: a nation by nation survey, Great Barrington, Mass., Berkshire Publishing Group.
Lonner, W & Berry, J 1986, Field methods in cross-cultural research, Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Louis, L 1992, Butterflies of the night: Mama-sans, geisha, strippers, and the Japanese men they serve, New York, Tengu Books.
Louis W 2003, Intertwined lives: Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, and their circle, New York, Knopf.
Lynn, R & Vanhanen, T 2002, IQ and the wealth of nations, Westport, Conn, Praeger.

Manaster, G & Havighurst, R 1972. Cross-national research: Social-psychological methods and problems, Boston, Houghton Mifflin.

Martinson, B, Anderson, M, & De Vries, R 2005, ‘Scientists behaving badly’, Nature, vol. 435, pp. 737-738.

Matsumoto, D 1994, Cultural influences on research methods and statistics, Pacific Grove, CA, Brooks/Cole.

Mead, M & Métraux, R 1953, The study of culture at a distance. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Moussavi, F, 1982, Guide to the Hanna Collection and related archival materials at the Hoover Institute of War, Revolution, and Peace on the role of education in twentieth century society, Stanford: Hoover Institution Press.
Myrdal, G 1969, Objectivity in social research, Middletown, Connecticut, Wesleyan University Press.
Naisbett, J. 1996, Megatrends Asia, New York: Simon & Schuster.
Nha Xuat Ban Thang Tan 2008, 54 dan toc Vietnam: Ethnic groups in Vietnam, Ha Noi: Nha Xuat Ban Thang Tan, 2008
Odzer, C 1994, Patpong sisters: an American woman's view of the Bangkok sex world, New York, Blue Moon Books, Arcade Pub., Distributed by Little, Brown and Co.
Ohmae, K 1995, The end of the nation state: The rise of regional economies, New York: Free Press.
Paige, R M et al. 2009, Study abroad for global engagement: The long-term impact of mobility experiences, forthcoming in a special issue of the Journal of Intercultural Education.
Panitee S 2008, Transational motherhood: Caring from a distance. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference onThai Studies, January 9-12, Bangkok, Thammasat University.

Phillips, D. 2008. Comparative inquiry and educational policy making. London: Routledge.

Phillips, D. & Ochs, K. 2004. Educational policy borrowing: Historical perspectives. Didcot: Symposium. Oxford Studies in Comparative Education.

Punnett, B & Shenkar, O. 2004, Handbook for international management research, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 2nd ed.

Robin, R T 2004. Scandals and scoundrels: Seven cases that shook the academy. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Rohlen, T 1983, Japan’s high schools, Berkeley: University of California Press.
Said, E 1978, Orientalism, New York, Pantheon Books.
Said, E 1993, Culture and imperialism, New York, Knopf, Distributed by Random House.
Scott, J 1985, Weapons of the weak: Everyday forms of peasant resistance, New Haven, Yale University Press.
Scott, J 1998, Seeing like a state: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed, New Haven: Yale University Press.
Simon, P 1980. The tongue-tied American: Confronting the foreign language crisis, New York: Continuum.
Smith, L 1999, Decolonizing methodologies, London: Zed Books.
Sniderman, P & Hagendoorn, A 2007, When ways of life collide:
multiculturalism and its discontents in the Netherlands, Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press.

Sokal, A & Bricmont, J 1998, Fashionable nonsense: Postmodern intellectuals’ abuse of science, New York: Picador.

Steiner-Khamsi, G 2004, Global politics of educational borrowing and lending, New York: Teachers College Press.
Suchit W 1987, Chek pon Lao [Chinese mixed with Lao], Bangkok, Sinlapa Watthanatham.
Suliman N 1994, Nangngam tukrachok: kansu’ksa krabuan kanklai pen monuat Thai [Beauties on display: a study of the process of entering prostitution in Thailand], Bangkok, Siam Publications.
Supang C, et al. 2001, The migration of Thai women to Germany: Causes, living conditions and impacts for Thailand and Germany. Bangkok: Asian Research Center for Migration, Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University.
Textor, R 1951, Failure in Japan: with keystones for a positive policy, New York, J. Day Co.
Textor, R 1973, Patterns of worship: a formal analysis of the supernatural in a Thai village, New Haven, Conn., Human Relations Area Files, 4 volumes.
Thomas, R M 2003, Blending qualitative and quantitative research methods in theses and dissertations, Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Corwin Press.

Tierney, P. 2000. Darkness in El Dorado: How scientists and journalists devastated the Amazon. New York: Norton.

Tomita, T, Fry, G & Seksin S 2000, International cooperative learning: An innovative approach intercultural service, Nagoya: Tokai Institute of Social Development for Asia and the Pacific.


Vijver, F & Leung, K 1997, Methods and data analysis for cross-cultural research, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Ward, R & Sakamoto, Y 1987, Democratizing Japan: the allied occupation, Honolulu, University of Hawai’i Press.
Warwick, D P, compiler & Osherson, S 1973, Comparative research methods, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Wiener, J 2005, Historians in trouble: Plagiarism, fraud, and politics in the ivory tower. New York: New Press.