Comparative Education

Course Rationale
This Comparative Education course taught by two tutors who come from different disciplinary backgrounds and will attempt to present distinct perspectives on various key issues of contemporary international and comparative education. In this, the students will be provoked to take a critical position on the various reading and tasks requested of them. The course is broadly organized into two halves. The first half compares the educational systems in different nation-states, and the second reviews thematically key international educational issues.

Course Aims

• To provoke students to think critically and reflect on core issues of international education and educational policy and politics
• To ensure that students are familiar with the education systems of a number of both industrialized and developing countries
• To ensure that students are familiar with general concepts of “international education”
• To ensure that students are familiar with a number of international comparison systems for education
• To promote understanding of how educational policies and programmes impact on social, cultural and economic development, and that they are able to make links between education, development and patterns of changing contemporary governance.
• To develop the ability of students to make basic comparisons of educational issues across countries
• To require students to engage with a variety of current international and comparative education research

Course Summary

Week One
Comparative Education I: The Field of Comparative Education and its Historical Context
Instructors: Jennifer and Richard

Week Two
Comparative Education II: The Idea of Education: Theoretical Context of Comparative Education
Instructor: Richard

Week Three
Education in England and Wales: Historical Context, Evolution, and Current Structure
Instructor: Jennifer

Week Four
Education in Europe: Scandinavia and Eastern Europe
Instructor: Jennifer

Week Five
Education in Asia: Japan
Instructor: Jennifer

Week Six
Education and Nationalism
Instructor: Richard

Week Seven
International Education: Global Education Goals
Instructor: Richard

Week Eight
International Comparisons: TIMSS and PISA
Instructor: Jennifer

Week Nine
Primary Education: Access & Extension: Education of Nomadic and Indigenous Peoples
Instructor: Richard

Week Ten
Secondary Education: Gender
Instructor: Richard

Week Eleven
Non-formal Education: NFE as Complementary and Alternative Education
Instructor: Richard

Week Twelve
Vocational Education: The Case of Germany
Instructor: Jennifer

Week Thirteen
Post-secondary Education: The United States of America and The United Kingdom
Instructor: Jennifer

Week Fourteen
Presentation & Wrap-up
Instructors: Richard and Jennifer