Comparative education as a discipline: General Theory
Introduction and overview of the unit.
1. Comparative education: definitions, rationale, scope, aims and purpose
2. Development of Comparative Education up to 1900
3. Development of Comparative Education since 1900
4. Learning Institutions, International Agencies and Societies and the Development of Comparative Education
5. Methodology in Comparative Education: Convectional Approaches
AREA STUDIES: SAMPLE SYSTEMS
6. Introduction to Determinants of Systems of Education
7. Sample Systems in Europe: Britain
8. Sample Systems in Europe: France
9. Sample Systems in America: USA
10. Sample Systems in America: Cuba
11. Sample System in Africa: East Africa
12. Sample System in Africa: Southern Africa
ISSUES IN EDUCATION
13. The Education and Training of Teachers: A comparative perspective
14. Higher Education in Africa: Comparative perspective
15. Development and Education: Comparative perspectives
16. Brain drain and Education: Comparative perspective
SUGGESTED METHODS
• On line material and search
• Tutorial groups assignments
• On-line Individual assignment
• Examinations
SUGGESTED EVALUATION
• Individual assignment 30%
• Examinations 70%
SAMPLES OF TUTORIAL QUESTIONS
A: Comparative Education as a Discipline: General Theory
1. Discuss the definition, scope, aims and purpose of comparative education as a discipline.
With specific examples, show the relevance of the study of this discipline to:
a) Your country
b) Teacher education programmes in your country.
2. a) State the main phases in the development of comparative education;
b) Discuss the motivations and characteristic activities in each of the phases;
c) Discuss the relevance of these motivations and activities to the theory and practice of education in your country today.
3. Discuss the role of learning institutions, international agencies and societies in the development of comparative education as a discipline.
4. a) Comparative education has been characterized by debates with regard to
its methodology. Discuss.
b) Discuss any one method of approach in comparative education and show how you can apply it. Illustrate your answer with specific examples.
5. You have been posted to a school that is known to have problems of discipline among students and poor performance at public examinations.
Show how you would use aspects of methodology in of comparative education to contribute to reform in the school performance.
B: Area Studies: Comparative Study of Systems of Education
1. There are factors that help to determine and shape systems of education to be the way they are.
a) Name six of these factors.
b) Explain how any two of these factors have shaped systems of education in various countries of the world. Illustrate your answer with specific examples.
2. There are aspects in systems of education of other countries that could be a source of reference in improvement of education in your country. Discuss this statement in the light of any one of the following countries:
a) Britain
b) France
c) U.S.A.
d) China
e) Japan
3. Discuss how the political philosophy of any ONE of the following countries has combined with historical factors to influence its system of education.
a) South Africa
b) Cuba
c) China
d) Cameroon
4. Discuss what you consider as the key features of education in any one of the socialist countries you have studied.
Show how your country can use this experience for improvement of aspects in its system of education.
C: COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF ISSUES IN EDUCATION
1. There are factors that create issues in education.
a) Name three of these factors.
b) Explain how these factors have created topical issues in educational process in your country.
c) Compare and contrast proposed solutions.
2. a) Discuss the factors behind disparities in educational participation in
schools in developing countries.
c) Compare the nature of disparities in Africa and proposed solutions to the
problems.
3. Discuss factors, which are creating problems in the development of higher education in Africa today. Compare and contrast solutions offered to these problems by different countries in Africa.
4. Discuss major issues arising from the education and training of teachers.
Compare some of the steps being taken to address the crisis in Africa.
5. Discuss major issues arising from language and education.
6. Discuss issues arising from education and development.
7. “Brain drain is a major problem affecting the Third World today”.
Discuss this statement.
Compare the impact of solutions adopted by Third World countries to counteract brain drain.
8. Identify and discuss factors influencing the education and training of teachers today, citing examples from countries of your own choice.
9. a) From a comparative perspective discuss the gender issues in education in
your country.
b) What strategies can be employed to improve gender disparities in your

Purpose of studying comparative education
There are various reasons why comparative education should be studied by prospective teachers and reformers of education in any country of the world. The reasons are:
Description The most basic utility of comparative education is to describe education systems/learning communities, within their social context, in order to satisfy the yearning for knowledge which is part of human nature.
Evaluation Comparative education serves the purpose of evaluating education systems: the own education system as well as universal evaluation of education systems. In the current age of competitive globalised world, the evaluation of the domestic education projects assumes even bigger importance-hence the proliferation of studies such as the PISA (International Programme for the Assessment of Student Achievement) and IEA(International Educational Assessment) studies, and the international ranking of the universities. The universal evaluation entails how well the education systems of the world rise up to the challenges of the twenty first century world as well as an estimation of the limits and possibilities of the societal effects of education.
Intellectual Comparative education is an intellectual activity that scholars can pursue to the highest level possible in the academic ladder. They can pursue it in their masters and doctoral programmes. An individual can do this in order to enhance his/her intellectual capacity concerning other systems of education with the purpose of enlightment. This knowledge would help the individual to understand their education system better and that of others with the intention of improving and solving problem in their own system. Knowledge for its own sake is the sole ground upon which comparative education need to make a stand in order to merit inclusion among other academic fields.
