Exploring international and comparative education

Abstract

This chapter offers an introduction to an area of educational studies often described as international and comparative education. This field of study rests on a long tradition, and the chapter begins by sketching its early origins and examining the ways the discipline has evolved. It moves on to a discussion of its various aims and purposes, and considers the reasons why educational comparisons have become of growing global interest. Finally, the chapter looks at a number of important considerations that sometimes call into question the validity of educational comparisons and what they are claimed to show.