The purpose of comparison. What is comparative education The purpose of comparison. What is comparative education? What is international education? Fernando Reimers September 2009

Introduction Teaching Team. Sections Syllabus on-line Reading packet Communicating with Teaching Team Assignments Introduction to the course and structure History of Comparative Education Dissemination of ideas about education—influences in practice Kandel—Education of Teachers Husen—Consensus in the 1950s Classification of the field today Purposes of comparison and link to different professions A framework to compare What institutions are involved Examining the Expansion of Educational Opportunity around the WorldA quick historical overview of the development of mass education A framework to think about educational opportunity A discussion of the equity and the relevance gaps (civic education, science and engineering education, global education)

Not including college and graduate school, in how many countries have you attended school? In one country In two countries In three countries In four or more countries

What is your experience in the field of education I have not worked in the field of education I have only worked in the country in which I was born I have worked in two different countries I have worked in three different countries I have worked in four or more different countries

In what region of the world do you have most knowledge and experience? Africa US and Canada Western Europe Eastern Europe Mexico, Central America and South America Caribbean Central Asia Eastern Asia Southeast Asia Middle East

Have you? Lived or worked in a developing country? Lived or worked in more than a developing country? Never lived or worked in a developing country?

How many languages do you speak? One Two Three Four Five Six Seven or more

What is Comparative Education? What is International Education? a narrow definition an expanded definition

Why do we compare? Examples of comparison Why do we look abroad?

Educational ideas have been ‘exported’ for a long time…

John Amos Comenius 1592 to 1670

Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, 1746-1827

Joseph Lancaster 1778-1838

Horace and Mary Mann S Joseph Lancaster W. Humboldt Horace Mann Andres Bello J.J. Rousseau Simon Bolivar Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Simon Rodriguez S

Systematic comparisons are more recent What is the number of students in the primary schools in the commune or district? What is the proportion of the total number of these students to the total population? Approximately how many students are grouped under a single director or teacher? At which age are children admitted to the primary schools? Are children of both sexes admited to the same school and until what age? How are students assessed and for what purpose? How are students streamed? Is there peer education? How much time is devoted to literacy and math instruction? At what age do children leave primary school? Marc Antoine Jullien in 1816

Can you think of one instance where international comparisons have influenced education policy in a country with which you are familiar?

McKinsey Study Get the best people to become teachers Develop them into effective instructors Ensure that the system is able to deliver the best instruction for every child http://www.nctq.org/p/publications/docs/mckinsey_education_report_20071202070650.pdf

To a great extent To some extent I don’t know Not much Not at all Think about the applicability of the recommendations of the McKinsey Study to one education system you know well. To what extent are these recommendations applicable to that system? To a great extent To some extent I don’t know Not much Not at all

Comparative Education The scholarly study of education across different national contexts. Akin to other comparative scholarly disciplines, such as the comparative study of politics, or the comparative study of business, or the comparative study of culture. Purpose understanding the relationship between education and social institutions, with understanding the goals societies or groups assign to educational institutions, with the methods used to achieve those goals, with the ways to organize, finance or manage educational institutions. Because education is not only a scholarly field of study, but principally a profession, comparative education inevitably has a practical side. Interest in impact.

Kandel’s argument for comparison Kandel’s argument for global education Isaac Kandel

International Education The use of comparative knowledge for the explicit purpose of educational improvement in a particular country, typically a developing country. The field emerged in the late 1940s when a series of ideas and institutions emerged. Central among them was the field of international development associated to the concept of economic development. Economic development as a staged process. Economic development could be planned. From economic planning to educational planning This gave rise to the field of international education and development, meaning efforts to support educational planning in developing countries in order to support the economic development in those countries.

Torsten Husen Mapping of the field of international education

Comparative education Comparative studies Education Abroad International Education Development Education Comparative Pedagogy Intra-educational And intra-cultural studies International pedagogy Study of work of International organizations Halls typology of comparative education

Question?