Planning Modern societies have come to appreciate the importance of planning. Various problems that are associated with over-population, under production, diseases, economic non-viability, industrialization and social ills can be tackled through planning. Planning requires careful formulation of objectives, establishment of priorities and the identification of the means to achieve those objectives. Since an educational policy affects millions of people, rational decisions need to be made so that the policy can achieve the desired results. Comparative education is also pursued to design anew education system, to plan education, and to reform education systems (Steyn and Wolhuter 2010). In reforming or improving the education system or in grappling with an educational issue, challenge or problem, one country could benefit from the experience of other countries that once had faced the same problem, could reveal the full extent and implication of the problem and possible contributory causes; and could also suggest possible solutions to the problem. This call for proper planning that comparative education can provide a helping hand.

Development of comparative education
By the end of this chapter the students should be able to:
a) Highlight the main phases through which comparative education has gone through in its development.
b) Describe the main characteristic activities of each of the identified phase.
c) Apply the knowledge obtained in each phase to the current day set up in their country.
Phases in the development of comparative education
The development of comparative education can be studied in seven major phases or stages that are based on the major characteristic activities. These phases are:
(i) The phase of traveler tale (from antiquity to1817)
(ii) The phase of pioneers (From 1817-1900) (Selective borrowing)
(iii) The phase of philosophers (Concern for cultural context) from 1900 to end of world war two in 1945.
(iv) The phase of social science perspective (From end of world war two to present
It is important to note that the phases used here to signify changes in the historical development of the discipline are retrospective and imposed ones. They should not be seen as precise or sudden turning points. The changes were gradual. Significantly, each phase is only for the purpose of organizing information because in reality there are no such distinct phases. This is because towards the end of each phase, for example, the next phase has already evident in the work of prospective observer. At the same time, entry into a new phase does not mean a complete break with the earlier one.
The phase of travellers’ tale (from antiquity to1817)
This period cover time from antiquity to around 1817 A.D. when Marc Antoinne Jullien De Paris published his famous work “Plan and preliminary views for work in Comparative Education”. Before this time writings on foreign education systems were mere descriptions of accounts of foreign education systems by individuals who had opportunities for foreign travels. Visitations to other countries-whether for purpose of commerce, conversations, curiosity or conflict go back to ancient history of mankind. From one point of view, every one who had interest in the upbringing of children or in education, tended to enquire into what went on in those communities they visited. The writings by the early writers on comparative education drew examples from the societies other than their own. These travellers involved:
Xenophone(C430-355B.C.)
He was a Greek, described the training of Persian youths for citizenship and leadership. He compared the aims and structure of Persian and Greek education systems especially Sparta, which he admired and wished Athens, would copy. He commented on the relationship between education and social occupation status in the two countries. He also gave a detailed account of the education of the Persians in his bibliography of King Cyrus.
Plato
In his two books, The Republic and The Law-he compared systems of education in Sparta and Athens. He urged that the Athenians education system should borrow from the Spartan education system in aspects of discipline.
Relevance to present day theory and practice of education
Features of travellers’ tales still remain with us in the work of journalism and education trips. Indeed their reports are informal getting to know the experiences of other societies. They form the first step to understanding education in other countries. Stories given on return from visits to other countries add flavour to our teaching in schools. Eyewitness accounts are still deemed as valuable in research work. Reading of novels and stories about other countries are all-commendable in our present day educational practices.
Phase of selective education borrowing (pioneers)
This period was geared towards the development of methodology or systematic rules to be followed in studying of comparative education. It was a drive to learn lessons from foreign education systems for the purpose of borrowing ideas. This period is considered as the starting point of comparative education, which is associated with Marie Antoinne Julien De Paris work Plan and Preliminary Views for Work of Comparative Education.
Apart from the increase in the incidence of trips to other countries in search of improvement for home systems of education, the 19th century was noteworthy for the establishment of national agencies for the collection and dissemination of information about systems of education. For example the United States Office of Education (1867) the Musee Pedagogigue in Paris (1879) and the Office of Special Inquiries and Report in London (1895). There were various contributors who are accredited to this phase. They involved Marc Antoinne Jullien De Paris, Victor Cousin, Horace Mann, Henry Bernard, Matthew Arnold, K.D. Ushinsky and Peter the Great.
Relevance of the selective borrowing phase to present day education theory and practice
Despite the above shortcomings this phase is relevant to present day theory and practice of education. First, they were mainly descriptive and utilitarian in purpose. Descriptive studies are features that are still relevant in education today. We also endevour to make education more utilitarian. Second, we still have visits to other countries or institutions, for the purpose of observing what may be of value to be brought back and used at home. Lastly, there is the importance of learning from experience of others in order to improve institutions in our own systems of education.
The phase of concern for cultural context: From 1900 to the end of second world war-1945
The publication in 1900 of short essays by Michael Sandler (1861-1943) ushered in new phase of comparative studies in education. Although intimations of this approach may be discerned in the work of some earlier writer notably Matthew Arnold in England, Wilhelm Dilthey in Germany, William T.Harris in USA and P.E.Levasseur in France, from this point on, new prospects for comparative education were revealed that were more comprehensive, more analytical and that had greater explanatory potential.
