From myths to models: the (re)production of world culture in comparative education

This article traces the emergence of the world culture theory in comparative education using critical discourse analysis. By chronicling the emergence and expansion of world culture theory over the past four decades, we highlight the (unintended) limitations and exclusive regimes of thought that have resulted. We argue that the theory's telos of a ‘world culture’ neglects the notions of power and agency, and continues to use discourses of modernism and ‘scientific’ methodology to justify conformity as the reigning global ‘norm’. The world culture theory ultimately results in an unwitting legitimisation of neoliberal policies and its varied educational projects. Drawing on the micro-, meso- and macro-levels of discourse analysis, we examine how the semantics and content of the world culture theory have evolved as it embraced an increasingly large and diverse community of scholars aligned with it. By highlighting some significant semantic shifts during the last four decades, we explore how the world culture theorists forged a relatively new (privileged) space in comparative education – a space that has increasingly turned deterministic and normative. Through a careful deconstruction of some of the basic assumptions of world culture theory, we call for reopening of an intellectual space for new ways of thinking about educational phenomena in the context of globalisation.     

我和比较教育

本文通过作者的亲身经历,回顾了<外国教育动态>,(即现在的<比较教育研究>)的创立与发展,反映了我国比较教育学科的建立与发展过程,描述了我国比较教育研究会的发展历程,展现了我国比较教育学界与世界比较教育学界的交流与合作,展望了我国比较教育的未来发展前景.     

基于方法论的日本比较教育实地调查研究的挑战

比较教育方法论以因素分析、历史研究等方法构建了独特的研究模式,进入21世纪以来,多元化的研究方法日渐凸显。实地调查的研究方法作为比较教育的研究方法之一在20世纪90年代以后开始走向规范化。本文着重分析日本比较教育学者历年来面向方法论的改革与挑战所发表的学术论文,充分肯定了"实地调查"这一研究方法在比较教育学科发展中的地位和作用。     

生活世界视野下的教学论研究范式的变革

教学世界与生活世界从统合到隔离、再到结合是教学世界发展的必然趋势。教学论的产生及其科学化历程,是教学世界与生活世界逐步隔离的过程。理论教学论的出现和存在,导致教学世界里生活化的缺损和人性的遗失,加速了教学世界远离生活世界。教学论研究范式的变革,即文本式向田野式的转换,促使理论教学论向实践教学论转向,进而重新焕发教学论指导教学世界的生命力,是教学世界与生活世界高度结合的必然选择。     

The expansion of compulsory education in Turkey: local and world culture dynamics

Drawing on world culture and local culture explanations of educational change, this article aims to understand the dynamics of educational reform in Turkey in 1997 that expanded compulsory primary education from five to eight years. To do so, speeches given by opponents and proponents of the reform in the Turkish parliament were analysed. Imam-Hatip schools, vocational secondary schools for educating religious functionaries, were central to the debate. In support of world culture explanations, both sides of the debate made references to Western educational models and universal values such as democracy and human rights to frame and legitimise their arguments. However, all these arguments were embedded in local cultural and political issues. This article therefore proposes that both world culture and local culture should be considered when analysing national policy changes since local actors can easily appropriate global developments to support their local cultural and political interests.     

Comparative education research framed by neo-institutional theory: a review of diverse approaches and conflicting assumptions

The rise in globalisation studies in comparative education places neo-institutional theory at the centre of many debates among comparative education researchers. However, uncertainty about how to interpret neo-institutional theory still persists among educational comparativists. With this uncertainty comes misinterpretation of its principles, variations and explanatory power. Two problematic misconceptions prevail: (1) the belief that the ‘world culture’ strand is the only version of neo-institutional theory applicable to comparative education research; and (2) the assumption that the global homogenisation of society, culture and schooling is a goal of researchers applying neo-institutional theory to comparative education phenomena. This article addresses these misconceptions, elucidating neo-institutional theory and its applicability to comparative education research. Our findings suggest that neo-institutional frameworks for comparative education research are useful, but that complementary approaches and methods are also necessary.     

