Challenges for Educational Research: International development,partnerships and capacity building in small states

Educational research is being increasingly challenged for not contributing effectively enough to the improvement of policy and practice worldwide. Critics call for more relevant, cumulative, accessible and cost-effective studies. This paper examines the implications of this contemporary debate for small states, as they engage with increasingly powerful international development agenda's while dealing with their own distinctive educational needs and priorities. Specific attention is given to different conceptions and traditions of educational research; to the potential of participatory and partnership models; to the process of educational research and evaluation capacity building; to the sociopolitical implications of 'genuine' North-South partnerships; and to the lessons that can be learned by all engaged in educational research from the comparative and international experience.     

Comparing England,Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: The case for 'home internationals' in comparative research

The differences among the four education systems of the UK are often perceived as a nuisance by comparative researchers. This paper argues that they are also an opportunity. It describes the four systems and summarises their similarities and differences. It then presents five reasons for giving 'home international' comparisons a more prominent role in comparative research. These are, respectively: their potential contribution to theoretical debates; specific differences among the four systems, which touch on core problems of educational research; the practical value of home international comparisons; their potential for policy learning; and the relative ease of conducting them.     

Do American and Korean education systems converge? Tracking school reform policies and outcomes in Korea and the USA

This study examines key school reform policies and outcomes of the USA and Korea over the past three decades from comparative perspectives. Since the two nations’ unique educational problems brought divergent educational reform paths—standardization versus differentiation, high-stakes testing versus individualized assessment, and centralization versus decentralization—the study tracks international policy benchmarking efforts and potential impact on educational convergence. The study employs mixed methods, including the content analysis of research and media documents and the trend analysis of TIMSS and PISA datasets. The results indicate that, despite significant changes in policy discourse, the gaps between Korea and the USA in student math achievement and school climates did not narrow. The policy lessons from these cases and the issues of international education benchmarking are discussed.     

Welfare regimes and educational inequality: a cross‐national exploration

Research on welfare state regimes and research on educational policy share a common concern for the reduction of social inequality. On one hand, welfare state research is typically designed within a comparative approach where scholars investigate similarities and differences in social institutions across selected countries. On the other hand, the basic model of educational policy research is usually country specific and seldom identifies why and how we are to understand cross‐national differences pertaining to social inequality. The goal of the research is to bridge these two areas by testing socio‐economic gradients and educational outcomes among 15 industrialised countries (using 2003 PISA data) from a welfare state perspective. Results support Esping‐Andersen's ‘three worlds’ typology in that the level of between‐school educational inequality is the highest in conservative welfare states and is the lowest in social‐democratic countries.     

Exploring educational policy transfer: A structure–agency perspective

This study presents some of the current methodological issues regarding the analysis and comprehension of educational policy transfer, with particular emphasis on the issue of structure and agency. It suggests some shortcomings of current educational policy transfer research in dealing with the complex interaction between structure and agency. To fill those voids, drawing from Archer's morphogenetic approach in educational policy transfer, an alternative framework of educational policy transfer is presented. A case from the author's current research on China's interest in Japanese vocational education during the late Qing Dynasty is given to explain the usage of this new interpretive framework. It is hoped that this new conceptual framework will aid in analysing educational policy transfer and open up a new methodological and theoretical space for future educational policy transfer research.     

Revitalising Educational Research: lessons from the past and proposals for the future

The new government's policy on educational research is emerging in the light of recent reviews. This provides an opportunity to reflect on some of the lessons to be derived from the last half‐century's experience of the relations between social science research and public policy and professional practice. Implications for the future of educational research are considered in the light of this experience and the new government's approach     

大学学报所刊比较教育论文之分析

对我国部分大学学报所刊比较教育类论文的数量、内容及作者状况进行了统计分析,探究比较教育学科在我国社会科学研究领域中的地位、作用及其未来的发展趋势。并得出以下结论:比较教育在我国社会科学研究中占有举足轻重的地位;比较教育研究的热点问题与我国社会发展、教育重心的转移息息相关,并为我国教育决策发挥积极作用;我国比较教育研究力量呈现"东强西弱"的态势,尽快壮大西部偏远贫困地区的比较教育研究力量,已成为我国比较教育研究事业和谐发展的努力方向。     