This phase was motivated by the need to move from the encyclopaedic, descriptive and sometimes uncritical approach of the earlier phases to a more analytical approach. The trend towards analytical studies of the interrelationship between education and society became more generally recognized. There grew a concern to understand factors, which helped to shape systems of education. The problem for comparativist was no longer one of selective borrowing, but of predicting the likely success of educational transplant through knowledge of cultural context in both the donor and recipient countries. Most comparativists have to account for the features existing in systems of education in terms of the forces and factors that shaped them.
The individuals who made substantive contributions to the development of comparative education during this phase were mainly philosophers, historians and sociologists. Some of the individuals to be considered are:
Social science perspective: From the end of world war two in 1945 to present
Since the end of world war two in 1945 interest and activity in comparative education have developed dramatically and especially in two main respects.
Getao (1996) has enumerated that the following forces characterize the contemporary era:
1) Explosion of knowledge especially in science and technology.
2) Drive for more knowledge and globalization.
3) Drive for liberty with the proclamation of human rights by UNESCO in 1948.
4) Urbanization as a result of industrialization.
5) Population explosion due to development of medical science where fifty percent of the population is under twenty years.
6) Drive for the reconstruction of peace to facilitate material, moral and spiritual reconstruction. This is to help in removing suspicion and distrust among nations and promote good will and cooperation among them.
The outcome of the above forces has been greatly noticed in:
A) Greater efforts to democratize education to make it available to all as a way of ensuring a reasonable good life.
B) Diversification of education to serve and suit diversified societies and communities.
C) Greater concern and effort to provide quality education for the purpose of progress.
D) Creation of international organizations likeUNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, UNEP in order to promote human welfare, reconstruction of peace, democratization, diversification and improvement of education and management of knowledge.

Methodology in comparative education
By the end of this chapter the students should be able to:
a) Identify the methodologies that have been applied in comparative education
b) Apply at least one of the methodologies in solving a particular problem in education sector.
Methodology in Comparative Education has been discussed by Comparative Educationists from the time the discipline was established. Like other social science, comparative education has been studied at different stages of its development with different methodologies.
The following are the methods that have been used in studying of comparative education and they tend to correspond with the particular stage of development of this discipline:
I) Traditional Method
(i) Descriptive Method
(ii) Selective education borrowing
(II) Social Science Methodology
(i) Historical approach
(ii) Sociological approach
(iii) Philosophical approach
(III) Convectional methods
- Systematic study area
- Problem solving approach
I) Traditional methods
(a) Descriptive method
From the early times of the discipline development the most noticeable aspect was that of description only. This method had neither any methodology nor system nor details to the roots of the discipline.
(b) Selective Education Borrowing
The methods involves the Comparison of descriptive data inform of legislative details, statistics and description which form the basis of comparison. Pioneers in the discipline used this method in the pioneer phase of comparative education.
Their main aim was to facilitate transplantation of education system and to promote understanding among nations through sharing of educational information among them.
This approach calls for the task of educational fact-finding and enlightenment through abstracting educational statistics and presenting them in charts for comparison- e.g. comparison of the organizations and methods of instructions. The approach requires giving of details of other states and foreign systems of education. Some of the materials to be collected may be historical and descriptive.
Though their reports now focused sharply upon the schools, characteristics associated with traveler’s tales persisted; many of the reports took the form of encyclopedic descriptions of foreign system, perhaps enlightened here and there with anecdotes, but rarely explanatory.
-Of necessity objectivity and detachment were lacking. These educational emissaries committed as they were, to the cause of education in their own countries, they mostly saw and reported from abroad merely what they judged would advance their domestic enterprises at home.

Social science methodology/approach
Under this approach several methods linked to the various social science disciplines have been brought forth. The development of social and behavioral science vastly expanded options for carrying out educational research. Various scholars from the different disciplines have argued in favour of their area of specialization being used in comparative education. The vast methods available were found applicable to the study of Comparative Education. The result of this linkage to social science meant that trends in parents’ discipline shaped comparative education. The following are the methods that fall under this approach:
(a) HISTORICAL METHOD
This method involves the search for cause and effects. It pursues antecedent causes of educational policy. In the use of this method it is assumed that the practice, device, methods, organizations- all details which go to make up an educational system cannot be transferred intact from one environment to another.
STEPS
The following are the steps that could be followed when using the historical method in collection of data for comparative education:
1) Study each national system separately in its historical settings and its close connection with the development of national character and culture.
2) Collect data of various systems across national border, bearing in mind the importance of being aware of the differences in terminology, classification and methods of gathering the data between countries
3) Analyses the factors or the forces historically responsible for creating differences between the educational systems. The factors need to be classified into the following manner:
a) Natural factor
- Race
- Language
- Environment
b) Religious factors
- Catholicism
- Anglicanism
- Puritanism
- Muslim
c) Social factors
- Humanism
- Nationalism
- Socialism