Visual culture and critical pedagogy: from theory to practice

ABSTRACT

This article presents an educational approach that merges ideas of critical pedagogy with those of visual culture. According to this approach – termed visual critical pedagogy – art is an integral part of the textures of society and culture and their manifold and complex visual expressions, including the more controversial and subversive among them. It objects to locking art and visual culture in art departments, and to restricting art history to a formalist analysis of ‘masterpieces’ – which represent primarily the Western art market and its underlying politics. It likewise rejects the conception of art history as the history of artists and art movements – a conservative approach still prevalent in many academic institutions. Integrating critical pedagogy with visual culture provides fertile ground for an educational practice within art classes and beyond them. Visual critical pedagogy is formulated using the concepts exposure, deciphering, representation and visibility, shared by both critical pedagogy and visual culture. These are discussed in the context of educational projects and activities planned and implemented by Jewish and Arab students enrolled in an education-through-art program in an academic college in northern Israel.     

"历史向世界历史的转变"及其当代意蕴——马克思的世界历史理论探赜

"历史向世界历史的转变"是马克思世界历史理论的首要的、基本的观点,是对人类历史进入近代以后的普遍的、永恒的、必然的趋势的科学揭示。其内在规定性包括资本主义世界历史时代通过无产阶级革命而向社会主义、共产主义世界历史时代的转变。这一理论对于我国的对外开放和现代化建设具有重要指导意义。     

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。     

Environmental education in southern Africa: a case study of a secondary school in the Okavango Delta of Botswana

This study explored the extent to which teachers integrate environmental education and local environmental knowledge into the curriculum of a secondary school in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. In doing so, the study explored the potential value of place-based education in redressing concerns brought to light in postcolonial critiques of education in southern Africa. The study found that teachers sought to integrate environmental education into the curriculum through lessons that included references to local place names and local flora and fauna, lessons addressing issues related to environmental resource management in the region, and the acknowledgment and celebration of traditional lifestyle activities in the schools. The study also found that efforts to integrate environmental education into the curriculum were limited by a lack of educational resources needed to support these endeavors as well as a lack of adequate teacher training promoting this educational goal. The results also illustrate the potential value of place-based education in redressing the legacy of southern Africa’s colonial past in schools in Botswana and southern Africa.     

Linking critical pedagogy practice to higher education in Malaysia: insights from English language teachers

This study explores whether critical pedagogy is viable for meeting the goals of the Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB) 2015–2025. The MEB has a particular focus on societal improvement and the authors suggest that critical pedagogy should be considered as a way of teaching as it specifically aligns with the aims of government policy. However, there is uncertainty about how critical pedagogy might be enacted in the Malaysian higher education context because it is difficult to understand and practise. The authors interviewed English language critical pedagogues from various countries about their experiences and found four common themes across all cultures. These were: co-construction of knowledge between teacher and student; new levels of trust; the use of problem-posing techniques; and evaluation of teaching and the student experience. These findings provide a guide to practice and the authors conclude that for critical pedagogy to gain acceptance across Malaysia, consideration needs to be given to changing prevailing cultural norms, the strict social order, as well as the political landscape of the country.     

Emirati women's higher educational leadership formation under globalisation: culture,religion, politics,and the dialectics of modernisation

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a small state transitioning from traditional communities into a modern society. This is a complex process: it involves instilling a national identity over tribal structures; modernising and technologising while retaining Islam; ensuring a high level of security while allowing for a liberal and relatively free society; preserving culture while building one of the largest and most multicultural societies, albeit mostly expatriate; and providing one of the safest countries in the Arab world for women. This paper presents an expatriate female academic's position in relation to the emergent literature on the contradictory positioning of women in different Arab cultures. It reviews the literature in the light of anecdotal evidence drawn from the author's doctoral students' experiences as women leaders within the wider socio-cultural context of the UAE and the emergent higher education system that is considered central to its nation-building exercise. The discussion recognises the implications of different contexts for Emirati women moving into leadership positions and calls for further research in the field.     