The aims of comparative education Describes what might be the consequences of certain courses of action, by looking at experiences in various countries Contributes to the development of education theory Supports educational planning Helps to cooperation and mutual understanding among nations

Shows what is possible by examining alternatives to provision at home Offers yardsticks by which to judge the performance of education systems Describes what might be the consequences of certain courses of action, by looking at experiences in various countries Provides a body of descriptive and explanatory data which allows us to see various practices and procedures in a very wide context Contributes to the development of an increasingly sophisticated theoretical framework in which to describe and analyze educational phenomena Serves to provide authoritative objective data which can be used to put the less objective data of others who use comparisons for a variety of political and other reasons to the test Has an important supportive and instructional role to play in the development of any plans for educational reform Helps to foster cooperation and mutual understanding among nations by discussing cultural differences and similarities and offering explanations for them Is of intrinsic intellectual interest as a scholarly activity as other comparative fields.

The Internationalization of Education Policy In what way is education policy internationalized? What are the positive effects of internationalization? What are the negative effects? What is educational transfer?

On balance Educational Transfer… Is a positive process Is neither positive nor negative Is a negative process

Educational transfer… Supports the process of educational development Is inconsequential to educational development Is detrimental to educational development

1 2 3 4 5 Required Under Constraint Negotiated Under Constraint Introduced Through Influence Borrowed Purposely Imposed 1 2 3 4 5 Totalitarian/authoritarian rule, etc. Defeated/occupied countries Required by bilateral and multilateral agreements Intentional copying of policy/practice observed elsewhere General influence of educational ideas/methods Source: Phillips and Schweisfurth 2007

Bray and Thomas Entire Population Religious Groups Gender Groups Ethnic Groups Religious Groups Gender Groups Age Groups Other Groups Level 1: World regions/continents Level 2: Countries Other aspects Level 3: States/Provinces Labor Market Management Structures Political Change Level 4: Districts Educational Finance Level 5: Schools Teaching Methods Level 6: Classrooms Curriculum Level 7: Individuals Bray and Thomas

2000 years ago… from a private affair to a public interest Protestant Reformation 1560 Dr Bells School, Great Junction St Leith, founded in 1839 by Dr Bell to teach what he called the Madras Method of Education. He is buried at Westminister Abbey London.

The first public school in America was established by Puritan settlers in 1635 in the home of Schoolmaster Philemon Pormont and was later moved to School Street in Boston January 11, 1651, Thomas Mayhew, Jr., established the first school on Martha's Vineyard to teach the native children and any of the young Indian men who were willing to learn. He hired Peter Folger to become the first teacher. Folger later became the grandfather of Benjamin Franklin, and his descendants still make their home on the island. Folger found the Indian "very quick to learn and willing to be instructed in the ways of the English."

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Human Capital UNESCO

PREAMBLE Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people, Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law, Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations, Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html Article 26. (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

BIRTH OF THE ‘UNESCO SEMINAR’, SÈVRES During the summer of 1947 UNESCO organized its first Summer Seminar in Sèvres (France). This seminar focused attention on two main areas of interest: Ways and means of improving the curriculum, within the educational systems of the Member States, as a means of developing world-mindedness; The influence of differences in cultural environment on the growth and adjustment of adolescents of various countries THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, IN BRIEF... On December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations meeting in Paris. At that time, Unesco’s Director-General, Jaime Torres Bodet, stressed the importance of this event in these words: ‘The declaration of 10 December 1948 is more than a historical summary, it is a programme. Every paragraph is a call to action, every line a condemnation of apathy, every sentence a repudiation of some moment of our individual or national history; every word forces us to scrutinize more closely the situation in the world today. The destiny of mankind is an indivisible responsibility which we all must share.’