异地高考政策对随迁子女高等教育机会的影响——比较乡-城、城-城两类流动人口的差异

大多数学者认为异地高考政策更加有利于家庭条件较好的随迁子女,少数学者则认为该政策能有效保障农村随迁子女的教育权益,但已有文献仍缺乏关于异地高考政策对两类流动人口高等教育机会影响差异的比较研究。基于2017年中国流动人口动态监测调查数据,本文探讨了异地高考政策对城乡随迁子女高等教育机会的影响,并探究了该政策的调节作用。研究发现,异地高考政策对农村随迁子女高等教育机会的促进作用显著高于城镇随迁子女,且这种效应仅在高政策门槛地区存在,低门槛地区不存在。从政策的调节作用来看,异地高考政策有助于提高农村流动人口子女随迁的意愿,且对农村随迁子女高等教育机会的促进作用要显著高于农村留守子女。同时,异地高考政策可显著降低农村随迁子女家庭社会经济地位对其子女高等教育机会的影响。为此,各地方政府应坚持并完善异地高考政策,充分发挥该政策促进高等教育公平的杠杆作用;流入地政府要进一步提高本地高中教育服务能力;中央政府要进一步推进、完善高考录取制度改革。     

Who will listen to educational researchers? Reflections on the research–policy relationship in the global South,with illustrations from Africa

While it is widely believed that relevant research is needed for educational policy and practice, an important issue is whether policy-makers and implementers are really receptive to such research. This study sets out a conceptual framework relating to the issue in low-income countries, encompassing the cast of characters involved, contemporary influences on role expectations and the potential for exchanges of benefits between actors. In a comparative discussion of four policy-related research projects in African settings, the general difficulty of communicating findings to senior policy-makers is noted, but some factors are identified that may affect the prospects for research to influence various stakeholders. It is argued that, in such settings, formal expectations for research to have a direct impact on policy should be modified, although there is a potential for beneficial influence.     

Bridging Cultures and Traditions in the Reconceptualisation of Comparative and International Education

If the field of comparative education is to be reconceptualised in ways that articulate and demonstrate its continued relevance for the 21st century, it is argued that its history and traditions deserve both celebration and challenge. The field's multi-disciplinary origins and nature, for example, position it well for further advancement in a future in which the socio-cultural analysis of global trends and developments will require concerted attention. On the other hand, some fundamental, and long-evident, characteristics require critical re-consideration. In the light of this, the article focuses upon ways in which bridges can be built or strengthened across disciplinary boundaries and between theoretical and applied studies, policy and practice, micro and macro levels of analysis and studies of the North and the South. Implications of this are considered for all engaged in comparative and international research and related educational policy and practice.     

Changing policy,legislation and its effects on inclusive and special education: a perspective from Wales

This article, by Jean Ware of Bangor University School of Education, examines policy developments in education in Wales since devolution, and their implications for inclusive and special education. This is set in the context of the demographics of Wales, which, it is argued, have a significant influence on policy and on the nature of educational provision as a whole. The discussion initially focuses on issues related to the Welsh language. The article then discusses four policy initiatives (the Foundation Phase, the Literacy and Numeracy Framework, the Masters in Educational Practice and the proposed reform of initial teacher education and training), intended to respond to Wales's poor performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment, and their potential impact, as well as the White Paper on reforming the special educational needs system in Wales. It is too soon to discuss the impact of these special educational needs‐specific reforms, but the differences from the English special educational needs reforms highlight the inherent tensions in special educational needs systems. It is argued that the Tabberer Report's critique of the teacher education system in Wales, which emphasises the need for teacher education to be strongly connected to relevant research, provides an opportunity to improve the quality of education in Wales for all children; but that considerable investment, and a willingness to address the potential tensions between the different initiatives, is necessary to achieve such an outcome.     

The Comparative Argument in the Case of the Greek Educational Reform in 1997-1998

The purpose of this study is to investigate how 'comparative argument', namely references to the educational policies and practices of other countries, was used by Greek politicians in the framework of the 1997-1998 educational reform. Employing the method of quantitative and qualitative content analysis, we attempted, on the basis of original sources (parliamentary minutes/debates) both to count and interpret the comparative references. Our research questions were: do politicians in Greece use the comparative argument and in what way? Which specific countries, issues and practices is comparative argument centred on? What is the form, the role and the quality of the comparative argument?     

Straight Roads and Winding Tracks: Swedish educational policy from a gender equality perspective

A review of Swedish educational policy and educational research indicates that labour market considerations have had a high visibility. Straight routes through the educational system have been laid out in order to equalise and make the system more efficient. Empirical studies show that women's strategies to combine education, work and family often resulted in ‘winding tracks’ through education. Predominant research models tend to adjust to the ‘straight roads’ of educational policy while women's winding routes have been set aside. The current Swedish goal of equality between men and women gives work and parenthood the same weight for both sexes. This article discusses whether this goal could set a challenging framework for a research agenda where more gender‐sensitive methodologies are developed as well as gender‐sensitive concepts, upgrading women's knowledge, experiences and values.     

