Comparative Education Research [electronic resource] : Approaches and Methods / edited by Mark Bray, Bob Adamson, Mark Mason.

Directions -- Actors and Purposes in Comparative Education -- Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Comparative Education -- The Place of Experience in Comparative Education Research -- Units of Comparison -- Comparing Places -- Comparing Systems -- Comparing Times -- Comparing Cultures -- Comparing Values -- Comparing Educational Achievements -- Comparing Policies -- Comparing Curricula -- Comparing Educational Organisations -- Comparing Ways of Learning -- Comparing Pedagogical Innovations -- Conclusions -- Scholarly Enquiry and the Field of Comparative Education -- Different Models, Different Emphases Different Insights.

Approaches and methods in comparative education research are of obvious importance, but do not always receive adequate attention. This book contributes new insights within the longstanding traditions of the field. A particular feature is the focus on different units of analysis. Individual chapters compare places, systems, times, cultures, values, policies, curricula and other units. These chapters are contextualised within broader analytical frameworks which identify the purposes and strengths of the field. The book includes a focus on intra-national as well as cross-national comparisons, and highlights the value of approaching themes from different angles. The book will be of great value not only to producers of comparative education research but also to consumers who wish to understand more thoroughly the parameters and value of the field.