Education for All The six goals are: Goal 1: Expand early childhood care and education Goal 2: Provide free and compulsory primary education for all Goal 3: Promote learning and life skills for young people and adults Goal 4: Increase adult literacy by 50 per cent Goal 5: Achieve gender parity by 2005, gender equality by 2015 Goal 6: Improve the quality of education

Transnational Space Multilateral (Intergovernmental) Organizations UUNN Multilateral Development Institutions. World Bank. UNESCO. Regional Banks. Bilateral Development Agencies (JICA, USAID, CIDA, GTZ) International Non-Governmental Organizations (Faith based Organizations, Save the Children) Consulting Firms, Think Tanks and Universities Interest Groups

The History of Education can be construed as the struggle between two projects. A project that seeks to conserve society, it’s traditions, knowledge, institutions, structures, and one that seeks to transform it. Changing schools is hard, changing them to change society is even harder. Educators work at the same time to reproduce society, to transmit knowledge, worldviews and culture, and also to improve society, to enable students to have more choices and be freer than their parents. The XX Century is a Remarkable Period throghout the world with real gains of the progressive project.

Equality of Educational Opportunity The likelihood that any person in a given country can enroll in an educational institution, be supported to learn at high levels, complete and proceed to the next existing level and type of education, independently of characteristics other than effort and ability, and in particular independently of their social class of origin, race, gender and location of residence.

How do we measure progress? Inputs Per pupil Spending Processes Structures, Curriculum Outputs Educational Attainment, Literacy Outcomes Employment and Productivity, Political Participation, Social Capital

Key Indicators Gross Enrollment Rates Net Enrollment Rates Repetition Rates Student Flows –completion rates— Learning Skills

Dimensions of educational inequality: ·        Racial Inequality ·        Gender Inequality ·        Casts Inequality ·        Socio-economic inequality ·        Regional inequality

What is equality of educational opportunity? Conservative Definition (Position in the social structure determines education chances) Liberal Definition (Equality of Treatment) Progressive Definition (Equality of Outcomes requires inequality of treatment. Positive Discrimination).

Equality of Educational Opportunity Equality of Outcomes (Social and Cultural Capital) Options in Life. Equality of Learning Outputs Equality of Processes Equality of Inputs Equality of Access

Equality of Inputs Per-Pupil expenditures Teacher characteristics Instructional Resources Physical facilities  Learning outputs and outcomes from prior levels. The role of school segregation

Equality of Processes Instructional Practices Teacher responsiveness Time on task Fit between curriculum and student background Language of instruction

Equality of Outputs Results tied to curriculum objectives Academic Skills Educational Attainement

Equality of Outcomes Equal Freedom Equal Capabilities (not functionings) Equal Social Capital Equal Cultural Capital

Opportunity to Learn Poor children fail to learn when education policies and practices generate instruction of low-quality. In contrast, when education policies generate adequate opportunities, poor children learn at comparable levels to their non-poor counterparts.

Opportunity to Learn First, opportunity to enroll in first grade in school. Second, the opportunity to learn sufficiently in that first grade to complete it with enough command of basic pre-academic skills to continue learning in school. Third, the opportunity to complete each education cycle. Fourth, the opportunity that, having completed the cycle, graduates have skills and knowledge comparable to those of other graduates of the same cycle. Fifth, that what was learned in the cycle serves the graduate to have other type of social and economic opportunities, to expand their life chances.

Commitment to educate all at high levels Schools that are themselves democratic communities Relationships between schools and communities Teachers prepared to value diversity, tolerant and who can model democratic practices Curriculum for democratic citizenship Frequent daily opportunities to learn at high levels, to think, choose and be tolerant 1 2 3 4 5 6

Recap History of Comparative Education Dissemination of ideas about education—influences in practice Kandel—Education of Teachers Husen—Consensus in the 1950s Classification of the field today Purposes of comparison and link to different professions A framework to compare What institutions are involved Examining the Expansion of Educational Opportunity around the WorldA quick historical overview of the development of mass education A framework to think about educational opportunity A discussion of the equity and the relevance gaps (civic education, science and engineering education, global education) A discussion of the challenges of implementing quality reforms An analysis of the opportunities and challenges offered by the Millenium Development Goals and Education for All