Education,Equality and Social Cohesion: A distributional approach

Promoting social cohesion through education has re-emerged as an important policy objective in many countries during the past decade. But there is little clarity in policy discussions about what social cohesion means and how education may affect it. In this article we distinguish between social capital and societal cohesion and argue that education acts in differential ways on each. Using comparative, cross-country analysis, we develop a 'distributional model' which shows the relationship between equality of educational outcomes and various measures of social cohesion. In the final part of the article we discuss theories explaining the cross-country trends and variations in educational inequality and social inheritance in education, and argue that education system characteristics, such as degrees of 'comprehensiveness' in secondary schooling, may be an important factor in both. We conclude by arguing that policies to increase social cohesion through education must pay more attention to the reduction of educational equality than they currently do.     

传承与断裂:比较教育研究中“文化”意义的转变

文化是比较教育研究中一项重要的议题,对"文化"意义的认知理解影响着比较教育的研究方法与理论。"文化"的意义在比较教育研究中出现过多次转变,从早期实证主义研究范式的研究者把文化作为比较教育研究中的控制变项,到把文化视作重要因素探求教育的发展力量;再从认为文化是影响教育政策的约束初始条件,到把文化视为探求人类行为意义的背景原因。如今,在多元文化思潮下,比较教育研究需要我们重新思考"文化"的意义。     

Culture,context and the quality of education: evidence from a small‐scale extended case study in England and Denmark

Much recent education policy‐making around the world has focused on a restructuring of the role of the classroom teacher in a bid to increase the ‘quality’ of the educational experience and raise pupil attainment. However, the definition of quality, as expressed through policy, may not always accord with the aims and aspirations of individual teachers who work within a specific cultural context. The rhetoric and intent expressed in policy texts may even have the potential to restrict the quality of what teachers do. This paper draws on some of the findings from a small‐scale comparative study of teachers' work in England and Denmark which used an extended case study approach, set in a socio‐cultural framework, to examine the relationship of policy trends to teacher values and professional practice. Evidence from the study is used to discuss the issue of ‘quality’, highlighting contextually specific variations which impact on the implementation of national policy at the local level. Through a discussion of the study's methodology, attention is also drawn to the need for a more contextually sensitive approach to the creation and evaluation of policy which, while recognising universal concerns, also pays heed to local priorities and teacher values.     

Special educational needs and competing policy frameworks in England and Scotland

This paper explores a range of policy frameworks in play in the field of special educational needs and their relationship with procedural fairness and substantive justice. Drawing on analysis of post-1993 English and Scottish policy documents, dominant motifs in special educational needs policy are identified. It is argued that in both England and Scotland, there is a shift away from a policy framework based on professional control. Legal and bureaucratic policy frameworks are of growing importance in both countries, but change has been more rapid in England. Finally, the implications of comparative research for special educational needs policy and wider education policy are discussed.     

For Whom This Reform?: outlining educational policy as a social field

Theoretically informed by the sociological work of Pierre Bourdieu, this analysis represents an initial attempt to examine what it would mean to analyse educational policy as a social field. By employing such a frame, two main claims are addressed: (1) that the sociological perspective of Bourdieu offers valuable potential for understanding both educational policy, per se, and what it means to analyse educational policy; and (2) that there is good reason to question claims about shifts in power relations in US educational policy. Where other contemporary analyses of educational policy draw on some of Bourdieu's conceptual framework, in this paper I hope to more systematically elaborate methodological concerns raised when applying a Bourdieuian framework to educational policy. Further, I argue the perspective developed here suggests that in the 1980s US educational policy reforms reveal the historical maturation of a social field which has developed its own autonomy and its own rewards.     

Comparing Futures or Comparing Pasts?

This article, firstly and briefly, suggests that there is no single or unified 'comparative education' but that there are multiple comparative educations. How may such a variety of comparative educations be distinguished? Rather more importantly and secondly, what might an 'interesting' comparative education constructed in universities look like, and on what criteria would it be interesting? The specific suggestion offered here is that at least one kind of comparative education, for a decade or so, should concentrate on exploring moments of educational metamorphosis, rather than assuming that the equilibrium conditions and the dynamic linearities of development of educational systems can be predicted. Thus for the moment the correct answer to the question, how far can we learn anything of practical value from the study of foreign educational systems is: 'not a lot'. The correct question is, why have we as scholars taken that question so seriously for so long?     

How teaching influences learning: Implications for educational researchers,teachers, teacher educators and policy makers

This article is a tribute to Graham Nuthall's contribution to classroom research from his early experimental studies through to his recent work on theory integration. It also explains the potential of the methodology, findings and theory building in our collaborative work to make a substantial positive difference for diverse students. The article explains the significance of, and need for, research linking learning to teaching processes (a scientific realist approach to putting ‘process’, socio-cultural context and theory building into a new process–product paradigm). Findings of student outcomes contrary to educational goals (for example, teaching designed to enhance appreciation of cultural differences triggering racist abuse) signal the importance of research that explains the impact of teaching on learner outcomes. The article also foreshadows the implications of the work that Graham and I did for teaching, teacher education, research and educational policy. The article concludes with Graham's view that the most important contribution his work would make, would be to initial teacher education.