World culture in the capitalist world-system in transition

World culture theory (WCT) offers an explanatory framework for macro-level comparative analyses of systems of mass education, including their structures, accompanying policies and their curricular and pedagogical practices. WCT has contributed to broader efforts to overcome methodological nationalism in comparative research. In this paper, we acknowledge the contributions of world culture theory in these terms, but develop the case for an alternative explanatory framework – world-systems analysis (WSA) – rooted in the historical development and contemporary crises of the capitalist world-economy. This case is built on two major points of critique of world culture theory: first, that its consensus orientation is inadequate for a macro-level accounting of social reality; and second, that its analysis of the economic functions of mass education, in isolation from the capitalist world-economy, further weakens its explanatory power. Working from this critique, we elaborate the capacity of world-systems analysis to overcome these shortcomings by providing a more comprehensive, historical perspective. This alternative approach incorporates the identification and analysis of shared cultural understandings underpinning policy and institutional practice, linked to the development of the capitalist world-economy. We conclude this paper by affirming the value of WSA as an alternative approach for comparative research, and its potential contribution to the development of more enlightened educational policy and a more just and democratic world-system.     

马克思世界历史理论视野下全球化的本质和特征探析

本文以马克思的世界历史理论为指导,对学术界的全球化研究成果给予辩证分析,在此基础上对全球化的本质进行了新的概括和总结,并从9个方面概括了全球化的特征。     

美国比较教育研究的新发展:主题、方法与地域分析

以《比较教育评论》在1998—2007年间所发表的学术论文为研究对象,分析这些论文的研究主题和研究方法以及在研究地域上的差异,发现:在研究主题上,《比较教育评论》重视宏观教育制度研究,关注各国教育改革与发展;紧跟时代发展,研究当前热点问题;微观教育实践领域的研究日益升温;比较教育学科建设探讨起伏不定。在研究方法上,文献研究仍然是《比较教育评论》最重要的研究手段,不同研究方法的的综合运用成为当前《比较教育评论》的一大特色,定性与定量研究呈均衡态势,两者的结合更能体现未来的发展趋势。在研究地域上,单一国别研究是《比较教育评论》的主体,对发展中国家的教育尤其关注,大规模的跨国比较研究引人注目,全球趋势和区域研究渐渐增多。我国比较教育研究应明确比较教育的研究主题,提升比较教育研究方法的科学水平,拓展比较教育的研究地域,创建立体化的研究对象,加强比较教育学术群体的自身建设,深化学科基础理论研究。     

世界历史理论与"跨越资本主义卡夫丁峡谷"--东方社会走向世界历史道路的个案分析

世界历史理论是马克思于19世纪40年代中期提出的一个重要学说。马克思阐述世界历史理论的经典文本是《德意志意识形态》和《共产党宣言》。但是,对马克思世界历史理论的全面把握,不能仅仅停留在对《形态》、《宣言》的解读上,还必须进一步研究马克思在创立世界历史理论后是如何应用的,而这集中体现在马克思对东方社会（俄国,印度,中国等）走向世界历史道路的个案分析上。马克思关于俄国公社“跨越资本主义卡夫丁峡谷”的设想就是对东方社会走向世界历史道路的个案分析,也是对世界历史理论的应用发展。     

从文明冲突论看后冷战时代美伊博弈

本文试通过亨廷顿“文明冲突论”从不同文明的角度探讨后冷战时代美伊在波斯湾地区的博弈以及由此对当前国际格局产生的影响。     

Religious education in Russia: a comparative and critical analysis

RE in Russia has been recently introduced as a compulsory regular school subject during the last year of elementary school. The present study offers a critical analysis of the current practice of Russian RE by comparing it with RE in Sweden, Denmark and Britain. This analysis shows that Russian RE is ambivalent. Although it is based on a non-confessional religious studies approach, Russian RE also serves the interests of the Russian Orthodox Church, which aims to educate students into Orthodox Christianity, as well as the interests of the Russian state itself, which turns RE in a kind of citizenship education focusing on the patriotic upbringing of students.     

How teaching world religions brought a truce to the culture wars in Modesto,California

Despite a growing consensus among scholars and activists about the importance of religion, proposals for teaching about it have often been a source of division rather than unity in American public school districts. Faced with familiar cultural conflicts, Modesto, California, chose to become the first public school district in the USA to require all high school students to take an extended and independent course in world religions. The results of the first, large‐scale empirical research on the effects of teaching about religion in USA public schools provides evidence that Modesto’s bold approach was worth the risk. Surveys and interviews administered to students show statistically significant increases in students’ knowledge about other religions, and levels of passive tolerance – willingness to refrain from discrimination – and active tolerance – willingness to act to counter discrimination. The course has not been the subject of lawsuits or complaints by parents and has gained acceptance among all of Modesto’s religious groups.