Discussant: MA. SALOME B.

LUCAS Subject: COMPARATIVE EDUCATION

(EDUC. 213)
Section: EM 4-E Professor MAGDALENA M. RAMOS, Ed.D.
S.Y. 2021-2022
Topic: Introduction to Comparative Education Date Reported: March 19, 2022 (Saturday) ;
2:00pm

INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE EDUCATION

I. Definition of terms
a. International Education (Philips and Schweisfurth, 2007) is about international
schools and their work; about the work of international organizations (UNESCO,
World Bank, etc.); everything to do with education in developing countries
b. Comparative Education (Erwin Epstein in Philips and Schweisfurth, 2007)
applies historical, philosophical, and social science theories and methods to
international problems in education. Comparative education is primarily an
academic and inter-disciplinary pursuit.

II. Body
a. Why Comparative Education?
i. To understand and improve systems of learning by looking at others
ii. Challenges us to think broadly about the link between local practices and
global issues
iii. To explore overlapping values and social systems that underpin education
iv. 18th & 19th Century - 'travelers' tales' - info on education gather from
excursion and expeditions. These are stories that were brought back from
foreign travel and were generally descriptive in nature.
v. Sought to identify features that might be copied and inserted into the
system of the observers - 'borrowing'. Theses are the purpose of
comparing was about taking the best practices from one country and
transplanting them to another (Bereday,1964).

b. According to Harold J Noah and Max Eckstein (1993), Comparative

Education has four purposes:
i. To describe educational systems, processes, or outcomes.
ii. To assist in the development of educational institutions and practices.
iii. To highlight the relationships between education and society.
iv. To establish generalized statements about education those are valid in
more than one country.
 c. Purposes of studying comparative education
i. 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.
ii. Understanding/ Interpreting/ Explaining. Satisfies the need to
understand: education systems are explained or understood from
surrounding contextual forces which shape them.
iii.
d.
III. Summary
IV. Reference
 Philips, D. and Schweisfurth, M. (2008), Comparative and International Education,
London: Continuum International Publishing Group (Chapter 1)
 Noah, H. and Eckstein, M. (1969) Toward a Science of Comparative Education. New
York: Macmillan
 Crossley, M. and Watson, K. (2003) Comparative and International Research in
Education: Globalisation, Context and Difference. Oxford: Routledge.
 Bereday, G. (1964) Comparative Method in Education. New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston.
 Noah, H.J and Eckstein, M.A. (1993). Secondary School Examinations: International
Perspectives on Policies and Practice, New Haven: Yale University Press.
 https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-assets/101778_book_item_101778.pdf
 https://ppt-online.org/599928