Chapter 3 Purpose of Studying Comparative Education
Chapter 3 Purpose of Studying Comparative Education
Chapter 3 Purpose of Studying Comparative Education
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION
CHAPTER 3 –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:
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
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COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION
(International Programme for the Assessment of Student Achievement) and IEA(lnternational
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
nonviability, 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.
Education problems in world perspective Most countries of the world have identical
problems in their educational perspective. Therefore, it is possiblefor them to learn lessons
from each other on how they resolved a particular problem. For example when Kenya was
implementing her free primary education in 2003, Nigeria could have provided some of the
clues of the problems, which were to be expected, and the solutions to them. Uganda, a
close neighbour to Kenya also implemented her universal primary education earlier and she
could have provided Kenya with practical solutions on how she managed her problems.
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COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION
Other lessons could have been learnt from Cuba on how she managed to obtain total
literacy while India has problems in achieving it. These countries can provide important
lessons to Kenya during her implementation of free primary education. Also, one would want
to know how nations have struggled to establish media of instruction. The comparative
approach would yield a deeper understanding of educational problems and their solutions. In
this era, the purpose of Comparative Education would be better understanding of the
changed circumstances and to have better equipments to fulfil the new responsibilities. This
will help in understanding of why some countries education systems are progressive while
others are backward. The administrative system of the land influences the state of the
educational system. For example the administrative machineries of Switzerland, Canada,
U.S.A. and Japan are combined with local autonomy and decentralized control.
Consequently, in the educational system of these countries, we find a reflection of their
political philosophy. Thus the political philosophy and administrative systems of various
countries determine the administration and control of education.
Innovation in education There are many innovations, which are being introducedto
education today. The development of technology has facilitated new methods of organizing
learning. For example the use of Radio and Television to deliver knowledge, use of other
aspects of the media, Open University, African Virtual University (AVU) and computer
assisted distance learning has been introduced to education. All these have facilitated
education in a comparative context. The U.S.A. system has facilitated the spread of
innovations in education in the world. In most of the developing countries distance education
with the use of computer assisted learning is viewed as the panacea of educational access
and the associated problems. In this regard the main problem to scarcity of qualified
teachers in most of the developing countries would be whether the new technology would
replacethe real teachers in the classroom settings.
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COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION
Relax national pride This is necessary for combat feelings of superioriority, especially
among, the populations of countries technologically and economically developed and with
military prowess. They need to understand that other countries are essential for their
sustenance and therefore have to work for mutual benefit of each other. As Kubow and
Fossum (2007), comparative thinking and international perspectives taking are essential for
citizens to get along in diverse, global society. Comparison challenges students to suspend
judgment of these foreign systems that they might base on their limited and localized
perspectives. Through the development of comparative thinking skills, students should be
able to undertake analyses of their home cultures and systems with a more nuanced
understanding of various cultural factors at play. Comparative education also encourages
students and educators to ask, "What kinds of educational policy, planning, and teaching are
appropriate for what kind of society?" The field of Comparative Education focuses our
attention on what might be the appropriate and inappropriate policy, while fostering
awareness of the ideologies underlying educational practice. Hence, comparative study can
also cultivate a political consciousness.
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